First winter with a little one

[MuayThaiGuy]

Hi guys,
This will be my wife and I’s first winter with a little one. In the past we have not worried about getting iced in and losing power as we have plenty of warm clothes and blankets. But now we are looking at good ways to heat at least one small-ish room for the little guy since we wouldn’t feel safe just packing him in blankets to sleep.

We have gas heat but our fan runs on electricity so I don’t know if getting a small generator to run the fan is a good option? I also have a portable propane heater that I use in the garage but I worry about CO and CO2. What are some other options?


Thanks for your input and ideas.

 

[snapping turtle]

The good old K1 kerosun heater works so would the propane. K1
stinks at first but will heat a large space cheap. Get a battery backed up co2 detector and you will be warm. No real worries be happy.

 

[NathanJefferson]

Every house in IN should have a backup Kerosene heater and at least 5 gallons of Kerosene.

That will keep a room or three WARM. My family lived two winters with nothing but a kerosene heater to warm two rooms (others were partitioned off with plastic) and they could get very warm. Having a CO alarm might not be a bad idea, but as long as you don't vacuum yourself in a kerosene heater should be fine.

 

[Slawburger]

I use the Mr. Heater Big Buddy. See link below.
Big Buddy Heater, Dual-Heating System - Walmart.com

It is supposed to be safe for use indoors, has a low oxygen sensor and tip over shutoff. You can fuel it with either one or two of the small propane cannisters or you can attach a hose and hookup your 20lb grill tank. It puts out a fair amount of heat and has a battery operated fan to blow the air.

 

[nascarfantoo]

Agree with the kerosene heater. Good for short term power outages. It has kept our living room and kitchen above 60F even when in 20s outside.

May not be the way to go if going it runs into days. Not a bad idea to have a small generator to power a few lights, radio, etc. (I don't have one, but I live 2 doors away from local power company supervisor. Seems like we always get good service!)

 

[williamnewman1]

my gas heater with a kerosene backup (i have 10gal backup fuel).......and always making sure the gas tank if more than half full

 

[MuayThaiGuy]

Thanks for the info guys. From what I am reading kerosene lasts a long time so I think this might be my best option. Is there anything to look for specifically when buying a kerosene heater?

Slawburger - Your picture of Ski is making me jealous, I can't get it up here.

 

[10-32]

I 2nd the Buddy Heater system. I actually have 2 of them but I also have a Kero heater. I prefer the Buddy heaters mostly because of the smell Kero. Swapping out a 20# lp tank every 4 days(if ran on low) beats going through the refueling process twice a day with a kero heater.

Either way you go, buy a Carbon Monoxide Alarm and keep it in the same room as the heater on the floor. PLEASEEEEE don't waste your money on a Smoke/Carbon Monoxide 2in1 Alarm. Smoke rises then works it way down while Carbon Monoxide builds up at the floor and works it way up.

If you decide to go with a generator, check your furnace and your breaker box. If your furnace is 120 volt with a 20 amp breaker on it like mine, a 2400 watt generator will run it but I'd recommend going with a 3000 or 3500 watt generator. It's not really a good idea to run a generator at or near max capacity for extended periods of time. It would also be nice to run a few other things like a battery charger to top off a battery bank that would power some lights at night.

 

[Kmcinnes]

We went with wood, a wood stove is a little more pricey compared to options being discussed, but we can heat pretty much the whole house, boil water if needed (or melt snow) as well as cook a pot of chili. Sure it is work cutting, splitting, and stacking the wood but it is worth it in my opinion and it warms you twice as Henry Ford put it. You have a pretty much endless supply of fuel around, the only draw backs are for an extended SHTF period is smoke signature which is quite vs a generator and greatly reduced if burning properly seasoned wood.

 

[voodoo304]

Is your kitchen stove gas also? Get some plastic to block the kitchen off and sleep in there with the oven on. That's what we did growing up when the power went out.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Thanks for the info guys. From what I am reading kerosene lasts a long time so I think this might be my best option. Is there anything to look for specifically when buying a kerosene heater?

Slawburger - Your picture of Ski is making me jealous, I can't get it up here.

First of all: I know for a fact that the gas station / restaurant / mini mart in Darlington sells Ski...

Secondly: A small generator / midsize generator is always a good idea. Like you said - keep the blower going on the furnace, as well as perhaps a TV/DVD player for a bit of entertainment.

Buy a GOOD CO monitor for your home. With gas heat you should have one anyhow. (one near each gas appliance...ahem) And then perhaps a portable one just to use with & near the kerosene heater.

I understand how suddenly being a parent can make one go to outrageous lengths - but also keep in mind that there have been kids born, living, and thriving for a heck of a long time and in all kinds of climates. Blankets / clothes / layers will also be OK in all but the most extreme.

 

[Spudgunr]

I actually JUST posted a blog article on this on my fledgling blog. I hope it is ok to link to it, its a bit long to post. I'll post the link and report my post myself, if it is against the rules a mod can remove the link.

Staying warm during a power outage in the winter « A Handful of Tranquility

To run your fan are you talking about the house fan or blowers? Blowers use quite a bit of energy, though your whole house would be warm for sure. IF you are talking a couple box fans set up a small battery bank, under $500 and you could have one that would run a couple fans for quite a while. It'd be completely silent as well. $50-100 for an inverter, $50-75 for an intelligent charger, $200 for a couple large deep cycles giving you about 1 kwh worth of normal usage, 2 kwh in absolute emergency usage. That will run a couple fans and a couple compact fluorescent bulbs (probably 100 watts total) for a day or two. Running a generator for 24 hours (say 2 days running it an hour on, an hour off) is going to use 10-24 gallons of gas (depending if you go super cheap on the generator or spend $600ish)

I second, third, and fourth the motion of getting a high quality battery powered CO detector. Keep in mind you can always move the kids crib or other makeshift sleeping arrangements into the kitchen.

Edit: How much money do you have to throw at the problem? If you did both the battery bank AND the generator (probably looking at $1000ish or more), you could size the battery bank sufficiently to run your furnace for a bit at a time. Then, with a high amperage charger (30+ amps, depending on the size of your battery bank) what you could do is this:

Wait until house is 50 (my kids slept better at 58 than they did at 65, just have warm footie pajamas and a blanket that can be breathed through). Run furnace from battery bank and run heat to 65 or 70. Turn off furnace (so it doesn't kick back on for a bit). If battery bank is below 50 percent, next time it gets down to 50, and before it is dark for sure, run your generator. A 3000W generator will be more than enough to run a 30 amp battery charger AND your gas furnace. Run heat and charge battery bank (a 50 amp charger would be even better here). When it is warm, switch the generator over to running fridge/freezer (if its cold and you don't have a generator, put your food OUTSIDE). When its dark, go ahead and move your generator inside. Turn your heat of. When it gets back down to 50ish, run the furnace from the battery bank in the middle of the night. No going outside in the freezing to fiddle with the generator, less risk of it getting stolen since it'll only be out for an hour or two at a time, 1-2 times per day.

Whatever route you go, sleep in the same room as the kid, you put off heat too (I go into some details on the blog post)

 

[Cozy439]

We went with wood, a wood stove is a little more pricey compared to options being discussed, but we can heat pretty much the whole house, boil water if needed (or melt snow) as well as cook a pot of chili. Sure it is work cutting, splitting, and stacking the wood but it is worth it in my opinion and it warms you twice as Henry Ford put it. You have a pretty much endless supply of fuel around, the only draw backs are for an extended SHTF period is smoke signature which is quite vs a generator and greatly reduced if burning properly seasoned wood.

What he said. When we built, we opted OUT of a fireplace and put in a wood stove in addition to the gas (propane) furnace. Since then, the only time the furnace kicks in is if its very windy outside and and in the single digits. There is work involved in keeping suplied but its some of the best exercise I get. IT DOES WARM YOU TWICE. We have it in the basement. Never too cool there! Most nights, all winter, the upstairs is warmed by rising heat and the fact that we leave the fan run and the main cold-air intake to the duct work is in the same room as the stove. At the worst, unless someone reloads the burner at night, you have to snuggle a little closer in bed by the AM, and thats not all bad either.

 

[buckstopshere]

Check out Steven Harris. His website is battery1234.com

 

[littletommy]

Is your kitchen stove gas also? Get some plastic to block the kitchen off and sleep in there with the oven on. That's what we did growing up when the power went out.

I did this for a winter once. I was living by myself, so it was really no big deal, but I was dating a girl that I really wasn't too interested in, but she had a really nice house. I would be laying in my kitchen, shivering, and the phone would ring......it was her asking if I wanted to come and stay at her house!



I broke up with her that spring.

True story.

 

[MuayThaiGuy]

Thanks for all the info guys. I went to check out kerosene heaters and found one that should heat the house with 12 hours between refills. However, the fuel was completely gone. They had some K-1 alternative "fuel" on the shelf and some different scents (vanilla, really?) to add to kerosene as well. Is $10.xx for a gallon what I should expect to pay around here for K1?

I also looked at the buddy heaters and they seem really nice considering you can use the small canisters or large tanks, and since I already have a gas grill I can get dual purpose from them.

I'm thinking I should just be true to the INGO way and get both.

My parents have a wood stove and I would love to go that direction but that is a lot of work for a house that I hope not to be in a couple of years from now. That is the same reason I am hesitant to do the work and wiring for a battery backup system as well. I have a lot of plans that I would like to implement but I just don't want to waste the effort when I plan to move out on some land soon(wishful thinking right?).

 

[Spudgunr]

The scent helps the fuel, not when it burns though. And no, find the gas stations that carry kero, many don't even advertise it. But it is often its own little pump away from the others, sometimes between the gas pumps, but often at the edge of the parking lot. It'll be up to a dollar a gallon more than diesel if you purchase that way. If purchasing from walmart, lowes, and the like then yes, probably $8+ a gallon.

I really like my buddy heater. In the spring you can pick them up for half price (about $40) from lowes. Of course, that doesn't help you NOW. You could pay full price now, and then buy another in the spring. You could also buy it, not use it if you don't need it, then return it in the spring ;-) That a bit shady though. You don't need to wire your whole house for the battery bank, and you can take it with you when you move. If I were going to wire my furnace, I would actually just add a plug and socket into the supply. Power goes out, unplug the plug from the socket and run an extension cord from your inverter or generator to the furnace.

I know the feeling though about not putting a ton of work in since you are planning on moving. I'm in the same boat, though I am not POSITIVE I'm going to move. I'm considering buying land and putting the move out for a few years. But my drive is a bit over an hour right now so I'd LIKE to move. But if I DONT move, then I will regret not putting the work in (hazelnut trees, maybe a couple more fruit trees, etc).

 

[mrjarrell]

Don't forget some of the basics, too. Heat is pretty important, (looks like everyone's covered that already) but you should also lay in a supply of extra diapers, water, formula/baby food, etc. Buy a bit extra every time you go to the store and put it aside in a box. Add a couple of extra bottles, too. On the heating side, I'd also suggest buying some space blankets at the sporting goods store. When the temp drops and the power's out these can be a lifesaver. Use like a blanket or put between yourself or the kiddo and the bed and you can stay pretty warm with just that and regular covers.

 

[Iroquois]

Only had one friend ever lose a house to a space heater , and it was a kerosene heater (it leaked). When I bought my house in the country I bought a 'blue flame' 99% propane heater. ($150) Later I bought a second ...total btus is 60,000....lost power for 5 days @ 4° . My house stayed 64+ the whole time. ...and no stink. You could also get the same deal in a fireplace....give it a look.

 

[Slawburger]

^^^^^
You could get a dual-fuel ventless fireplace and take it with you when you move.

http://www.amazon.com/ProCom-Dual-Fuel-Stove-QD250T/dp/B001D5JU9I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1#productDetails

The prices vary considerably, above is just one example.