# Heating during a power outage?



## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

With the weather cooling off earlier than normal it's got me thinking about what to do this winter in case of a power outage. We have a kerosene heater that we can use, but are there other options that I should be aware of? 

TIA


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I believe a woodstove should be the most basic prep for anyone...basic and useful no matter the situation.
a good used stove or a simple cheap box stove at northern tool for under $200...spend your money on a safe chimney.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

In case of extreme emergency, I have closed off all rooms and huddled in a single room with candles and oil lamps. In an emergency 3 of us stayed warm in 20 degree temps overnight. We actually got warm enough to unwrap from the heavy blankets. I wouldn't want to do it again so I now have various forms of heat, but for those caught unprepared, it's a way to keep from freezing to death. 

A good backup heater is a unvented propane heater. They come in several sizes, and a 6 burner will heat several rooms. My son used to use the little camper fuel tanks for his. One 8 gallon tank lasts him 2 weeks. 

I know there's been a lot of discussion about the safety of unvented heaters, but I used 3 of them in my house for 20 years with no problems.


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## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

When I was living in the city in an apartment that only had electric heating, I bought two little Coleman propane heaters that are designed for use in ice-fishing huts, like this one:
Amazon.com: Coleman SportCat PerfecTemp Catalytic Heater: Sports & Outdoors


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

A wood stove and heavy blankets. Also an ability to close off every doorway (either with a door and towels rolled at the bottom, or blankets hung) is the easiest in my opinion.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Spinner's suggestion is a good one. I've had to close off one room by nailing up blankets over the doors and managed with lots of clothes, blankets, lamps, and candles. I live in a very old mobile home and am not at all comfortable with a wood-burning stove in here, plus it would take a lot of modification to even support it, so I haven't gone that route, though sure wish I could.

I have a kerosene heater, and I also have a Big Buddy indoor-safe propane heater (backups for my backups, lol). My cook stove is also propane, so I can use the burners for heat too if necessary. My water heater is also propane, so I still have hot water, which seems like heaven when the power is out. 

However, if it's really cold or you're by yourself (more bodies equal more heat) you could make a tent-like structure by draping blankets over a table or the backs of chairs and stay inside it as much as possible. One body would keep a small area like that fairly warm. Put a throw rug or another blanket down on the floor for added insulation.

Hope this helps. I live in Oklahoma, where we regularly have huge ice storms and lengthy power outages.


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## barefootboy (Sep 30, 2012)

I use a ceramic heater that uses 1lb propane cans in case of an emergency. The cans are 2 for $6 and the heater cost me $35. I can even refill the cans from my 20 lb propane tanks for the grill. That's combined with reflective blankets, crocheted blankets, and bundling up in a well sealed room, but allowing for ventilation.
Worst case scenario calls for settng up the 2 person tent on the bed , then hanging "bed curtains" of old blankets with the reflective blankets to the inside from hooks from the ceiling.
Wood stoves are great ideas, but not always do able for many reasons.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

It is hard to beat a wood stove.


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## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

We just picked up a wood or coal burning kitchen stove. It is a "Country Charm". working great so far, but temps really arnt that low yet.


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## mommathea (May 27, 2009)

That's why we just put in a wood stove!

We have a kerosine heater that can be used inside, but it gives me a headache.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I have a small electric fireplace and a 2000 watt generator. This cottage is all electric heat. I wired 2 outlets to a generator plug seperate from the regular power. 1 in the kitchen and 1 in the livingroom. Nice to have generator power during a power outage.....James


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

My mother used to live in a all electric home and when the power went out for a week she went to the storage shed and got a small propane bathroom heater and a 20 LB tank from the grill and set it up in her living room kitchen area. Had no way to cook but she did was she cooked on that bathroom heater. She even made cornbread and soup or stew on it.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks. I don't think my DH will let me get a wood stove for the house we are currently in. I definitely need to check into the propane heaters, a backup in case I can't find any kerosene.

We haven't had a long term power outage in several years, but the last time I closed off all the bedrooms and hung a blanket over the doorway going into the kitchen. This just left the living room and bathroom. The bathroom is small, 25 sq ft at most, so I figured it was a fair trade off so our butts didn't freeze. LOL 

I forgot about the heat that comes from the oil lamps. I have several of them that we would have lit in the evenings too. For some reason this reminded me that I need to get our cards and games put in a convenient location so that the kids don't go crazy.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

We have a backup generator but we went on and replaced the old woodstove with a new one. We've heated with wood for years and it's hard to give up that security.


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## Laura (May 10, 2002)

I've always had a woodstove except for a few houses. When the kids were little I fed the sugar and let them bounce off the walls. It warmed the house up real well.


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## PFS farmer (Sep 25, 2012)

Freezing is almost the least of my worry down here, but I like the idea of closing off rooms and everybody gather in one with candles and a wood stove would probably be the last possible resort.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Wood stove. 

But, besides a wood stove - this is going to sound nuts but three years ago we bought five really cheap fuzzy gross tacky bathrobes from Target. They were so fluffy and puffy it was silly. We bought them for robes when we go outside to the Hot Tub. I do not know what they are made from but they are so warm it is amazing!

Find some really big huge fuzzy bathrobes and wear them on top of your clothing. That is what I do now - sometimes I wear the bathrobe outside to do chores. I look like a total maniac but I am warm!


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

One heat source only is trouble..... especially if it's not 'on site' (electricity/gas). I like the idea of having several bomb proof sources available. We have some portable electric heaters (for the kennels). Natural gas heaters for the house (guaranteed gas source> it's in my back pasture 1/2 mile away), and a wood burning stove. Also a portable propane stove or two.

Most importantly, have multiple sleeping bags and stacks of blankets, throws, etc. 

Heat is not required for survival.... if you put on correct clothes and sleep in a sleeping bag, you can go below zero without issues (unless your an infant, and I know some that have went on winter camping trips and slept in bags)... So, if the heat goes off in a blizzard, pull down your backpacking sleeping bag, slide in and enjoy the warm fuzzies...


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

We have a wood stove, and a LP furnace is more of if the wood stove doesn`t keep up. We also have a generator just in case, milking cows by hand is not an option. Our wood stove will heat three rooms down stairs very well, so we will not freeze. It is all we have had going this year so far, no furnace on yet. > Thanks Marc


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Our weather just turned cold. Hubby fired up the wood stove. It heats the house, and I can cook on it. You can't beat that!


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## barefootboy (Sep 30, 2012)

I totally agree that a wood stove is great, especially since I live at the foot of the mountain and the forest is yes than 100 yrds away. It is on my "to get" list.
But, for folks like me who don't have the $$ or maybe the situation that would allow it, the propane heaters are a reasonable, safe, economical option. There is no liquid like kerosene to spill and be a fire threat, no oil lamp the kids or pets might knock over. It does have risks with ventilation and possible gas leakage, but they are less than with liquid fuels.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

Yes, the propane heaters can be a safe alternative to a wood stove. Can you find a way to store the heat more? Can you set some stones or concrete blocks around the propane heater? The stone/block's thermal mass will help hold the heat longer.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

texican said:


> *Heat is not required for survival....* if you put on correct clothes and sleep in a sleeping bag, you can go below zero without issues (unless your an infant, and I know some that have went on winter camping trips and slept in bags)... So, if the heat goes off in a blizzard, pull down your backpacking sleeping bag, slide in and enjoy the warm fuzzies...


This is correct. I know Because i do winter camping.

The only thing I would add is Carbs and Fat are.

And as others have said situating your self in a small area helps.

You would be surprised how warm a small tent setup with a windbreak and straw base will stay with just one body in it.

If you have a large family, you could easily warm a small room. Just with body heat.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

calliemoonbeam said:


> I live in a very old mobile home and am not at all comfortable with a wood-burning stove in here, plus it would take a lot of modification to even support it, so I haven't gone that route, though sure wish I could.


When we lived in a leaky mobile home (in a region that gets cold winter wind!) we did two things that helped. We took the paneling off the walls in the living room and put up plastic sheeting and then put the paneling back up. Kept the wind from blowing through the walls....we had enough plastic and man-made materials in the house already that a few more sheets of plastic was not going to make it any more toxic if it caught fire.

The other thing we did was turn the dryer in the winter to blow into the trailer. Warm moist heat! Every morning we'd start a load of laundry and head out to school (we were in college....married and worked part time - IE no money). When we came home we were already warm, so we'd make dinner and eat. About an hour after supper we'd start getting cold.....so we'd shift the laundry to the dryer and let it run. Kept it warm enough to get us through studying. We kept the furnace set to 60....but anyone that lives/lived in trailer knows that is not the air temp, lol.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks OD! You're right, when I first moved into this trailer you could actually see the curtains blowing in the breeze and hear the wind whistling, lol. I have since added insulation to the walls, ceilings and floors and have caulked every large and tiny crack I could find. I've done the dryer thing in the past too, great idea isn't it? I would also simmer beans, soups or chili for hours to help.

I use window quilts in the winter, throw rugs on the laminate floors and a sort of heating pad for your feet (that I found in a catalog) under my desk when needed. With all of that, I'm able to keep my thermostat at 55-60 and stay pretty comfortable and not spend a fortunate heating. If I do get a chill, I use a small electric heater, which helps and doesn't raise the bill much. But I keep the above-mentioned preps in case of power outage too.


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## barefootboy (Sep 30, 2012)

The Army taught us the word COLD 
Keep it Clean Dirty clothes don't insulate as well.
Don't Overheat. Take off layers if you are workking enough to sweat.
Wear it Loose and in Layers It trapps the air for insulation
Keep it Dry Wet clothing and cold is not a good combination.

As an infantry soldier who has been in a sleeping bag without a tent in the German winters, I can say your body heat will do you fine unless it is seriously below zero. Add others, blankets, reflecting blankets and any reasonable heat source in a safely ventilated room, and you'll be OK.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

We have a wood stove and a kerosene heater. We use the kerosene heater during changing seasons to take the chill off in the morning. When it stays cold all day we switch to our wood heater.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

KyMama said:


> With the weather cooling off earlier than normal it's got me thinking about what to do this winter in case of a power outage. We have a kerosene heater that we can use, but are there other options that I should be aware of?
> 
> TIA


In an emergency with no other heat source available, you can always turn on the four burners on your range top (assuming you have a gas stove). If you have a well insulated home that is air-tight, you may want to crack a window a bit for fresh air.


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## OnlyMe (Oct 10, 2010)

I don't know how much you want to invest but after freezing for 10 days last year (freaky snow-tober event) we had the house professionally wired so we could run the furnace & other items off the generator. While the fireplace provided some heat tending it was very overrated. We did it because we had to and could again but we like our little comfort of heat.

Other items you might want to consider are thermal tops/bottoms, heavy sweatshirts, wool socks & hand/feet warmers.


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## Rainy (Jan 21, 2010)

I also have one of the Big Buddy propane heaters,we have sleeping bags, and those handwarmers and feet warmers that you shake and they get hot(awesome for football games) and of course we have cats and dogs and they keep us nice and warm too.


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## ||Downhome|| (Jan 12, 2009)

I was not too impressed with the BB heaters, seemed my kerosene heated so much better.
and cheaper if you dont have the refill adapter.

I had two of the bigger ones which I remember being just over the btus on the kerosene.

I returned them and got the kerosene one. 

I think you get better heat from the air being drawn through rather then just radiating.

I also used a little PC fan and a piece of cast iron on top, which seemed to add a ggod bit to overall comfort!


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

meanwhile said:


> Yes, the propane heaters can be a safe alternative to a wood stove. Can you find a way to store the heat more? Can you set some stones or concrete blocks around the propane heater? The stone/block's thermal mass will help hold the heat longer.


Most propane heaters have fire bricks in them. They hold heat pretty well. Mine is over 10 years old so is not up to the latest standards. DS has one of the newer blue flame type. He hates his. It burns a LOT more fuel than my old one does, and mine is a 6 burner while his is a 3 burner. 

On the subject of wood stoves, I know there are a large variety of styles, but the basic covered box is what I have. It almost totally heats a 9 room house. I have a small 3 burner unvented propane stove in the back bathroom to give that extra warmth needed for bath time. I only fire up that little stove when the temps drop below freezing or like I said, bath time. It really is nice to be warm even with the door closed for an hour or two (sometimes it's nice luxury to soak for a hour or more)  

I have a small wood heater, one of the old fashion ones that is a small case iron flat top box on legs, that I'm planning to put in the back bath. That will let me save my propane for emergencies. This is the little wood stove I use in the outside kitchen during the summer.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

We have an oil furnace. We used to have a woodstove. We finally took it out. Our problem is 10' ceilings. We could not get the heat out of the living room into the other rooms. It would be 80-90 degrees in the living room & the rest of the house was cold. We use a kerosene heater if needed when the power is out & can keep 2 rooms 70 degrees with it. I miss the woodstove, but don't know how to get the heat out of the room. Any ideas?? We do not want to lower the ceilings. We just remodeled & like the high ceilings of our old house. The addition has 8' ceilings.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Wendy said:


> We have an oil furnace. We used to have a woodstove. We finally took it out. Our problem is 10' ceilings. We could not get the heat out of the living room into the other rooms. It would be 80-90 degrees in the living room & the rest of the house was cold. We use a kerosene heater if needed when the power is out & can keep 2 rooms 70 degrees with it. I miss the woodstove, but don't know how to get the heat out of the room. Any ideas?? We do not want to lower the ceilings. We just remodeled & like the high ceilings of our old house. The addition has 8' ceilings.


Air ducts with fans.


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

If the power was out that wouldn't help.


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## groundhogII (Nov 6, 2008)

We also have a woodstove,but no one has mentioned a basement yet. Our basement stays fairly warm even in the winter.


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Currently we use a combination of:
Fireplace
Kerosene Heater
Propane Buddy Heater
Sleeping bags

We broke ground on our new house Thursday which will have geothermal heat/cooling. For this house were adding a woodstove and a 17KW standby generator that runs off propane. 

Chuck


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## davel745 (Feb 2, 2009)

I have a generator back up and a wood stove for when the power goes out.


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## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

When my kids were small we lived in a house in the city. I didn't have money for the gas heat and the gas company shut off their service. It was winter and I hung blankets over windows and doorways. We bedded down in the living room next to the fire place. I burned every piece of wood I could find outside and some old furniture from inside the house. We made it through without freezing.

Before having kids I spent the winter in a wooden shack in the woods where I lived and run out of stove oil but again survived with lots of blankets and warm clothes. I spent more time at the truck stop where I worked washing dishes because it was warm there.

Another time while still single and before kids, there was a tornado in the city where I lived and several days of no power.It was late fall and cold but there I also lived in one room and closed off the others. I dressed warmly and ate whatever did not need cooking.

On our farm the last 27 years we have had many power outages but are fine with our wood stove. Here we hardly notice any difference except now we have a freezer. If the power goes off we wrap the freezer in blankets and sleeping bags.

I have unscented candles and wind up lights and a wind up radio to make things more comfortable and hear what the news has to say. We also go to bed early whether power is on or off in the winter. Always warm there!


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

My nephew was living in Connecticut during the big power outage a year or two ago. His apartment was all electric and there was no way that he was going to a shelter. He was also too stubborn to stay with friends. He did have a propane grill so I told him to boil some water in a pan on the grill and pour it in the bathroom sink. The hot water heated the small bathroom and when it cooled a bit, he was able to wash up.

Edited to add: He was able to cook his food on the grill at the same time, too!


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

when we have power the wood heat is "pushed" with just a desktop fan on low...the north side of our house has 9-10ft ceilings where the woodstove is and the "modular" section is 6-6'6".....even without the fan the heat migrates BUT....

a little thing called a tent fan runs on D batteries or a more expensive ecoFan that moves on the heat of the stove will also be sufficient


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

We have a wood burning fireplace and two cords of wood coming. We have some wood left over from last year that we will burn first. My neighbor is giving me about a cord of wood from trees he cut down when he moved into his home two years ago. The wood is stored in a metal storage shed and is dry and in good shape. He never got around to having a fireplace or wood stove installed.

We have a kerosene heater and a bunch of kerosene lamps and 10 gallons of kersosene. We would block off the doorway to the rest of the house and hunder down near the fireplace.

I have cooked in the fireplace before and have everything I need to cook complete meals. Dutch Ovens; grill grates; cast iron fry pans and all the utensils and welders gloves to do the job. Welders gloves protect you from burns.

We also have a propane camping stove, propane gas Grill and 5 propane tanks. 

We have plenty of flahlight batteries and two 12 volt deep cycle batteries and 12 volt light bulbs as used in motor homes.

Battery powered radios for news and entertainment to stay up-dated about weather and good listening.

As has been discussed in prior threads, "When it gets dark go to bed". Read during the day and do all the chores you can during daylight.

*"Remember to ventilate the rooms you cook in or heat with kereosene or use a lot of candles and kerosene lamps.* :clap


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## vicki in NW OH (May 10, 2002)

We heat with a wood stove and are well supplied with seasoned wood, so no worries there. 

Back in '78, with the big blizzard, my parent's house was without electric for many days, temps well below zero. With no electric, there was no heat from the oil furnace. They kept a room sort of warm with a kerosene lantern and blocking the doors off with blankets. They used the camp stove to cook on. Fortunately, they had a supply of kerosene left from summer camping. My parents weren't preppers in any way.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

When we go camping I buy those hand warmers and toss one, or two depending on temps, into the sleeping bags. They will keep you warm. I have some in both vehicles, the horse trailer, camper and with the camping supplies. They are great for our early morning archery tournaments.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

I'm glad to see some of you mentioned the Big Buddy propane heater. It seems that most of you live in a house, whether your own or a rental. 

For those of us who live in an all-electric apartment building, as much as we would like to, we simply do not have the option of installing a wood stove or other alternate heating systems that are not dependant on electricity. 

So, in an emergency I think having a BB would really be helpful. It's hard to describe how cold you feel when you're on coumadin! _Brrrrrrr_!


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

terri9630 said:


> When we go camping I buy those hand warmers and toss one, or two depending on temps, into the sleeping bags. They will keep you warm. I have some in both vehicles, the horse trailer, camper and with the camping supplies. They are great for our early morning archery tournaments.


I have a couple of boxes of those on hand at all times because I get chillblains from cold temperatures.


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## Win07_351 (Dec 7, 2008)

If you rely on a kerosene heater as a backup, make sure you also have at least 1 spare wick (although keeping several in stock is a better option).


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

calliemoonbeam said:


> ... I live in a very old mobile home and am not at all comfortable with a wood-burning stove in here, plus it would take a lot of modification to even support it, so I haven't gone that route, though sure wish I could.
> 
> ... I live in Oklahoma, where we regularly have huge ice storms and lengthy power outages.


Callie, I'm in OK too, but down south where we don't get ice/snow very often. We do get the power outages often, it must be a state wide problem... :shrug:

Even in a mobile home you can have a wood stove if you build a small heat room off the mobile. A friend of mine did that. He built a small room at ground level with a wood stove and a door to the wood pile. The heat rises so by building the room off a window the heat in the little room would rise up and a box fan in the window circulated the heat into the mobile home. He heats all winter that way keeping his regular central heat as a backup. He saves a ton of money by heating that way.

DS has been thinking about putting a couple mobiles facing each other with a room connecting them. The connecting room could either have a huge (think Bonanza) fireplace or a wood stove to heat the center room and radiate heat to both mobiles. Cheap way to build a huge home... :happy2:


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Wendy said:


> We have an oil furnace. We used to have a woodstove. We finally took it out. Our problem is 10' ceilings. We could not get the heat out of the living room into the other rooms. It would be 80-90 degrees in the living room & the rest of the house was cold. We use a kerosene heater if needed when the power is out & can keep 2 rooms 70 degrees with it. I miss the woodstove, but don't know how to get the heat out of the room. Any ideas?? We do not want to lower the ceilings. We just remodeled & like the high ceilings of our old house. The addition has 8' ceilings.


ceiling fans. reverse them so they blow up in the winter. That circulates the heat to other rooms (at least it does in my house.)


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

> ceiling fans. reverse them so they blow up in the winter. That circulates the heat to other rooms (at least it does in my house.)


We had a ceiling fan & it didn't make much difference. If the power is out they don't work anyway.


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