Doc1
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I've seen quite a few predictions for an especially hard winter this year, but predicting the weather has always been a very inexact science. Nonetheless, we are trying to get even better-prepped than we usually are.
Some of you are already dealing with early winter now, but here in southern Mississippi at the Doc1 Homestead we're still using at least one of our window ACs on most afternoons. Most of you will recall the Texas power outage and deep freeze last year. Millions of people were affected and a lot of them suffered both physical damage to their homes as well as discomfort. If memory serves, more than a few actually died. I believe that it's critical not to only rely on one source of heat! A lot of people who rely solely on central air and heating systems are in a terrible position during winter power outages, or even if their system malfunctions. Heating redundancies are essential.
I'll go over most of our heating preps and would like to hear yours. Maybe this will jog some folk's memories and prompt them to put in more cold weather preps.
a.) Wood heat: We have a large, Chinese boxwood stove and this year, through a series of fortunate events, now have more firewood than we've ever started the winter with.
b.) Propane heat: We have a large, wall-mounted propane heater served by outdoor tanks, but we also have a number of twin mantle propane lanterns which hang from custom shepherd's hooks that I welded and fabricated myself. These clamp on to standard five gallon propane tanks and help to provide portable emergency lighting and heating. Propane lanterns produce a fantastic amount of heat. We also have (two) two burner propane camping stoves which could do indoor duty if required. We haven't needed them inside the house yet, but they are ready if needed.
c.) Kerosene and diesel heat: I have several Petromax, pressurized kerosene lanterns which can use kero, diesel or even mineral spirits. These also put out trememdous amounts of heat and light and their operating temperature is so high that they produce very, very little carbon monoxide. The Petromaxes stink to high heavens when lit or extinguished, but once they are up to operating temperature, are virtually odorless.
d.) Candles: We have many boxes of assorted candles (and candle holders) that we collect throughout the year at thrift stores and yard sales. While adding a bit of cheery ambience to the house on cold nights, they also produce a significant amount of heat!
e.) Electric space heaters: We have quite a few electric space heaters that we've collected over the years. These are placed wherever needed and can even be powered by our generators if we so desire.
That pretty much covers our heating arrangements. What are any of you doing?
Best
Doc
Some of you are already dealing with early winter now, but here in southern Mississippi at the Doc1 Homestead we're still using at least one of our window ACs on most afternoons. Most of you will recall the Texas power outage and deep freeze last year. Millions of people were affected and a lot of them suffered both physical damage to their homes as well as discomfort. If memory serves, more than a few actually died. I believe that it's critical not to only rely on one source of heat! A lot of people who rely solely on central air and heating systems are in a terrible position during winter power outages, or even if their system malfunctions. Heating redundancies are essential.
I'll go over most of our heating preps and would like to hear yours. Maybe this will jog some folk's memories and prompt them to put in more cold weather preps.
a.) Wood heat: We have a large, Chinese boxwood stove and this year, through a series of fortunate events, now have more firewood than we've ever started the winter with.
b.) Propane heat: We have a large, wall-mounted propane heater served by outdoor tanks, but we also have a number of twin mantle propane lanterns which hang from custom shepherd's hooks that I welded and fabricated myself. These clamp on to standard five gallon propane tanks and help to provide portable emergency lighting and heating. Propane lanterns produce a fantastic amount of heat. We also have (two) two burner propane camping stoves which could do indoor duty if required. We haven't needed them inside the house yet, but they are ready if needed.
c.) Kerosene and diesel heat: I have several Petromax, pressurized kerosene lanterns which can use kero, diesel or even mineral spirits. These also put out trememdous amounts of heat and light and their operating temperature is so high that they produce very, very little carbon monoxide. The Petromaxes stink to high heavens when lit or extinguished, but once they are up to operating temperature, are virtually odorless.
d.) Candles: We have many boxes of assorted candles (and candle holders) that we collect throughout the year at thrift stores and yard sales. While adding a bit of cheery ambience to the house on cold nights, they also produce a significant amount of heat!
e.) Electric space heaters: We have quite a few electric space heaters that we've collected over the years. These are placed wherever needed and can even be powered by our generators if we so desire.
That pretty much covers our heating arrangements. What are any of you doing?
Best
Doc