Had to shut off the stove -- too hot!

[pourlepayssauvage]

Amazing what a few hours tightening up the house will do. Last year we bought a small (1100 square foot) house and decided to buy a 10-CPM to heat it with. It did a good job heating last winter but the house was wicked drafty so over the summer I insulated all the external wall outlets, removed an A/C that had been cut into the wall and replaced it with a window, insulated the attic hatch, tweaked the exterior doors so they shut better, and built some interior storm windows using 4mil super clear vinyl and stained 1x2's for frames. What a difference -- these past couple of nights here in Maine we had lows in the low 20's and I had the stove loaded with decent pellets and running on the lowest setting and I had to get up during the night and shut it off -- had the house at 78..too hot to sleep.

 

[john193]

I'd be on fire at 78! Amazing what some insulation and tlc does.

 

[bill3rail]

Good Job! I insulated more before I installed the stove, and before the first winter here. I did not want a baseline of "Holy chit, I can't afford to heat with oil!"
Insulated the attic and basement ceiling prior to our first winter here.
I should look into a house heating audit to see if there are any leaks I can take care of.

Bill

 

[Enigma869]

I'd definitely melt at that temperature. I'm usually shutting my P68 down when I hit 73 or 74 degrees.

 

[rayttt]

Amazing what a few hours tightening up the house will do. Last year we bought a small (1100 square foot) house and decided to buy a 10-CPM to heat it with. It did a good job heating last winter but the house was wicked drafty so over the summer I insulated all the external wall outlets, removed an A/C that had been cut into the wall and replaced it with a window, insulated the attic hatch, tweaked the exterior doors so they shut better, and built some interior storm windows using 4mil super clear vinyl and stained 1x2's for frames. What a difference -- these past couple of nights here in Maine we had lows in the low 20's and I had the stove loaded with decent pellets and running on the lowest setting and I had to get up during the night and shut it off -- had the house at 78..too hot to sleep.

Just do Like I do..Turn on the fan in the bedroom!

 

[USMC80]

actually just back from picking up insulation and weather stripping for my attic hatch.

 

[newbieinCT]

This is such a great post to read! We bought a super drafty old house and we are heading into our first winter. We've only been here a few months but we are frantically tryign to get it air sealed and insulated ASAP. I'm interested to hear more about what you did to build the storms? As much as we love our house, full of light and windows, they are drafty and old. WE don't want to replace them, since they are beautiful antiques but adding storms will definitely help!

We plan to do some of the air sealing/insulation ourselves and the rest of it we are going to bring someone in to complete. This post gives me hope

 

[pourlepayssauvage]

This is such a great post to read! We bought a super drafty old house and we are heading into our first winter. We've only been here a few months but we are frantically tryign to get it air sealed and insulated ASAP. I'm interested to hear more about what you did to build the storms? As much as we love our house, full of light and windows, they are drafty and old. WE don't want to replace them, since they are beautiful antiques but adding storms will definitely help!

We plan to do some of the air sealing/insulation ourselves and the rest of it we are going to bring someone in to complete. This post gives me hope

Here's a couple of pics of the interior storms -- it's framed with 1x2's - nailed on the ends with a 90 degree angle screwed in at each corner to give it strength. Vinyl stapled on and wrapped over each end -- and for the final seal some window insulation cord to cover any little gaps. I found the vinyl at home depot in the section where all the weatherstripping and window insulation is - it's called something like super clear vinyl or poly-vinyl - can't remember exactly - it's 4 mil but still easy to see thru. I found that each piece had to be custom fit as one side or the other of the windows was off by 1/4 to 1/2 inch on the sides and top to bottom. I made them pretty tight so it takes a little push to get them to slide in.



and the attic hatch insulation - which has made a huge difference -

 

[slls]

78 waste of pellets, thermostat.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i say it all the time , there is no greater ROI than insulation!

oh, and yeah, time for a stat so it can do the "getting up and turning off" for you

 

[mithesaint]

2nd all the stat suggestions. 1100 sq ft for a CPM...wow. My CPM does a pretty decent job on my 2400 sq ft. Granted, Ohio isn't as cold as Maine, but my house is a bit drafty too. I added a Skytech 3301P to my stove last year, and it was the best thing I ever did, other than marrying my wife and putting the stove in.