Add a Comment

Comment by Jan Carter on March 3, 2016 at 19:11

James,

Those look very well built.  I love the little oven you can install on the pipe !  Innovative

Comment by James Cole on February 15, 2016 at 11:30

Jan, You might like to view this website.

http://www.cylinderstoves.com/

Comment by James Cole on February 11, 2016 at 22:29

Jan, First let me say that I believe you have a good start toward off grid heating.

Now please let me ramble on like the professor I used to be.

There are basically two parts to the heat equation as it applies to heating a house.  One of course is the generation of heat and the other is the conservation of that heat.  Simple things such as opening the door to the outside for the shortest time and good insulation in the walls and attic all contribute to a warmer house.

In any event, one way to conserve heat is to put plastic film over your windows.  3M Indoor Window Insulator Kit, will provide you with enough material to do five 5X7 windows.

Comment by Jan Carter on February 10, 2016 at 11:40

Shlomo,

Yep, in the warmer months I use a clothesline and I grill most anything that gets cooked.  Mostly we dont eat alot of hot food in the summer

The wood stove is in Donnie's shop, there is a duct and vent from there to the top floor and 2 of the convection fans are in that room also

Today I am making dog cookies for the animals on the mountain and that will run the stove for a couple hours.  I ran the dryer at 7am :)

Comment by Shlomo ben Maved on February 10, 2016 at 1:00

We heat only with wood and only have electrical power supplied by solar panels and a pair of wind turbines (older, small and inefficient).  Back up power by a pair of diesel generators.  Actually, not correct as we have a large bar-b-que that is propane powered--it's just far more convenient than charcoal.  Attached to the kacheloffen is an older wood fired cook stove if the electricity does go out.  We have a number of space heaters but they are used mainly to keep the pipes from freezing.

In summer we hang the laundry from lines and let the free wind dry them instead of heating up the house. We use slow cooking overnight so that we don't heat up the kitchen during the heat of the day.  We use the dishwasher at the same time. 

Granny's house had a wood stove in the center of the kitchen--one side for eating and the other for food prep and cleanup...The stove pipe ran the length of the room and beneath it was a heavy gauge wire from which we hung our wet winter clothes.  It also provided much need heat to that section of the house.  She had an old ringer washer and used lines outdoors or A-frame drying racks indoors.  Her house didn't get plumbing until the early 1960s--hand pump in the kitchen, outhouse and chamber pots. Summer she'd have my brothers move the washer to her porch.

The biggest mistake made with wood stoves is putting them close up against the wall.  The more room behind gives far better circulation.  Also invest in a couple of convection fans that run off the heat from the stove to circulate the warmth.  We hooked up a number of old computer fans at the top of the doorways to move air around to the other rooms--prevents hot spots.

Comment by Jan Carter on February 9, 2016 at 20:14

Since moving to the mountain I have rethought a lot of habits.  In Florida you ran the a/c, period.  Cook, do laundry whatever, the A/C ran.  I find up here I time things to coincide with the weather.  Today it was 20, I cooked a roast slow and in the oven all day.  Tomorrow morning it will be 16 so I will be doing laundry and running the dryer.  These are things that need to be done, why not use them to help the ambient heat....so any other suggestions you all might have?  The wood stove is 90% of our heat source, a small infered heater for the rest

Comment by Clint Thompson on January 26, 2016 at 10:47

Fort up in your home John, would be the best thing for you. Just plan to survive any event in your home. Make plans with family, close friends and possibly neighbors who can all come together for mutual support. You can hold the Fort while the support can make the food, meds and water runs.

Comment by John A Smithers on January 26, 2016 at 10:29

Survival for me depends on a couple of things: 1) Our modern world continuing (postal deliveries, electricity, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, drug research, etc.)  If I was born anytime before 1960 (or so) I would be dead.  Bugging out would be impossible to survive.

Comment by Clint Thompson on January 26, 2016 at 9:38

The cost of medications is an issue too. Some Insurance and Medicare will not pay for large amount of drugs. If events seem to be spinning out of control, I would tell my doctor I am heading overseas for six months to be on white beaches to sip on unusual drinks served by scantily clad dressed native young ladies. If he/she buys this then they will give you a scrip for this amount. Now you may have to pay some out of your pocket.

Me...my doctor would believe this as I have gone to some wild places where flying metal is the norm. He has written a scrip like this for me on several occasions.

Comment by Shlomo ben Maved on January 26, 2016 at 3:58

We live in an area devoid of natural calamities--no hurricanes, tornadoes, poisonous reptiles or insects, snow or ice storms, far enough away from any river to avoid flooding but we do have extreme cold (can reach -40F/C).  We will hunker down and survive.

The problem with illness isn't the illness itself but the hoard of medication needed to combat it. What happens when you run out?

Two of my neighbours have Type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetic children and they know that they will have about a year with them after the faeces encounters the oscillating aero appliance.  They can't stockpile more then that as the meds deteriorate with time (faster unrefrigerated) and unless they can find a way to manufacture it on their own their children will die. Plain and simple. 

What I love are these deluded preppers who will take their three/four weapons and take to the woods and survive long term on rabbits and squirrels.  Small first aid kit, canteen of water, some energy bars and they'll survive.  Yeah right!  At least Gunkid adhered to the idea of a "tactical wheelbarrow" to carry his stuff.

We have to learn our weaknesses and strengths, improve, via learning, the prior and maintain the latter.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• …
• 57
• Next ›
• Page