38 degree house

[baseroom]

We left on Sunday to get daughter to college. I leave the forced hot air gas "back up" at 57 when I'm gone. Was in the singles and teens with wind here Sunday through Tuesday night when we returned. Walked in house felt really cold. Checked indoor thermometer 38, checked thermostat, fell off in my hand! I replaced batteries a few months earlier and must not have refastened correctly!! Uh oh. Replaced. But immediately loaded the IR! Burned it hot for three hours and then reloaded for the night. Lots of covers on the bed. This am it was 58 in house. Reloaded and now it is 65 and climbing. 20 degrees wind and snow outside. Very thankful for no frozen pipes, just as thankful for this IR! 2000 sq' colonial. Coming up to temp.

 

[Seanm]

That must of been a shocker walking into a house that cold! Glad to hear there are no frozen pipes. That wood heat must have felt nice as it warmed your house.

 

[TedyOH]

I've had that happen once, now if I go anywhere in the dead of winter for more than a day or two I shut the water main off and relieve the pressure of the water lines (open valves).

Can I ask why you didn't turn the furnace on? The house would have been back up to temp in 2 hours instead of 12.

 

[baseroom]

I did turn the furnace on. Helped to get house to 55 then turned off. It had been three days in the teens and wind. The biomass of the house kept it above freezing but it takes a lot of energy to reheat that from 38..........and I'm cheap and love wood heat!!

 

[TedyOH]

I'm cheap and love wood heat

I hear ya on that but I would have been way too nervous - my thermostat would have been set to 85!

 

[Jags]

Nothing like a trusty old IR at 650 degrees to warm the bones.

 

[Highbeam]

Those are the times when the electric heated mattress pads are worth their weight in gold. Prewarm the bedding and then leave them on low all night while the wood heat warms the house.

 

[baseroom]

That or a bag of hot rocks!

 

[begreen]

I hear ya on that but I would have been way too nervous - my thermostat would have been set to 85!

When the house is 38F or 58F, setting the thermostat to 85F doesn't make the furnace put out any more heat. It works the same set to 65F as it does set to 85F.

 

[TedyOH]

True but 85 will heat / thaw the pipes inside the walls quicker than 65 will

 

[begreen]

Ah, I get you. If water wasn't flowing then that would be a different matter.

 

[TedyOH]

Yes that's what happened to me.

 

[baseroom]

We were very fortunate! Only damage was some basil plants I grew from cuttings..........guess it hit freezing close to the window! Anyway its 22 outside now, The IR has been churning all day..........life is back to wood burning normal!

 

[xman23]

At our cabin, we drain the water and leave the thermostat at 40. For years we would arrive and turn up the electric heat and crank the wood stove. The rise was about 3 degrees an hour. Even with the electric blanket it was a cold Friday night. Now the programmable thermostat turns the heat up to 65, 8 hours before we get there.

 

[heavy hammer]

Years ago I remodeled my second living room the room with the woodstove. The day we opened up the 17 foot by 8 foot opening to the outside it was zero degrees. Me and my father were taking out two six foot old glass sliders and rebuilding a new wall with a outdoor French door. Like usual nothing went right and like twelve hours later we were all sealed back up wall built door in insulated etc. the house was down to 43 degrees. It took forever to get back up to temp. I'm glad nothing bad happened when you walk into that cold of a house it makes for a long cold nervous night.