Posted: 10/31/2011 9:47:45 PM EDT
| So I have a gas furnace and two gas fireplaces. What are my options for back up winter heating. Thinking about the Mr Heater Buddy, it's an indoor safe heater that, using an adapter hose, I can run to a gas grill propane tank. I keep a few tanks since I consider my grill a back up for cooking. What are my other options, kerosene maybe? |
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There is one fireplace that could be possibly switched to wood burning. I looked into it last year when there was a $3500 tax credit for purchases a long those lines. All bids were over $10,000. Ouch.
Maybe a dumb question, is it possible to light a gas fireplace, or range, by hand, when the power is out? Does the gas flow? |
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Gas furnace and two gas fireplaces? I think the best backup is a wood burning stove which can provide heat and a means to cook. If thats not a possibility, being so heavily reliant on gas, your best bet may be an extra 1000 gal. tank for more gas storage. This |
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There is one fireplace that could be possibly switched to wood burning. I looked into it last year when there was a $3500 tax credit for purchases a long those lines. All bids were over $10,000. Ouch. Maybe a dumb question, is it possible to light a gas fireplace, or range, by hand, when the power is out? Does the gas flow? Yeah, just use a match. Back in a day gas cook tops did not have an electric igniter, we used matches. Seriously, gas supply will not be shut down in case of power outage, I think you got yourself covered, the only way a gas line will be not supplying you with gas, is if there is an earthquake and the gas line is busted. If you still feel like you need something else, get a wood burning stove.. |
| We are on natural gas...but if the grid would get hit hard then the pumps that send the gas across country would be down and then...no natural gas. We have a propane ventless heater in the basement which can heat our whole house easily. (We have a small house) We have about a 110 gallon tank. The thing about propane is that it will not go bad and just sits there in the tank till you need it. We are keeping our eyes open for another tank that size so it will run us an entire winter if necessary. |
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We are on natural gas...but if the grid would get hit hard then the pumps that send the gas across country would be down and then...no natural gas. We have a propane ventless heater in the basement which can heat our whole house easily. (We have a small house) We have about a 110 gallon tank. The thing about propane is that it will not go bad and just sits there in the tank till you need it. We are keeping our eyes open for another tank that size so it will run us an entire winter if necessary. http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/transport.asp Natural gas supply does not depend on the "grid" The compressor stations "Pumps" create their own electricity from? - you guessed it "Natural Gas" So the supply of Natural Gas will not seize due to a power outage, even a prolonged outage, unless someone shuts down the pipeline or that pipeline is fractured. |
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We are on natural gas...but if the grid would get hit hard then the pumps that send the gas across country would be down and then...no natural gas. We have a propane ventless heater in the basement which can heat our whole house easily. (We have a small house) We have about a 110 gallon tank. The thing about propane is that it will not go bad and just sits there in the tank till you need it. We are keeping our eyes open for another tank that size so it will run us an entire winter if necessary. http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/transport.asp Natural gas supply does not depend on the "grid" The compressor stations "Pumps" create their own electricity from? - you guessed it "Natural Gas" So the supply of Natural Gas will not seize due to a power outage, even a prolonged outage, unless someone shuts down the pipeline or that pipeline is fractured. From your source Compressor Stations As mentioned, natural gas is highly pressurized as it travels through an interstate pipeline. To ensure that the natural gas flowing through any one pipeline remains pressurized, compression of this natural gas is required periodically along the pipe. This is accomplished by compressor stations, usually placed at 40 to 100 mile intervals along the pipeline. The natural gas enters the compressor station, where it is compressed by either a turbine, motor, or engine. A Compressor Station Source: Duke Energy Gas Transmission Canada Turbine compressors gain their energy by using up a small proportion of the natural gas that they compress. The turbine itself serves to operate a centrifugal compressor, which contains a type of fan that compresses and pumps the natural gas through the pipeline. Some compressor stations are operated by using an electric motor to turn the same type of centrifugal compressor. This type of compression does not require the use of any of the natural gas from the pipe, however it does require a reliable source of electricity nearby. Reciprocating natural gas engines are also used to power some compressor stations. These engines resemble a very large automobile engine, and are powered by natural gas from the pipeline. The combustion of the natural gas powers pistons on the outside of the engine, which serves to compress the natural gas. I remember reading (maybe here) that new EPA regs make it harder to use natural gas turbines and many compressor stations are being switched to electric pumps that rely on the grid. |
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Some compressor stations are operated by using an electric motor to turn the same type of centrifugal compressor. This type of compression does not require the use of any of the natural gas from the pipe, however it does require a reliable source of electricity nearby. Also, the use of electrically-driven pumps is increasing, due to tightened EPA restrictions on gas turbines - which means that the vulnerability of natural gas service to power outages is likely to increase in the coming years. |
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We are on natural gas...but if the grid would get hit hard then the pumps that send the gas across country would be down and then...no natural gas. We have a propane ventless heater in the basement which can heat our whole house easily. (We have a small house) We have about a 110 gallon tank. The thing about propane is that it will not go bad and just sits there in the tank till you need it. We are keeping our eyes open for another tank that size so it will run us an entire winter if necessary. http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/transport.asp Natural gas supply does not depend on the "grid" The compressor stations "Pumps" create their own electricity from? - you guessed it "Natural Gas" So the supply of Natural Gas will not seize due to a power outage, even a prolonged outage, unless someone shuts down the pipeline or that pipeline is fractured. From your source Compressor Stations As mentioned, natural gas is highly pressurized as it travels through an interstate pipeline. To ensure that the natural gas flowing through any one pipeline remains pressurized, compression of this natural gas is required periodically along the pipe. This is accomplished by compressor stations, usually placed at 40 to 100 mile intervals along the pipeline. The natural gas enters the compressor station, where it is compressed by either a turbine, motor, or engine. A Compressor Station Source: Duke Energy Gas Transmission Canada Turbine compressors gain their energy by using up a small proportion of the natural gas that they compress. The turbine itself serves to operate a centrifugal compressor, which contains a type of fan that compresses and pumps the natural gas through the pipeline. Some compressor stations are operated by using an electric motor to turn the same type of centrifugal compressor. This type of compression does not require the use of any of the natural gas from the pipe, however it does require a reliable source of electricity nearby. Reciprocating natural gas engines are also used to power some compressor stations. These engines resemble a very large automobile engine, and are powered by natural gas from the pipeline. The combustion of the natural gas powers pistons on the outside of the engine, which serves to compress the natural gas. I remember reading (maybe here) that new EPA regs make it harder to use natural gas turbines and many compressor stations are being switched to electric pumps that rely on the grid. Thank you for pointing that out. |
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We are on natural gas...but if the grid would get hit hard then the pumps that send the gas across country would be down and then...no natural gas. We have a propane ventless heater in the basement which can heat our whole house easily. (We have a small house) We have about a 110 gallon tank. The thing about propane is that it will not go bad and just sits there in the tank till you need it. We are keeping our eyes open for another tank that size so it will run us an entire winter if necessary. Like I said, you can't rely on the natural gas pipeline. When Y2K came around our utility company had the propane-air peak plant up and running a couple days before injecting the mixture into our take station for our small city. They were expecting to eventually loose our gas supply if Y2K became a reality. Not ONLY because of the electric run compressors but because so much our natural gas system is monitored and run by computers too. They also had a plan in place and knew approximately how long it would take to bring the city back on the gas system and get all the customers relit....How do I know this, I work for this utility as a gas utility journeyman and was one of the operators of our propane peak storage plant. |
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Read up on your specific model for lighting pilot light s when the power is out. I had one old propane stove where the pilot in the oven needed to be lit if you were doing anything on the stove top. I would cut out one of your natural gas things and turn it into a propane setup. Just disconnect the line and research what is needed to change it to propane, usually just a jet change but can vary depending on what exactly you have. And you might need to have a professional do it to code depending on where you live and what not. You then have natural gas if it works and if not you have propane. I like kerosene tower heaters and I like portable propane buddy heaters as well. I do like wood stoves but when it comes to wood stoves I also think you need to either have a heck of a stash of wood or your own woods to get firewood from. |
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So I have a gas furnace and two gas fireplaces. What are my options for back up winter heating. Thinking about the Mr Heater Buddy, it's an indoor safe heater that, using an adapter hose, I can run to a gas grill propane tank. I keep a few tanks since I consider my grill a back up for cooking. What are my other options, kerosene maybe? We've been heating an insulated container for a couple yrs with a 12,000 BTU RV propane furnace. It uses very little power at 12 volts to operate the blower and control. About an amp. The only problem we had was a couple blower motor bearings started squeeking, but -knock on wood- this one's been doing good for abt a year. When we're not here we leave the thermostat set to abt 42 degrees. The first Tstat was a mechanical one with exposed points. It failed when it burned the anticipator resistor open. Since then I only use Honeywell mercury T-stats, the round ones. The electronic ones have also proven unreliable, the mercury ones are bulletproof. You need to exhaust the combustion products but that is easily arranged. At the moment the temp is in the teens and just 12,000 BTUs [gas input rating, less heat is being dumped into the container] is maintaining abt 70 degrees. We usually don't run it that high but we are chilled from working outside and also trying to warm up the sleeping area. Once we turn in, I turn the T-stat down to abt 58F or so. |
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Does burning coal in a stove like that produce any long-term health side effects? anthracite coal is much cleaner than your average oil burning furnace. I'd like to have a source of anthracite coal and a coal stove. I need a very small one and don't know where to look. |
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Propane tank for furnace, small Honda generator to run it for a few minutes every hour or two.
Wood heat is the best. Cheap, simple and you can stockpile a season's fuel on-site. Not too comfortable though, with a furnace, and you still need electricity. Can you convert the fireplaces to gasification wood burners? |
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Interesting ideas in here. All my heat is electric, and last winter I had some overnight power outages. Gets damn cold in a short period of time when the heat is off and its -20 outside with 40mph winds. I ended up getting one of the Big Buddy propane heaters and a few tanks of propane. Also got a pellet stove. The pellet stove still uses electricity, but I can run it with my tiny Harbor Freight generator and it saves me about 20% on my heating bill when I let it work to supplement the electric heaters. |