[BobL]

“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).

[Errant]

A tubful would give about 3 hours of sleep in below freezing weather. I would then wake from the cold and fill it again with hot water. I thought of letting the hot water run slowly and the overflow taking care of the excess, but that seemed like too much of a waste. It may be more efficient than one would think, except for the waste of water. I suppose if you had a small transfer pump, you could set up some kind of field expedient recirculation.

[Errant]

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.