Emergency heat for renters?

[CarolAnn]

The new issue of Backwoods home has a great article on surviving a huge ice storm - with power lines down.
I realized I'm really not well prepared for that kind of emergency.

I rent a duplex with gas heat, but if the electricity goes off due to an ice storm - then what?

I've looked at propane camp stoves, but they're not considered safe in a house. What's safer - careful use of a propane heater, or freezing without it?!

Is there a better alternative? If it was my own place, I'd have wood heat and a good stockpile of wood. I do have some oil lamps and oil for light - but that's not much use for winter heat in Wisconsin!

[bookwormom]

do you have some friends or neighbors with wood heat? but of course, how to get there in an emergency.

[Spikejerk]

I'd look into the Coleman catalytic heaters. You can safely use them inside. I have one and it works well enough to keep one room warm in an emergency.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5038A850&categoryid=3000

[DavidOH]

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=184966

This is available elsewhere, even wally-world.
$75 - $110 Buy the hose/adapter to use a 20# tank.

Make sure anything you use has this feature:
"Automatic low oxygen shutoff system"

A 20# tank should last you a week.

[Mac_Muz]

You would need to limit an area to heat at best. Most of the time ice storms are at MODERATE TEMPS, about 32', so it isn't really all that cold.

A good wool sweater will get you warm and moving a bit will help.

Some kerocene heaters could help, and you can store 5 gallons, which would be ok for a bit of time.

A good sleeping bag will help too.

I have one each for my wife and I and I can't take it unless it is 0' or colder... I have many other choices for hiking in winter as well.

I also have 4 Aladin Lamps which out put apx 60 watts of light, and run on k-1. I commonly , like now run 2 at a time to heat out bed room, silver bench, art studio, office.

As it gets colder I will run all 4.

IF you gas is bottled propane you can get a generator and have it tun off propane, we do here... That gennie runs a machine shop, this whole house, and so we can run anything when noone else has squat..

I think this is cheating, as I much prefer wood too.. Currently I am trying to talk the LL into heating all the time with wood.

[ozarksnick]

Some friends of mine say they knew a couple that died because of those supposedly safe catalytic heaters.

I had one of those Mr. Heater Buddy heaters when I lived in my camper. Worked great. Now that I'm running into a few snafus getting my wood heat installed I'm really wishing that I still had the thing.

[RobertRogers]

I have a woodstove and two years worth of wood. Been through the ice storm of '98, no problems while the neighbors froze. And you know what? They still depend upon electricity!

[Mac_Muz]

Robert Rogers, No chit! where away in Nor'thern New Hampster? I am in Tamworth twixt wind and wata'.

You a "skinner"? If so we probably know each other face to face... 98 was great huh? No power for weeks in the osspiee ring dike where I was then.... loved every minute of it. Really I did...

One night the last, I woke up and it was quiet.. odd...

peeked outside and the moon was out.. The dirt lane was like a chrystal palace, so I woke my wife and we went walking in the moon light thru a tunnel of ice..

[RobertRogers]

Up north in Randolph - Gorham area near Mt. Washington. Good guess I am from NH

[Mac_Muz]

Oh yeah I can read lumps of coal to tell where everyone here lives....

I have some friends in that area.. Any chance you know what Muster in the mountains is?

I was in that same ice storm up in the Ossipee Ring Dike. I had the best time out that last night with my bride.

Them swamp birches had fallen to make a tunnel, and it was like a chrystal palace. 2 AM not a sound after 3 days of war zone.

Ice storms ain't any problem....

[karlsgunbunker]

Buy a good kerosene heater.
Very low emissions and they heat a large area.
We had one in our prep supplies and had to pull it out and use it when the heater broke this winter.

We fired it up in the morning ran it until bed time and turned it off, just to be safe, kept the house warm all night.
Repeated the process in the morning until the heater was fixed.

[kawalekm]

I use kerosene. I have a Corona but didn't find a link to buy one though. Here's another link from Northern tool.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316426_200316426
If you have a barbeque grill, I'd get the propane one suggested. If you already have a 5 gallon tank for it, you could just swap that out to heat your rooms instead.
Michael

[Swede]

Most of the tragic stories you read about kerosene heaters are the result, if you can believe it, of people reusing an old gas can to to gather and store their fuel in. A residual amount of gasoline gets left in the can, it ends up in the heaters fuel tank, and the heater eventually flares and sets the house on fire.

Placing a heater too close to combustible material, another very common cause of fires, is a mistake common to most types of heating appliances, so its not particular to heating with kerosene.

Get yourself a few good kerosene heaters and keep your kerosene in a container that has only been used for kerosene, and will only be used for kerosene. Remember to keep a few windows cracked for ventilation. Follow the manufacturers instructions and you will be just fine.

There is no reason to be afraid of kerosene heaters. You just need to show them the proper respect.

Swede

[lostinthewoods]

Do I sense a trend here? Wood, kerosene, propane... Please what ever you do, first thing on your list should be a Carbon Monoxide detector! All of these thing give off CO1. It'd be a shame to be nice and toasty warm but none the less DEAD.

Sorry, I'll get off of my soap box. ;D

Kerosene would get my vote. Just be sure to keep about 10 gallons of K1 on hand.


lost

[CarolAnn]

Lostinthewoods - I have a carbon monoxide detector! I had the flu earlier this winter, and got freaked out thinking it might be a furnace malfunction rather than the flu, so I dragged myself to Walmart to buy one before I'd let myself lay down and rest! :P (It WAS the flu - never thought I'd be greatful for that, but I was!)

Thanks all who gave good ideas for emergency heat. I wouldn't need to "crack a window" the way mine fit, I'm lucky if the snow isn't blowing in around them!

[JBinKC]

What is the source of your energy for your stove? In the KC ice storm of Jan 2002 which I lost power for a week I used the 4 burners of my natural gas oven, Since it is a ventless source of heat I also purchased a carbon monoxide detector for safety reasons. My gas stove fortunately was old enough that it did not require electricity to operate it. I was the only house that did not have a generator and also had heat.

[CarolAnn]

My stove is electric -useless in any kind of emergency. Heating is natural gas, not LP, and I guess I could get a plumber to install some sort of small unit that would run from city gas - not sure, though, as a renter that it would be allowed.

Of all the things suggested, for a very short time, and in one room, I guess I could try my gas grill, as it's a very small unit, and I do have the carbon monoxide detector, so I guess I'd use that room. It might take the chill off just enough, and then I'd shut it off again. Although we are presently getting ANOTHER dang snow storm, the problem of emergency heat might be over for this winter, so I've got three seasons to find something safe for the next one. If it's above 30, I'd tough it out with heavier clothing and more blankets.

One way I've heated the bathroom in an emergency - fill the tub with hot water and let it sit and radiate it's heat into the room! My water heater is gas and requires no electricity to operate!

[idealist]

As a much cheaper, yet limited, alternative, at the moment I have a case of 12 military surplus disaster-style emergency blankets (30% wool, 70% fiber). That is what I use during power outages around here until I can install my own wood burning stove (which is in the planning stages).

Here's a source that gives you 3 for 19.97.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ZWB112-390-1395.html

[mtnest]

Our local ACE Hardware has the propane large room heaters approved for heating house spaces. It was running right around $100. Don't know all the details on it but worth looking into.

[jott]

Some personal experience of using a grill for heat, make sure it is clean before you fire it up. I had a friend that lost heat and I said roll that grill in here and it will make the place nice and warm. We fired it up and all looked good then suddenly there was so much smoke we could not see across the room and it was all greasy hamburger smoke, turns out it never got cleaned after the last summer cook out.