Preparing for Winter and Colder Weather

[Neb]

Somehow, when the house is 68 degrees with the propane furnace, I'm cold. When the house is 68 degrees with the woodstove, I'm toasty. Only problem, I'm old and it is getting harder to harvest firewood.

Use a humidifier.

Our sense of hot and cold is actually how effectively we can regulate our body temp. In winter the air is dry so preparation evaporates quickly cooling the skin. The inverse is true in the summer when the humidity is high.

So try a humidifier in winter.

Ben

 

[Caribou]

Somehow, when the house is 68 degrees with the propane furnace, I'm cold. When the house is 68 degrees with the woodstove, I'm toasty. Only problem, I'm old and it is getting harder to harvest firewood.

In the summer I'm comfortable with the thermostat set at 66º or 68º. In the winter I want 72℉. That is because of what is termed, 'felt warmth.' In the summer the walls are radiating all the heat from the sun hitting the house walls and roof. You don't just feel the room air you feel all the radiant heat from the walls, the furniture, and everything else in the house. In your case the wood stove is radiating tons of heat that not only you are absorbing but your furniture, and everything else, absorbs and radiates back at you.

This is one reason that in floor radiant heating saves money, you turn down the thermostat.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Got the winter tires on the vehicles and did maintenance on the wood boiler and the 4 furnaces this place has. They are almost 40 years old and built old school brick****house commercial.

We use one or two at a time just to keep the pipes from freezing up before the temps get into the really low double digits. When that happens we use the wood boiler. We keep the house pretty cold. Most people will turn blue if they don't have their winter woolies on.

 

[Tim Horton]

In winter the air is dry so preparation evaporates quickly cooling the skin. The inverse is true in the summer when the humidity is high.
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When I lived with wood heat we always kept a big pot of water on the stove to keep the humidity about 30% in the house.. Making lots of boiled dinners, soups, pasta meals helped this as well..

 

[Pearl]

In winter the air is dry so preparation evaporates quickly cooling the skin. The inverse is true in the summer when the humidity is high.
== ==
When I lived with wood heat we always kept a big pot of water on the stove to keep the humidity about 30% in the house.. Making lots of boiled dinners, soups, pasta meals helped this as well..

We keep a big cast iron kettle on our wood stove! Helps a lot!

 

[jazzy]

fleece is my best friend in cold weather.
fleece jacket,vest, tops, socks, sheets, blankets, cap. i think i personally keep that industry alive

 

[Magus]

I like this padded moving blanket myself, it holds in heat but breathes. it's the only thing I've used for two years now. I haven't used a sheet since I went off-grid.

 

[Weedygarden]

fleece is my best friend in cold weather.
fleece jacket,vest, tops, socks, sheets, blankets, cap. i think i personally keep that industry alive

I wear a lot of fleece as well, but not socks.

 

[Caribou]

We keep a big cast iron kettle on our wood stove! Helps a lot!

Kept a bottle of Gran Marnier on the oil stove one winter. Pour a bit into a snifter, take a nice sniff, and then sip on it. That was a nice winter.

 

[Ray1965]

We keep a big cast iron kettle on our wood stove! Helps a lot!

This is going to help a lot of people burning with wood stoves
Pearl if you would like one I'd be happy to send you one.

 

[Pearl]

This is going to help a lot of people burning with wood stoves
Pearl if you would like one I'd be happy to send you one.

I have an older couple that id giving me a 'heat fan'! They no longer can use their woodstove and are looking at assisted living places. I'll try to find a pic of one similar!! And THANK YOU!! If the other wasn't coming my way I would jump on that!!

 

[Ray1965]

I have an older couple that id giving me a 'heat fan'! They no longer can use their woodstove and are looking at assisted living places. I'll try to find a pic of one similar!! And THANK YOU!! If the other wasn't coming my way I would jump on that!!

Not sure how big your place is but they seem to struggle getting results. I'll check in with you, might change your mind after using it. Have a blessed day. Ray

 

[Pearl]

We only have 1800 SQ ft, the stove is in the den (converted garage) at the east end of the house. It's always heated the whole house. I am going to do more reading on the Heat Maxx, looks useful!!

 

[Ray1965]

We only have 1800 SQ ft, the stove is in the den (converted garage) at the east end of the house. It's always heated the whole house. I am going to do more reading on the Heat Maxx, looks useful!!

Oh perfect and thank you. If you have any other questions just let me know. Have a blessed day

 

[Pearl]

Oh perfect and thank you. If you have any other questions just let me know. Have a blessed day

I will definitely be checking in with you again, I appreciate the info!!

 

[Ray1965]

I will to. The Jeep suddenly became the stray whisperer

 

[Pearl]

I will to. The Jeep suddenly became the stray whisperer View attachment 117125

They are going to need names!

 

[Ray1965]

that's all I got

 

[Caribou]

If you have a ceiling fan try setting it to blow upwards (the switch on the side). The hot air will be pushed p roll across the ceiling and down all four walls. This tends to give you a more even heat. Setting the fan to blow down tends to create cold spots, which works just fine in the summer.

 

[Morgan101]

We always "Winterize" our cars. Make sure the oil is changed; fluids are topped off; everything that should be lubricated is lubricated; Winter kits are put back in the trunk. Knock on wood, it has held us in good stead.

 

[Tim Horton]

I always used 2 heat powered fans each on the wood stove and furnace... I don't know how much air they moved, but they made me feel better to see them spinning.. Fans in the area seemed to run from $25 on sale to almost $100 for a high end one.. I could never make myself pay for high priced ones and the cheaper ones seemed to last a little more than a year..

 

[viking]

Use a humidifier.

Our sense of hot and cold is actually how effectively we can regulate our body temp. In winter the air is dry so preparation evaporates quickly cooling the skin. The inverse is true in the summer when the humidity is high.

So try a humidifier in winter.

Ben

That helps but at my age, my body doesn't regulate very good anymore, I can freeze and sweat at the same time, I will say this, there is nothing like a wood stove for warming my bones, I'm so thankful I built a pedestal with a ledge I can sit on with my back to the stove. I have a lot of trees that need to be dropped that I will use to replenish my hardwood firewood supplies, some of those supplies are now many years old and need to be used, the boring bugs have gotten into them but they'll still burn good even if they are a bit punky.

 

[Pearl]

That helps but at my age, my body doesn't regulate very good anymore, I can freeze and sweat at the same time, I will say this, there is nothing like a wood stove for warming my bones, I'm so thankful I built a pedestal with a ledge I can sit on with my back to the stove. I have a lot of trees that need to be dropped that I will use to replenish my hardwood firewood supplies, some of those supplies are now many years old and need to be used, the boring bugs have gotten into them but they'll still burn good even if they are a bit punky.

I thought the freeze and sweat thing was menopause!! Glad I am not alone!!

 

[Caribou]

I thought the freeze and sweat thing was menopause!! Glad I am not alone!!

Two different things with similar symptoms. The elderly loose their ability to control their body temperature. Mom is 95 and wants her room at 80º. Up until recently she liked 72℉.

 

[Aklogcabin]

For me it's getting the new siding on the house so we can get the outside all caulked n sealed up. We bought a new ryobi battery powered caulk gun for 80 bucks. Worth it. And we can get the caulk down into the deeper cracks easier. Then it's drop the transmission in my 76 F-250 and replace the torque converter and seal. Supposed to be clear n cold so cool. Just trying to stay out of the snow. It's an outside project. Then rebuild the plow pump. Then get a new starter motor on the 18hp yard tractor and a toro 44" snow blower. Should work great. I got the tractor free, put a gas line on it n been using it for years. Then neighbor moved n gave me a toro snow blower and rear tiller for it. So for a hundred bucks I can get it all mounted n running. Tune up the old 24" snow blower. Worked when I turned it off but you know how that goes. Got the studded tires on beautiful wifes truck. Gotta get some Christmas lights, happy lights for us with long dark winters. They make nice yard lights
This should get me started. Except for getting 20 2x6 TnG planks painted n put on the snogo trailer. And put new tires on it. I run a couple studded tires on the snogos trailer so it doesn't swap ends as easy. And we can. Probably should paint the trailer at the same time to
Best to not even ever stop getting ready around here. It's a year long job

 

[Morgan101]

I finally got around to putting my Winter bag in the trunk of the car. It was pretty full, so I thought I would do an inentory. OMG!! Did I ever overdo it. Don't know what I was thinking. I had five pairs of gloves and four hats, one scarf, and one balaclava. I trimmed it down considerably, and said a prayer to St Anthony for helping me find all of that stuff.

Now I just have to decide what I want to keep where.

 

[SLC]

I finally got around to putting my Winter bag in the trunk of the car. It was pretty full, so I thought I would do an inentory. OMG!! Did I ever overdo it. Don't know what I was thinking. I had five pairs of gloves and four hats, one scarf, and one balaclava. I trimmed it down considerably, and said a prayer to St Anthony for helping me find all of that stuff.

Now I just have to decide what I want to keep where.

In addition to my winter bag is my mud season gear. Tow straps, winch, boots, mud anchor. Boy, do we get mud.

 

[Morgan101]

In addition to my winter bag is my mud season gear. Tow straps, winch, boots, mud anchor. Boy, do we get mud.

Excellent point. Prepare for the conditions you are likely to encounter.

 

[Pearl]

Looks like we will have our first freeze as early as Sunday night, and most likely Monday night. Maybe with freezing rain. Will be firing up the wood stove for the first time!!

 

[txcatlady]

Looks like we will have our first freeze as early as Sunday night, and most likely Monday night. Maybe with freezing rain. Will be firing up the wood stove for the first time!!

Pearl are you serious? I worked on fence til dark in shorts and tee shirt. You are farther north and west of me, but wow. Maybe I should turn TV on to check weather. Not ready!