October means really nice days and crisp nights here in Montana. But it also means that winter is around the corner and it can often come a tad early, or at least give us some sneak previews. So…time to start getting ready.
For me, it’s mostly two things: put the Winter Module into the Bag O’ Tricks, and get the winter gear in the vehicle. As for the abode, it pretty much takes care of itself…take the air conditioner out of the window and put it away, make sure the snow blower is ready, lay in some salt for the sidewalk.
But, being a good survivalist, there’s also a few other things – make sure the kerosene heater is filled and ready in case the power goes out. Same for the generator. Power outages in winter have a bit more drama to them than outages in the summer. Most notably the little issue of the house dropping to a temperature where pipe freezing becomes an issue. Fortunately, I know from previous experience that the kerosene heaters can keep the house above freezing for a while.
It’s also time to pull the wool outta storage. I’ve got my wonderful Filson coat and a goodly selection of hats and gloves to keep me warm, and I have snowshoes as well.
I’ve lived in the same house for a long time now and gone through a couple dozen winters with no power outage lasting more than a 24 hours or so. Not to say it won’t happen, just that it hasn’t so far. But…if it does, it’s nice to know that sitting huddled in the cold and dark will not be part of the program.
Ah, the joys of living in a rural setting. October has always been a transitional month. Like you CZ I’ve started getting things ready for Jack Frost and his friends.
I could put it off because the weathertainers around here have predicted a mild fall, but they have been too wrong too often for my tastes. Then there’s the mild urgency brought on by the pandemic and what’s going on south of the border in the (not so) United States. Regardless of what transpires in the weeks ahead, the sun will rise and life will go on.
I have a kerosene heater but only keep it for extreme emergencies. I don’t like the soot or the odor. I am now up to 12 cords of firewood, most of it stacked, with a few more to go. I installed the second-hand Vermont Castings woodstove and chimney myself, and love the amount of heat it throws. A lot of people have discarded wood stoves for pellet stoves that require electric power to run. Although I installed my solar electric system, I prefer to know that my heat doesn’t require anything but fuel (which I grow myself ;^) It gets cold here in northern NH, and a week at -40 with a howling wind and blowing snow (and a cast iron skillet full of sausages on the wood stove) is fine with me whatever the world throws at me.
Have you considered a kerosene heater with two step combustion? Supposedly they give less to no soot and odor.
That means storing fuel in bulk. I have an unlimited amount of firewood at my disposal. The stove doesn’t have any firebrick and needs nothing but wood – which grows on trees here.
Which is certainly right, and i did not challenge that part. But there are other peopöe readning here for whom it may be relevant.
“…needs nothing but wood – which grows on trees here.”
Thank you, Doc. I LOL’d!
My experience has been that they smell only at startup and at extinguishment. I start mine out on the porch, let it run five minutes, then bring it inside. When done, I take it outside, extinguish it, and let it coold down before bringing it inside. Done in this manner, I’ve not had any problems with odors.
That’s exactly the right process, CZ. Also, my experience is that kero heaters — and to some extent kero lanterns — have one optimum wick setting for a clean burn. Yes, there’s a knob to adjust the wick and it’s true you can turn the flame up and down, but that’s where you get the soot. Burn and learn, and when you find your heater’s clean burn setting, use that and that only.
When asked, I advise folks to buy two medium or small kero heaters rather than one with max BTU’s. With two smaller ones, you can light just one if that’s all you need. Also, depending on how your house is laid out, one magnum BTU heater will have you baking bread in one room while the rooms at the other end of the house are freezing. Hope these brief tips help someone.
I have finally otten around to buying a propane heater and have enough propane in small (227 grammes) bottles to keep it running every waking hour for three days.
Next step is buying one for use with the bottle for the grill wich should provide about the same hours of heat and between them should be enough to keep my three room apartment warm even in the winter.
The house has heat piped in from a heatfacility on the other side of town, and though we have less than 10 days total without heat since 1969 i am not comfortable with relying on them so i am very much considering puting in a furnace in the house again. Maybe an oil furnace and a diesel generator to supply us with heat and power, but how does modern oil and a modern furnace stand up to 5, 10, or 50 years standing by? Or a wood furnace and enough batteries and solar panels to run the pumps and fans and possibly some Lights in the house and apartments. Less convenient than oil, but more sustainable, and we can rotate the firewood through the fireplaces in the apartments.
That is the big blessing and bane of living in a big city, well, about the sizw of Missoula i guess, about 200 000 people. The grid. It is extremely convenient, but it makes us extremely dependent.
Good deal. Being prepared for emergencies smooths out not only the experience but peace of mind as well. If power does go out, do you plan on heating only a small part of your residence or the whole shebang ? I’m guessing just the ‘Life Boat’. Life up there definitely has a touch of 4 seasons.
I live way down in south Texas where a freeze generally for a few hours during the night. Snow is very infrequent and when it does hardly covers anything but the roof where wind does not reach..
Leave my tap cracked open, water moves and no freeze issue…
We don’t get much winter weather down here, and having natural gas heaters, non fan type, we are good for heat….. Stay warm up there.
Have been watching as snowblowers and generators have been selling cheap(used) for the last several months. This as the signs of a hard winter are everywhere-colder than normal spells,geese started south months early. Have been looking for right deal on backup heat supply-propane/ natural gas/kerosene/oil. Would like a small ventless gas fireplace(no smell,100% efficient/adds humidity/good to watch on cold night) but may be against code