Posted on 11/01/2012 3:33:35 PM PDT by BobL
Hi fellow FReepers,
Since we have some really good people on this site when it comes to survival techniques, I'm wondering if people have suggestions as to the best method to keep warm in the aftermath of an event like Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast (where temperatures will be in the 30s in the next day or so). While we all talk about having 20 acres and multiple pillboxes for when it happens, I suspect that most people, like myself, live in relatively modest houses, in communities where people are packed together relatively densely. In other words most of us likely live on 1/4 to 1/2 of an acre. Lots of us probably don't have fireplaces, or have the lousy pre-fab ones that can barely fit a log.
So here's the scenario, and assume this is well before the hurricane has hit...so there's plenty of time to buy supplies and equipment:
1) Your house doesn't have a fireplace (it may or may not have natural gas service - I'd like to explore both scenarios). 2) You will not have electricity for a month after the storm, and it's winter. 3) You can store up to 50 gallons of fuel (any fuel), although an outdoor propane tank would get you into trouble with the town. 4) You can have firewood, but again, no fireplace. So you need some other way to burn it.
So the question is what would be the most practical way to prepare for this. I live in Houston and don't worry much about keeping warm (although it can get quite cold here in winter). I have lots of flashlights, batteries, gasoline/propane-powered lanterns, gasoline/propane powered stoves, even a portable propane-powered water heater (works great), along with electric and natural gas water heaters. I also have the ability to collect and purify rain water.
What I don't have is a way to keep warm if the temperature dropped to 10 degrees here (which it won't, but which it does in the Northeast).
So, any ideas? I would want the system used to keep warm to be the following: 1) Non-intrusive. In other words, not immediately noticeable if it's not in use. So something that can be deployed reasonably easy. 2) If combustion is used (as likely the case), then a way to safely vent combustion gasses, while keeping as much heat as possible indoors
Any suggestions are welcome, and thanks all!
“If the main turnoff is inside your house a break could occur before the break and could cause a lot of flooding.”
Good point, thanks much.
“My solution will run the furnace in my house for days, indefinitely if the gas utility stays up.”
Thanks Lurker, you do need electrical power to run a furnace also...so that’s a problem in the Sandy scenario.
I have those lanterns, and yes, they definitely give out a lot of heat. As long as fumes have a place to go they can help a lot there, especially if it’s very cold.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2913038/posts
My budget for the entire project was less than $2,000.00. I’ve tested it and it works for about 1/4 the price of one of those standby generator sets.
“If you have running water and a gas hot water heater, you can fill the master bed room bath tub with hot water for heat. I used that trick once in a cheap motel with no heat in freezing weather.”
That’s a really neat idea...I didn’t think it would buy much, but the more I think about it, the more effective it becomes. Natural gas is cheap, water heaters are fairly efficient (even the basic ones...which, by the way, are the only ones that work during a blackout), and one can crank up their temperature quite a bit (just remember to turn it down when done).
“From a NJ suburbanite here, we installed a vent free natural gas stove a few years ago, great for heat.”
I like it...do you have a brand name?
“a 12 volt (electric) blanket”
Neat idea, makes my summary list (to be posted shortly).
Put sta-bil in it and once a year just fill your car and refresh your supply.
Excluding something along the lines of a heatpump, ALL electric appliances put out 3,412.14 BTUs per kilowatt hour consumed, and they're ALL 100% efficient at producing that many BTUs per KWH. It doesn't matter if you're consuming the electricity in a $15 portable heater, or a $150 heater, or a TV or stereo, or your refrigerator, or an electric blanket.
I use the $15 heaters for much of my heating needs, although I'm gradually ramping up the heat that I get from passive solar and through capturing heat in thermal storage.
You might want to look at a few of these. They are really pricey but they work and they are beautiful.
http://www.aladdinlamps.com/Products_ShowCategory.asp?CategoryID=4
Best,
L
For some odd reason, my cat likes to sleep on top of my bed when I've got the electric blanket turned on. :) Heat coming from thermal storage keeps the pipes from freezing.
Solar generated electricity is way too expensive for my tastes. If I was in a situation where I didn't have power coming in from the electric company to run my heaters and electric blanket, I'd just drastically downsize the volume of space I'm living in in the coldest periods of the year. The area around a person inside an igloo is around 60 degrees. I'd basically build an indoor igloo for a sleeping area with polystyrene sheets and aluminum foil for reflection of radiant heat. If my body heat isn't enough to keep my downsized living area comfortable, its simple enough to heat up some water with a wood fire outdoors and put it in one gallon milk jugs for a source of heat to warm the living space.
Couple hardscrabble things you can do:
Paint some 2 or 3 gallon plastic jugs flat black and put them in a window’s sunlight. They’ll get very warm.
Make a plastic tent over your bed.
That stuff works? Stored the boat with it a few times but only for the winter, never tried it longer than that.
Don’t have it right now, not home. We found it at Lowes.
I've purchased six of these for family members recently. :)
Btw, great post. The ability to keep warm is something most people don’t consider. Cold kills hundreds yearly and we seem to be entering a time of colder weather.
What you get is some areas of the room that feel too warm if you spend much time there, and some parts of the room that feel too cool.
I find it most comfortable to have my whole living space at 68-69 degrees. A heater that operates solely by infrared heating is like a campfire. I don't want to have to turn around to warm up my backside and cool off my frontside every so often. I'd rather have both sides at a comfortable temperature.
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