My family is doing partial pre-pandemic test run for the next week. We have turned the heat off and are using the woodstove for heat before the weather gets any colder. Growing up my family depended on a woodstove and we put 8–10 cords through it per winter and cut the wood and split it with a maul and wedges. I think it is a good idea to get the kids mental adjustment going early so it isn’t as big a shock if/when the pandemic is on our doorstep.
8–10 cords? YIKES
Homesteader – at 08:53
I keep my wood furnace going from the first of November through March each year. It takes a LOT of wood, and with all of the children gone from the nest DW and I do all of the hauling, splitting and stacking. We do have a natural gas furnace, but the wood furnace keeps it from running much unless it gets really cold. Also, we can keep the house warmer in the winter than we normally could aford.
Even with the wood furnace, I bought a back-up Mr. Buddy propane heater. One really can’t be too prepared.
Hillbilly Bill: Where did you get your Mr. Buddy heater? I looked it up online and I like the looks of it. Have you tried it out? How long can you go on a 1 lb or 20 lb tank, do you know? The prices seem to vary widely online; are there different models or just different markups? (s)
Hubby is setting his heels against a wood stove and I can hardly blame him. It would mean a considerable investment and permanently altering our house. But a MI winter is pretty cold and we have small children; I’m concerned about how well we could do even with a tent inside. This heater might ease my mind and be a nice compromise.
Northstar, I have a mister Buddy heater and they say in the brochere that it will run on low for 6 hours and on high for 3 hours on a 1 pound tank of propane. They also say it will heat up to 200 square feet. So unless you are standing in front of it don’t expect to get to warm. The last sentance is mine not theirs. I have not tried it out yet but expect to within the next couple of weeks. I have a 20 @ tank and 12 1 # tanks right now. If however, after we try it and are pleased we will purchase 4 or 5 more 20 # tanks just for that. We can get them here for 40 dollars apeice. While it is cheaper to buy a couple of larger tanks than the small ones, if I can’t move them then they are not useful to me. I can handle the 20 # ones but the larger ones are too heavy for me to lift. I am hoping to get a job within the next couple of months to save up for a wood stove for next winter. If I do that, then will have the propane for cooking.
As far as a pandemic drill we haven’t had one. I am however, old enoughg to remember having to go to the bathroom in an outhouse, having a wood stove for heat/cooking and taking a bath on Saturday afternoon in the side yard/kitchen depending on how old or cold you were. I think I can manage just fine except for this old body. Don’t want to put too much stress on it if I don’t have to.
We had a few unplanned ones (power outages ) and I learned a lot about what equipment worked (some things were old and either broken or useless), and more about cooking and how much water we blew through. I highly recommend EVERYONE do it, even if just for a weekend. Better to learn now vs in more stressful times.
Not a full-out drill, but put out a kiddie wading pool to collect rainwater yesterday. Even with a little spillage from pouring the water out, there’s a good 5 gallons. Now for some cheesecloth to strain it.
This stuff is different whan you actually do it, than when you’re just planning to do it, as you said, Laura.
Northstar – at 10:14
I got mine from Northern Tool, they had it on sale for $65 a few weeks ago. The figures they quaote are exactly what PBQ said. Not something to heat the whole house, but you could keep one room warm in a dire situation.
blackbird – at 16:35 “This stuff is different whan you actually do it, than when you’re just planning to do it.” Truer words were never spoken!
Goju – at 09:54 “8–10 cords? YIKES!”
I hauled two more truckloads of wood today. Thank goodness I get it at a great price.
My family home was a big old New England Farmhouse that had never seen the first roll of insulation that I know of. It had the original chestnut clapboards on it still. The old oil furnace didn’t make it to the second floor where the bedrooms were. I can still recall the weight of all the blankets topped off with a quilt. It was way before the days of $2000 Vermont Castings and the fancy Catalytic wheely dealies. Just a big old fireplace and a big old wood stove of some sort and a big pile of Maple, Oak, and Hickory to pound through all summer and fall, Ugh! My brother was always a way better wood splitter than me, maybe him being 3 years older helped :)
I was splitting wood today with my son and explaining when to use wedges, maul, big axe and small axe and how to select the wood to be spit for kindling. He said “I guess its getting a little more interesting”. I had to laugh. I told him “if the power goes out it will go from interesting to vital. . .so get good at it”.
Homesteader – at 18:48
My grandad spent a lot of time showing me that knowing which tool to use, and where to put it on the log is much more important than brute force when splitting wood. As an old contractor around here told me once, when you are cutting boards by hand you think a lot more before you do anything else.
I cooked my dinner on a tiny alcohol burner tonight…has a smell, but not unlike the lanterns. It would work in a pinch.
The trick to these is use as thin a pan/pot as you can find, and a lid to condense the heat. Boiled 3 cups of water in 16 minutes using a heavier pan then I wanted….thin pan on list now. Tomorrow, I have plans to fire up the coleman stove and 2 lanterns I have….camp fuel….to make sure they don’t need any repairs. Does anyone know if the coleman stoves that run on Camp Fuel can be run inside the house ? This didn’t come with a booklet, and my memory has let me down on this question…….
I snagged a newer propane Northwoods stove for my mom on Ebay today; 20 bucks including shipping and she can use it in her house without burning the place down………
Doing lamp light tonight; with the exception of this time on the computer.
Word to the wise: Do test runs NOW on all your Machanical things….and allow for about TWICE the time; as on modern gizmos.
Don’t forget LOTS of good potholders and burn gel for the accidents !
Madamspinner - We have a Coleman stove and you have to use it outside. I think most of their equiptment is designed for camping outside.
madamspinner – at 22:05 “Don’t forget LOTS of good potholders and burn gel for the accidents ! “
May I suggest getting some professional silicone mits? I was canning last month and my cloth mitts got wet. I then picked up a 400 degree skillet of cornbread out of the oven and got 1st and 2nd degree burns on my fingers and palm. VERY painful and required a visit to the ER. You have to get a tetanus shot for burns, so a good idea to have one now if you haven’t had one in a while. Putting ointment on the burn stops the pain - it is when the air hits it that it hurts. I was given a special burn gel and pads to put under the dressing. Put extras in my preps.
Ouch! This prepping work can be dangerous. Thanks for the reminder, tjclaw1 and madamspinner.
I use the silicone mitts but find it still gets hot on the thumb. I would also recommend those big barbecue mitts because they are longer up the arm and when cooking over a fireplace, firepit etc you may need them. I did when practicing on my outdoor wood/charcoal oven. Saved me from lots of burns.
I got the long “professional” silicone mitts from Sam’s Club in the restaurant supply section. They look long enough to almost reach my elbow (they’re still in the package, though.) They are reinforced in the gripping area, the package says.
I used welding gloves the only time I’ve ever had to cook in the fireplace—covered up my arms & kept me from singeing my arm hair! I’m scared of burns!
Oh, I also have leather pot holders for my cast iron cookware.
There is a type of glove that I purchased in the housewares section of Walmart that may be of interest. It looks like a knit beige glove, about two or three satiny thicknesses, that is safe up to 480 degrees. They are about $15 for one glove. It’s great when I am working around super hot embers in the wood stove or have a particularly heavy load in the cast iron skillet that I need to work with. No chance of a finger slipping off the pad and getting burned like in the past and it makes tasks like moving the oven shelf (after it’s already hot) much safer and easier. These may be a modified form of welder’s glove, very cool! (bad pun!)
Just don’t use it for pots with hot liquids-it might slosh over and go through the knit, and it would be even more painful to peel off the glove. (I’m imagining this-I haven’t used my single glove yet.)
Fireplace gloves - heavy - cover almost up to the elbow - can pick up a burning log.
Did I mention I can juggle? ARRGGHHH