Bub381
Minister of Fire
Understood Dennis,on both accounts. Just don't go chasing her around anymore than ya have to,we're not gettin any youger. ;-P
raybonz said:Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!
Ray
fire_man said:raybonz said:Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!
Ray
Ray: I have been thinking the same thing! Seems the colder it gets, the better their stoves heat those super insulated Alaskan houses. Even the Progress has been wimpering some. I think it's time to get ahead on some 22" logs, no more of these wimpy 16" splits!
Backwoods Savage said:Maybe that is why I've been having such a difficult time catching her lately....
raybonz said:Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!
Ray
lopi said:Last cold snap we had a low of 9 degrees and my lopi liberty kept the living room in the low 80's and upstairs right at 80 degrees.
NATE379 said:Nothing fancy here, R60 attic and R21 walls.
My brother lives in a ~100 yr old farm house in Maine. It's not a whole lot bigger than my place, but it's almost as bad as heating the outdoors. The old oil fired boiler that was in there was big enough to heat a large warehouse.
raybonz said:Have single digits here and it's been windy and keeping up so far.. The Alaskans on the forum in particular North of 60 must have some serious insulation to stay warm at -50 is all I can say! Seems that blown in foam is the best way to go to eliminate drafts and get high R-values in less space.. There is no way I could keep this house warm at -50 no matter what stove I had in this house!
Ray
I came late to this one but yes last Friday through Sunday morning was just plain brutal in Ohio. I was off work (good thing) and kept the stove fired hot but there was no winning over the elements. We too woke to 58 degrees on the first floor. Basement where the stove it was pretty warm but the rest of the house suffered bad. Went and got the 100lb propane tank refilled but even the furnace struggled to get it to 65. Just too many BTU losses.OhioBurner© said:Well sat-sun was bad since it was cold and I was working nights and the family is out of town. I load the stoves shortly after 4pm, leave the house by 4:45pm and get home at 6:45am. Crammed full with pretty much just black locust, and I still have to start both stoves from scratch in morning. Propane set to minimum 55º but its off a little, comes on ~58 if its not windy, and the last couple monrings when I walked into the house the propane was running and the temp was 58.
If I ever build a new house I'm going to consider one of those masonary heaters or something like that. Having to relite every morning after work and come home to porpane burning and still only 58º really sucks.
vixster said:This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.
Flatbedford said:I think that my stove not being able to keep up with single digit temps is about the same as my central A/C not being able to keep up with triple digit temps. These are rare conditions for where I live. My setup is pretty good with the usual temps and needs some help with the extremes. A stove that could keep my house comfy in single digits would roast us out most of the heating season. I have a furnace and I am not afraid to use it from time to time if need be. I do like to not use it, but I will if I have to.
Backwoods Savage said:FGZ said:Tonight is our second night of ~9deg F here in NE MA. We've only had one other night of single digit temps and I had a similar experience: I can't keep the house up to temp like I can above 20. So I'm at about "single digit temps - 3, Jotul C450 - 0"
This year is much better than last, with several insulation improvements including rim joists in the basement and insulating the attic fold-down stairs. My energy audit told me about those. I have some further refinements in the insulation dept but these were the biggest. Also I have a lot better store of wood, dryer and more of it. These have all added up to very little oil used since our tank was filled in Oct, and the mild winter has helped a lot too. Single digits have me beat though.
Today I have burned hot and heavy trying to catch back up, and finally got the bedroom temps to go from 62 to 64. Reloading quicker than usual and keeping the fan on high have helped. Here are some future updates that are sure to help: need a block of plate, OAK might keep the outside air out better, and plug more small insulation holes.
I've been wrestling with whether or not I have a big enough insert (Jotul C450), and am fairly convinced I'm big enough once I incorporate the rest of my projects. My house is only about 1200 sq ft and not the greatest layout for wood heat. But I can hit 80* if it's over 20* out, and not drop below 65 during the overnight burn, so a bigger stove would just be too hot and eat more wood. The longer overnight burn would be nice, but I'm steadily getting the trick of extending my overnights.
How well are you fairing? What tricks have helped you overcome those handful of REALLY cold nights, when otherwise your stove keeps up just fine?
That is strange that you can't heat a 1200 sq ft house better than you are even if you get below zero.
FGZ said:vixster said:This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.
Have you considered spray foam from the outside to fill the walls? I don't think the holes are too intrusive and it seems like they would be able to patch them back up easily with stucco. I can't imagine no insulation in the exterior walls, I'm surprised your response wasn't "OMG WE'RE BEING PUMMELED!" lol
@FGZ
FGZ, yes, I have looked into this. Because of the structure, the holes would be every 12 inch top and bottom, because of the horizontal posts. I also have been told that the holes look obvious. Do you know anyone who has done so with plaster / stucco walls? Home was built 1917.. I would be interested in do it if it looks good.
vixster said:FGZ said:vixster said:This house has NO insulation between the stucco and plaster walls. The plaster has a nice warm heating effect so I don't want to rip the walls open and replace with sheetrock. Plaster just gives off a lovely warmth it retains.
Have you considered spray foam from the outside to fill the walls? I don't think the holes are too intrusive and it seems like they would be able to patch them back up easily with stucco. I can't imagine no insulation in the exterior walls, I'm surprised your response wasn't "OMG WE'RE BEING PUMMELED!" lol
@FGZ
FGZ, yes, I have looked into this. Because of the structure, the holes would be every 12 inch top and bottom, because of the horizontal posts. I also have been told that the holes look obvious. Do you know anyone who has done so with plaster / stucco walls? Home was built 1917.. I would be interested in do it if it looks good.
I had this done in 2007. If done by a reputable company, the patches are invisible. They have kits where they can match up any concrete. I am sure you do not have plaster on your exterior, but if your stucco was painted, I am sure they might be able to match that, too. Best thing is to talk to the company who will be doing the job. This is not a do it yourself project.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.