Get ready for winter

[Gary Max]

Yup it's that time of year. We live kinda out in the sticks -- our main fuel for heating is propane. We started burning propane 8 years ago and paid .89 cents a gallon for it---as of yesterday the price was $2.79 per gal. The salesman made one very small mistake----he said that we had no choice or we would freeze this winter.
He don't know it yet but he lost a customer. I ain't figured out how we are going to do it but I sure as heck ain't giving him any money.
I guess we could move out to the shop----I have wood heat out there.
We live in a double wide and my insurance company will not let me put a woodburner in our home.

 

[Dario]

Garry,

Have emergency back-ups like an electric space heater and some propane (as pissed as you are with the salesman) ...just in case you need it.

Good luck!!!

To all, with the rising cost of fuel, seems like a good time to review insulation and install good ones if needed/possible.

 

[jeff]

When I lived out in the country, I wanted to install a wood-fired outdoor boiler like this. Several neighbors had them. Not cheap, but if you have access to free firewood it might make sense given the cost of fuel.

 

[DocStram]

When I lived back in NorthCentral Pennsylvania (in the early 80s) we had a big old two story house with a walk in attic and full basement. I got sick of paying outrageous heating bills for natural gas. So I got a little crazy and disconnected the gas line to the furnace. My brother and I installed a woodburning furnace in the basement and tied it into the central duct work for the house. I then got a second 45 gallon hot water heater and ran a water line through the firebox. If I remember correctly that woodburning furnace tool 36" logs that were 18" wide.

It was great heating my whole house with wood. I spent the summers cutting 20 full cords of wood. It was a whole lot of work but it got me in great shape cutting and hauling firewood. And, no heating bills from the rip off natural gas company.

I guess those were my "good old days" when I read a little too much Mother Earth News.

BTW one advantage of living in Middle Georgia is the low cost of heating .... we don't run the furnace a whole lot in the winter (which is like 2 weeks long). Electric bills for cooling is another matter.

 

[Dario]

BTW one advantage of living in Middle Georgia is the low cost of heating .... we don't run the furnace a whole lot in the winter (which is like 2 weeks long).

Almost like Texas? :biggrin::wink:

Electric bills for cooling is another matter.

Almost year round for us. :frown:

 

[Jerryconn]

I second Jeff's recommendation. If you have access to wood, this is the way to go, get hot water and heat from it.
I'm going to be installing one very soon!

 

[Scott-n-KY]

Gary,
I'm north of you in the Ft. Knox area. I read your post and called my supplier, they are 2.49 right now and the pre-buy for this year is at 2.59. It is going to cost me a bundle this year.

 

[Gary Max]

I hope to get a price on a outdoor boiler later this week. With the prices they are asking for propane I figure 4 to 5 years and it will pay for itself.

 

[Jarheaded]

My oil company just tried to get me to lock in at $4.19 a gallon. Last year I locked at $2.69 a gallon. This years oil bill is going to be a killer even with the 4 cords of wood that we burn every winter. I'm thinking about picking up a waste oil burner and using that to heat at least the shop. I figured out that we burn about 1200 gallons a winter even with the thermostat set at 65 degrees and all the thermostats have set backs. I can't wait to settle in Arizona, but I still have a few years until I can do that.

Gary, you should have knocked the salesman's teeth down his throat when he made that statement. The arrogance of some of those people really annoys me. Maybe a mid winter trip over to his house to purge his tanks will humble him up.

 

[Gary Max]

Johnnie----trust me ---we where talking on the phone.

 

[cdbakkum]

I have lived in Arizona for 20 years, thank God. I spend the summers in Pinetop, Arizona. I feel very fortunate. Summers in Phoenix are brutal.

Carl Bakkum

 

[jack barnes]

We heat our house with a wood pellit stove. Last winter pellits went for $240 a ton, this year at lowes they are $297 a ton. The problem is they sale out as soon as they come in. We use 2 tons a year.

Jack

 

[cozee]

How about a wood fired boiler that sets outside away from your home?

LOOK HERE

OR HERE

 

[rjwolfe3]

Do those systems work with forced air or do you have hot water moving thru your house?

 

[stevers]

Our electric company has leveed a sir charge on our bills. They call it a purchased power adjustment. We belong to a co-op. It amounts to about 30 to 40 percent, depending on what the purchased power is costing them at the moment. Our latest bill went from what would normally be $225, to $345. It's killing us all.

I was also wondering about pellets for you?

 

[toolcrazy]

Well, the last time I filled my Propane tank it was over $900. Toying with the idea of putting in a pellet stove. If the county will let me.

 

[Ligget]

What a rip off Gary, over here in the UK prices for gas and electric are going up in big steps, then the companies involved brag about massive profits.

Hope you find a solution soon!

 

[Gary Max]

Rod---they move hot water---which ends up running through a radiator----air blows through that to heat your house----the good ones are very easy to care for---you add wood twice a day and it takes care of the rest-----they have auto dampers that control air flow in the stove to keep it burning at the right temp.
Last time I looked they cost about 6K which at the time was to much but with the increases in fuel that may be something to look into closer.

 

[jskeen]

You really should look into pellets vs cut wood and see if it will fill your needs, they are much lower maintenance. Of course cord wood does warm you twice, once when you cut and split it, and again when you burn it. Problem is, the first time is usually in the middle of summer. (been there, done that for years)

 

[Jarheaded]

Johnnie----trust me ---we where talking on the phone.

Probably for the best anyways. Those type always run straight to the authorities instead of dealing with it themselves. I know the feeling all too well.

 

[Scott-n-KY]

I am checking in to a pellet stove as well. They sound pretty good. Pellets seem to be less expensive ($200/ton) in this area and easy to get. Like to here what the members that have them think about them.

 

[Gary Max]

Insurance will not let me add a woodburner or pellet store----we live in a doublewide.

 

[low_48]

I may have to start setting the house up like my Dad did on the farm when I was growing up. It was a really old farm house, no insulation. He would set up 3 vertical rows of straw bales all around the house and stay just below the windows. When we got in the really cold section of winter, the rooms would start to be shut off from the rest of the house. We boys would sleep in the living room, Mom and Dad in the small bedroom, and the kitchen and bathroom. Everything else was sealed off. We burned coal, but did not have a stocker. Well, Dad was the stocker. We would wait till we smelled the heat in the morning, then run out and stand on the big register to get dressed.

I plan on building a couple small warm air solar collectors this year. I built one in the 80's. It wouldn't run that much in Central IL in the cloudy months, but would keep the house warm when the sun shined. It was 4' x 16' hung on the side of the house.

 

[stevers]

Insurance will not let me add a woodburner or pellet store----we live in a doublewide.

Too bad.:frown::frown:

 

[monkeynutz]

I'll be selling canisters of warm Florida air this winter... You just pop 'em in the microwave for a couple of minutes, and then enjoy! Taking advance orders now!! :tongue:

 

[Gary Max]

Rich the folks in Phoenix beat you to this one---they are having a buy one get one free sale.

 

[DocStram]

Gary .... have you thought about solar panels to help heat your double wide? Surely there must be a way of laying a couple of panels on your roof or hanging from a window.

 

[Scott-n-KY]

Gary, You may check again with your insurance company or check with other insurance companies. The below is from Quadrafire's pellet stove features:

* Traditional Cast Iron Styling
* Self Lighting & Fully Automatic
* Thermostat Control
* Herringbone Brick Interior
* Aluminum Heat Exchanger
* Jam Proof Feed System
* EZ Clean Firepot & Firebox Ash Cleanout
* Mobile Home Approved
* Limited Lifetime Warranty

I don't know exactly what the "mobile home approved" means , but it may be worth checking into.

 

[Gary Max]

I have a guy coming out in the morning to help start laying out the new heating system.
We are going to do part of the work to help cut down on the cost---pour the pad for the stove---run water and power. I am going to buy this one peice at a time and hope like heck we get-er-done before winter hits.

 

[Gary Max]

Well that ain't going to work----------almost $8k if I do part of the work.
Now the really bad stuff----10 to 15 cord of wood per year-----That's a bunch of wood.

 

[DSallee]

Hey Gary... Have you thought about switching to ALL electric? For that 8 grand you could EASILY get a heat pump for heating the house, hot water tank, cook stove and dryer (if they are all gas).

Dave

 

[Gary Max]

Dave your ideal might be something to look at. I am going to change the hot water over to electric anyway.
We have a small electric furnace that's about 10 years old. It is such poor quality that all you do is freeze and give the light company all your money.

 

[Gary Max]

They want $5,650.00 for a 3 1/2 ton heat pump installed.

 

[Rojo22]

Gary

Watch the heat pump thing, especially if it gets really cold there. Heat pumps work great in fairly cold weather, but when it gets REALLY cold, they dont really do a great job. My buddy kicks himself every year when it gets really cold in the winter, and the heat pump doesnt keep the house as warm as he wants. We use the air conditioner for the summer, and natural gas for the winter. I hate to see what the price is going to be for us as well.

 

[Gary Max]

The story they tell me is that it really doesn't get that cold here.
They where talking about down in the teens which very seldom happens here.
This buddy of your's ----where does he live??????
Here's what I know
I can't afford propane any more so I have to make a change.
Thanks for your input---these are the things I need to look at.

 

[Hosspen]

I reccommend the outdoor waterstove. (we have a "Taylor" but there are probably makers more local to you making good outdoor water stoves). It's very safe and no mess of bringing wood in the house. Our first winter paying propane bills in our new house (that was 14 years ago) convinced me to cut back on the propane. We still have propane for drying laundry(along with a clothesline) and cooking, but use the wood to heat our hot water year round and our house in the winter. Now if we can figure out how to run the A.C. on hot water we'll really save some money and buy more pen kits
Good luck with the heating, maybe we'll have another mild winter.