Heat

[Chris]

How would you keep heat in your house after SHTF?

This came to me after it snowed here and everyone in the area goes crazy. I have gas heat so I am alright for a while.

[burd1959]

old style chopin wood here

[Beer Forever]

Burn wood. I can heat my house so hot and it costs my time and a chainsaw. You could cook on it too. Out here there is a lot of mesquite trees and it burns hot and long, perfect for heating the house.

[ash]

Wood burning stove is deffinitely the way to go.

[Mooseman684]

Agreed, I have a wood stove made out of a 55 gallon drum and you can buy a door and stack kit with legs for under 100 bucks that is made out of cast iron and bolts it all together to make one fine stove. I welded a flat plate on top 3ft. wide and I can heat water or melt a pot of snow in short order. It will put out over 150,000 BTU. Tubes can be installed in the firebox to form a boiler/ hot water system. You can even grill steaks over coals inside the firebox ! It has saved my bacon when power failures last for long periods or my central oil furnace needed repairs...
Rich

[Choco]

Wood,and possibly some coal.

[educatedhorse_2]

Now let me throw a twist into the mix.
What if you live in house without a wood burning stove and your landlord won't let you put one in.
Even though everthing is there for except the stove.

[bigandrich44]

Persuade him that it will save money. Use it for 3 months then say Ha I told u so.

[educatedhorse_2]

I have even offered to pay for the stove and everything. He is just being stupid.
I have found those little tent heaters work pretty well indoors.

[Big Dog]

Kerosene heaters are simple and reliable - though fuel costs have increased.
My house is the modern "All Electric" - great until power goes out! I'm considering which way to go for fueled heat - kerosene, wood or propane?
Either way, it's gonna require very careful placement in my house, and won't be simple to install.

[killer]

I live in the southern third of Minnesota. The upstairs of my house is set up as a duplex and a year ago I took the upstairs natural gas heating stove out and never replaced it. What heat I get is coming through the floors from below. When it has been in the single digits I have fired up a 3000 btu Coleman BlackCat Catalytic heater (safe for indoor usage) in my bedroom. The temp has not dropped below 48 degrees despite some sub zero nights. My feet get cold but all in all I've grown used to it.

When the SHTF I guess I don't think I'm going to have heat. I do have a 55 gal barrel stove downstairs in the basement and the piping to shove it out a window with. I've got dried firewood that would last about 30 days? I'd have to bring it all inside on account of the human rats that would be slinking about.

As the rest died of starvation one could use their houses for firewood, but it always gets back to getting through to crop growing time, growing something, harvesting it, and making it thru the next winter to do it all over again.


A family with 10 kids lives a half mile from my cabin in Northern MN. They only have wood heat, and kerosene lamps.

One winter recently the kids had to go out every day just to get the days wood to survive the night. For some reason they just didn't get the wood supply in that year or think it was a big deal.

http://buckmountainchateau.com/images/lattin_kids.tif

It'll be interesting to watch them grow up and take on lifes challenges, living day to day and only worried about it one day at a time

[Mooseman684]

FYI...Alcohol can also be burned indoors in an alcohol stove (like a coleman type )Safely as alcohol does not put out carbon monoxide. Marine dealers sell alcohol stoves for boats for this reason. I carry a 3lb. coffee can with a roll of toilet paper inside for the wick and several bottles of "HEET" fuel de-icer , which is alcohol, for emergency heat in my truck. I have used this inside of a tent while camping by setting it inside of a cast iron dutch oven for safety as the coffee can does get HOT ! It will boil 2 cups of water in 5 minutes.
Stills will be one way of making fuel if SHTF if you have grain, corn, fruit,potatoes, etc. available in enough quantity.
Rich

[Stopper]

at home I have a soapstone woodburner, keeps the whole house toasty! and of course enough cured, split wood for a couple of years!

[BattleRifleG3]

There's one important element to heating, especially if SHTF - Insulation.

Have enough insulation, and you can make less fuel last longer. Have enough insulation, and body heat alone will make a significant difference in the temperature.

[couchtr26]

Originally Posted by BattleRifleG3

There's one important element to heating, especially if SHTF - Insulation.

Have enough insulation, and you can make less fuel last longer. Have enough insulation, and body heat alone will make a significant difference in the temperature.

Yea, verily. It is one of the most important aspects to heating.

[just_a_car]

Also, if you're dealing with people looting for food and supplies, they're more likely to check the house with the smoke coming out of the chimeny with the light coming out of the windows.

[couchtr26]

Originally Posted by just_a_car

Also, if you're dealing with people looting for food and supplies, they're more likely to check the house with the smoke coming out of the chimeny with the light coming out of the windows.

That actually got me thinking about something. What type of person will look for the place that doesn't have those things? I know not many but there will at least be one who would think to look in the less obvious places because there isn't any smoke. At least will say, if every place has smoke for a fire to heat why doesn't that place? Is it because they have something more useful? I know like I said not many but there will be one who thinks outside the box enough. What type of person will that be? Will it be a sly weasel or will it be a friend? Foe more then likely, but still just a curious thought.

[Mooseman684]

I would Think a place with no smoke means..."NOBODY's HOME " !(Easy Break-in!!!)
When I staple targets with the bullseyes shot out to trees , and fenceposts etc. in plain sight, I would hope that they would get the Message real fast...
Keep on Going !
Rich

[couchtr26]

Thanks, Mooseman. I have a tendency to overlook the obvious.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by educatedhorse_2

Now let me throw a twist into the mix.
What if you live in house without a wood burning stove and your landlord won't let you put one in.
Even though everthing is there for except the stove.

Then you go down to Home depot, buy a wood burning, free-standing stove (the kind you used to see in field army tents) and keep it in storage. You also buy a 1.5-3-inch thick x 2-3 foot x 2-3 foot stone slab and store that as well. You devise a vent using flexible steel corrugated fireplace venting pipe and a Structurally insulated panel that will fit into and seal a window or sliding door. Get it all designed and ready to install with easy break-down. Test it to make sure there isn't any smoke leaks in the vent. Pack it away and store it.

If SHTF, chances are your landlord probably won't be around to check if you are doing something against the lease. If SHTF, just pull it out of your basement or garage or whatever, put down the stone slab, put the stove on top of it (ah, wondered what the stone slab was for eh?), install the vent and put the Structurally Instulated Panel into the door-window you used, and you are ready to safely burn wood and heat your house.

I would suggest creating another Structurally Insulated Panel with a vent for another window on the opposite side of your home for circulation. You don't want to die of asphixiation or CO poisoning. If you don't have a free flow of air from another part of the home, once the fire burns all of the oxygen around it, it will begin to pull it down from the vent, causing cavitation and smoke will start to billow into your home.

Just some info...hope it helps.