Say winter 2020 hits again and the power is off for most of a week. At my house we had 9 hrs of electricity over 5 days and it sucked. I don't want to experience that again in a house with no gas


Anyone ever use a kerosene heater? I got a Dyna-Glo 10K btu convection heater that will heat about 500 Sq ft on 1 gallon of kerosene for ~12 hrs. That should heat living room at least to the point I can't see my breath

For the bedroom I got a my buddy flex that will heat 200 Sq ft or so for about 70 hrs on a tank of propane

Last in my list is a small 2500 watt generator for small appliances, toaster oven and such, perhaps a tiny electric heater

Lead

- Generac 22KW with 1000gal propane
- Water well with solar pump

Before we had central air/heat, our living area was heated with a Kero-Sun kerosene heater. It was quite serviceable and will keep you comfortable with no power. We still have it and another one stashed in case we lose power, along with around 15 gal of kerosene.

8500kw portable generator with a transfer switch on the breaker. 500 gallon propane tank with gas water heater, stove top, and fireplace.

I've been looking into portable battery's with solar for around the house - bluetti, ecoflow, etc. my biggest challange is figuring out what battery type is right. and no i am not a tree hugger.

I have a Honda 2000 generator, a Goal Zero yeti 3000 and Stack of firewood.

A few propane stoves and lanterns

Charismatic Megafauna said:

---

AgResearch said:

---

Propane whole home generator, propane heat, 1000 gallon propane tank, and my family does propane deliveries.

---

Any propane accessories?

---

Water heater and range top

4500 watt dual-fuel inverter generator for small appliances and electronics, a couple of large propane heaters (we only had one during that freeze and it was a lifesaver), several 20# propane tanks (should get more), and chingos of firewood.

drummer0415 said:

---

Installed a 50amp generator inlet to backfeed my entire electrical panel, and bought a multi fuel inverter generator to plug into to.

My setup is not quite as convenient as a whole home backup with ATS and all that, but it cost me 1/6th of what that kind of setup costs, and will accomplish what I need.

---

Same here. I have 2 x 7.5kw tri fuel generators. Paid a plumber to put in 2 natural gas hookups outside.

For heating purposes, will run whole house on one.

Put in a separate breaker sub panel with connection at ac compressor. Also installed a soft starter that brings the LRA startup amps down to +/- 30 amps.

In power loss in hot condition will run second generator dedicated to ac compressor / garage appliances.

All in spent 3k.

Similar but I also keep 2 cords of wood at all times for heat.

Hoyt Ag said:

---

Similar but I also keep 2 cords of wood at all times for heat.

---

We have a fireplace even though we have no gas but it's a fireplace that looks like it's made for gas and fake gas logs. It's probably not even a 1.5 feet deep. Bottom line I dont think of it as a real fireplace

That's a shame. I live in CO and have a grand fireplace. About 5ft wide, 4ft tall. It heats the majority of the house once going good, minus the basement. I can keep a infrared heater on in the basement and it keeps it warm enough to keep it about 60*at all times

I have 2 gas-powered generators. Unfortunately, if you dont run them routinely, they wont work when you need them. So, currently i have 2 heavy useless generators. I will have to replace carbs and such to get them back in shape.

Wood stove and 8 cords, 9500 watt Westinghouse, river frontage and snow to melt, propane grill, pantry full of preserved produce from the garden.

Any reason the following wouldn't be a decent solution for keeping the house warm?

Our fireplace is the typical suburban type (runs on gas) and according to Mythbusters, probably draws more heat out of the house than it produces.

My thought was to buy a small wood burning stove & some flexible chimney liner pipe to have as backup heat source. If we ran out of propane or wanted to conserve it, we run the flex liner up the existing chimney & fire up the wood stove. I figure I could install a barrier over the flue & sawzall out hole to run the hose through (to keep excess heat from escaping)

All in on materials for this is probably $500-600.

Thoughts?

How much propane would a whole home generator go through in a day? I have a 250 tank but was wondering if I only ran my heat and a couple of lights how long it would last.

Apache said:

---

Any reason the following wouldn't be a decent solution for keeping the house warm?

Our fireplace is the typical suburban type (runs on gas) and according to Mythbusters, probably draws more heat out of the house than it produces.

My thought was to buy a small wood burning stove & some flexible chimney liner pipe to have as backup heat source. If we ran out of propane or wanted to conserve it, we run the flex liner up the existing chimney & fire up the wood stove. I figure I could install a barrier over the flue & sawzall out hole to run the hose through (to keep excess heat from escaping)

All in on materials for this is probably $500-600.

Thoughts?

---

So put the wood burning stove in front of fireplace, not inside of it and use flexible chimney liner pipe to connect it to the chimney outlet?

Something like that. I figure having the stove out of the fireplace box allows more heat to radiate out into the living room and not up the chimney. Plus you could cook on top of the stove

They may have been referring to wood burning no?

I don't know. Our house is 34 years old and is drafty as hell. Needs windows for sure and probably better wall and attic insulation.

We have a fireplace with gas logs in our main living area and use the hell out of it when it's cold. It's hard to get our house evenly heated and this seems to really help. I don't think it's a net drain on heat.

Quote:

---

3- MYTH: Fireplaces make a room cooler, not hotter

FACT: This is true…but there's a catch

Here's how this myth came to be:

Some fireplace heat goes up the chimney and not into the room.
Wood needs oxygen to burn which draws warm air out of a room.
However, there are ways to combat this myth.

Installing a new, energy-efficient wood fireplace, gas fireplace, or fireplace insert also helps retain heat.

---

https://stamfordfireplaces.com/common-chimney-and-fireplace-myths-debunked/

Ours definitely heats up the room it is in. I doubt that it is any kind of modern fancy fireplace, either.

Apache said:

---

Something like that. I figure having the stove out of the fireplace box allows more heat to radiate out into the living room and not up the chimney. Plus you could cook on top of the stove

---

I have wondered about something like that too. Part of the problem would be where the feet are on the stove. I dont think you can put it down in the floor but my cheesy fake modern fireplace has a 2 inch thick brick hearth I could set a wood stove on if it's skinny enough