DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Conserve your heat: cover your windows with blankets; that's where much of the heat will be lost from your house. If it's 60 right now, even if it drops down to 2 degrees, your house probably wouldn't drop below 45 or 50 with no heat on. It would likely take several days for the inside temperature to drop to below freezing. However, as said above, keep the water running unless you know where all the water lines go. My old house had a waterline running through an exterior wall (idiots). Before the house was insulated, that bathroom was the warmest room in the house. No matter how cool I kept the house, no problems. After I insulated the house, that pipe froze up every time the outdoor temp dropped blow about 10 degrees. (I eventually reran the line.)
Also, as stated above, you can use the stove for heat. But, GET A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR!!!! before you do. Also, make sure the flame is blue. Not "mostly" blue; ALL blue. Any red or yellow flame? Then turn it off. If you're really handy and have nothing better to do, you can get a ventless gas heater & install it. The heaters are about $200ish, plus you'll need to run black pipe for the gas line. Local codes vary quite a bit as far as allowing these. (and it varies from state to state.) Essentially, these are simply natural gas burners that don't vent any gases to the outdoors. If your house is older, no problem. If your house is new construction, well sealed, and well insulated, then you're going to be building up bad gases over time. They should never be used as a sole source of heat (but some people do; out of code; I even think PA allows this, definitely not NY though). I'm going to guess they have some sort of catalyst inside to further eliminate any CO, but that's a complete guess & may not be true. Regardless, they have a safety shutoff that detects the level of CO. If the CO level gets too high, they automatically shut off.
If it were only going to be 48 hours, I'd probably just stick it out. Longer than that & in my old house, I would have installed a ventless heater, especially since they help keep some areas warmer without heating the whole house (for houses without zoned heat), ultimately saving quite a bit on heating costs. But, I'd never install one in a well sealed house. And, I wouldn't put one in my current house because it wouldn't save on fuel bills at all. No natural gas here; I do have a propane tank for my stove & drier, but propane is expensive as hell. Anthracite coal is dirt cheap. Of course, my coal stove requires electric to operate. Else, it goes out.
Also, as stated above, you can use the stove for heat. But, GET A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR!!!! before you do. Also, make sure the flame is blue. Not "mostly" blue; ALL blue. Any red or yellow flame? Then turn it off. If you're really handy and have nothing better to do, you can get a ventless gas heater & install it. The heaters are about $200ish, plus you'll need to run black pipe for the gas line. Local codes vary quite a bit as far as allowing these. (and it varies from state to state.) Essentially, these are simply natural gas burners that don't vent any gases to the outdoors. If your house is older, no problem. If your house is new construction, well sealed, and well insulated, then you're going to be building up bad gases over time. They should never be used as a sole source of heat (but some people do; out of code; I even think PA allows this, definitely not NY though). I'm going to guess they have some sort of catalyst inside to further eliminate any CO, but that's a complete guess & may not be true. Regardless, they have a safety shutoff that detects the level of CO. If the CO level gets too high, they automatically shut off.
If it were only going to be 48 hours, I'd probably just stick it out. Longer than that & in my old house, I would have installed a ventless heater, especially since they help keep some areas warmer without heating the whole house (for houses without zoned heat), ultimately saving quite a bit on heating costs. But, I'd never install one in a well sealed house. And, I wouldn't put one in my current house because it wouldn't save on fuel bills at all. No natural gas here; I do have a propane tank for my stove & drier, but propane is expensive as hell. Anthracite coal is dirt cheap. Of course, my coal stove requires electric to operate. Else, it goes out.
I am staying with my Fiancees parents, my only concern is keeping the house warm enough that the pipes don't all burst, last night wasnt bad, it was around 28 out, but with it getting down to 2 tonight, and windy, I doubt my house can keep enough radiant heat.
I might have found some friends who have a kerosene heater, still waiting for them to call me back if they find it. If they do, all I plan on doing is running it a few hours in the basement to keep the temp above freezing, I don't need to keep the whole house warm.
kerosene heater is your best bet. plus, if you have lots of windows, put blankets in them to create a barrier to keep warmth in and cold out.
i wouldn't recommend heating with the oven or stove, not a good idea. drip your water. unless you have a sustained cold, you should be prety good to go.
but definently look into kerosene.
i wouldn't recommend heating with the oven or stove, not a good idea. drip your water. unless you have a sustained cold, you should be prety good to go.
but definently look into kerosene.
Rubycon
Madame President
- Aug 10, 2005
- 17,768
- 485
- 126
This is possible if the cord is no more than 100 feet. Otherwise it needs to be a heavy gauge in order to prevent the cord itself from becoming a heater. :Q
Electric heaters are 1.5kW - 5121 btu/hr (normal household portable heaters) so heat is going to limited to a small area. Best to direct toward the coldest area where pipes may be exposed. Depending on the heat loss and wind speed outdoors it may or may not be enough to prevent freezing of pipes if placed centrally at the lowest level.
Yellow tips on gas flames is very bad and if this occurs with a proper gas pressure and aspirator in good working order WATCH OUT! The O2 levels would be dangerously low!
Carbon monoxide is poisonous because it turns your hemoglobin into carboxyhemoglobin, a molecule unable to carry oxygen. It gets filtered out after a few hours, so a constant stream of CO would be deadly - it's not the amount (to some extent) but how much of it total over time you're exposed. Also, anything over 667 ppm is bad. (0.667%)
i'm with you. when the power goes out, it sucks. you can always just sit and watch the stove, thats what i do. watching wood burn for hours. only thing about pissing outside in the snow is that after it gets real dark here, the things that eat humans come out and running around in the dark outside is not the greatest idea. especially with your pants pulled down.
Red Squirrel
No Lifer
Best bet is rent or buy a generator and power a few space heaters around the house. Maybe 1 in the living room and another in the bedroom. You'll want to head out and buy a couple heavy duty extension cords if these will be on for a while. Close the doors of the rooms you're not using so the heat is not "wasted".
Or just see if you can plug your furnace (assuming you have gas forced air?) into it so it still runs. (power only needed for blower + electronics so probably wont draw much). You'll probably want to keep the fridge and freezer running anyway so you'll end up needing a generator anyway. Not sure how well a typical generator will do with space heaters though, may need a bigger generator for that.
Also stove uses 240 volts, I've never heard of someone using a gas stove in a house. In a cottage/camper maybe.
Oh and for the pipes just run all the taps slightly. My grandma lives in an old house on the highway and she has to do this most of the year as for some reason the pipe that comes to her house from the city freezes up. Guess it's not deep enough or something. so she has to run a tap.
Given your house will be below freezing I'd run all of the taps to be safe. Or just shut off the main but you have the danger of the main pipe freezing so probably safer to let the water run. You could also shut off the main, drain the pipes, then open the tap at the lowest level of the house then reopen the main slightly. Pour a bit of antifreeze into the sinks too so the water that is in the P trap does not freeze.
Or just see if you can plug your furnace (assuming you have gas forced air?) into it so it still runs. (power only needed for blower + electronics so probably wont draw much). You'll probably want to keep the fridge and freezer running anyway so you'll end up needing a generator anyway. Not sure how well a typical generator will do with space heaters though, may need a bigger generator for that.
Also stove uses 240 volts, I've never heard of someone using a gas stove in a house. In a cottage/camper maybe.
Oh and for the pipes just run all the taps slightly. My grandma lives in an old house on the highway and she has to do this most of the year as for some reason the pipe that comes to her house from the city freezes up. Guess it's not deep enough or something. so she has to run a tap.
Given your house will be below freezing I'd run all of the taps to be safe. Or just shut off the main but you have the danger of the main pipe freezing so probably safer to let the water run. You could also shut off the main, drain the pipes, then open the tap at the lowest level of the house then reopen the main slightly. Pour a bit of antifreeze into the sinks too so the water that is in the P trap does not freeze.
Slapstick
Golden Member
- Oct 11, 1999
- 1,082
- 0
- 0
Yes but keeping the facets open lets the water expand as it freezes and if the pipe does break then there is no water damage.
Depending on the type of house foundation, if you're a a slab the ground heat will keep the water from freezing in the main pipes but those that run from the slab to the facets will freeze so opening the facet will sometime keep damage to a minimum.
If you're a craw space then you really have a problem but I'd still shut the water off if I wasn't going to be in the house over night. Same with a basement. Remember he said he was staying at his girlfriends parents, not going to be home. That leaves out anything with a flame or even a portable electric heater run from the neighbors, too big of a fire hazard.
Depending on the type of house foundation, if you're a a slab the ground heat will keep the water from freezing in the main pipes but those that run from the slab to the facets will freeze so opening the facet will sometime keep damage to a minimum.
If you're a craw space then you really have a problem but I'd still shut the water off if I wasn't going to be in the house over night. Same with a basement. Remember he said he was staying at his girlfriends parents, not going to be home. That leaves out anything with a flame or even a portable electric heater run from the neighbors, too big of a fire hazard.
Most locations in the US have natural gas as an option, so naturally there are plenty of natural gas stoves and clothes dryers.
With electric space heaters, you can just go by straight wattage. Be sure to note continuous and peak ratings on any generator you buy, and give yourself some leeway for best efficiency.
For example, you would probably need a 2000W generator to realistically power a 1500W space heater.
The model I just found was rated at 1800W continous, 2000W peak. So you could run perhaps a light or two along with the space heater if necessary.
Running things like refrigerators and blower fan motors gets considerably more complicated. These devices draw up to 10x their rated current on startup.
The blower fan motor for our furnace uses 7.2A. That's 864W at 120V.
I bet you would need at least another 2000W to start up and run that. So you're looking at a 4500W generator.
500W for the fridge(250W running draw), and you're up to 5500W. Expect to spend about 700-800$ on a decent 5500W generator. Even this probably wouldn't work on its own. ie: it wouldn't start everything at once, with only a 500W surplus.
What I'm trying to say is that a generator has it's place, but it is by far the most expensive option.. lol
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
But, water doesn't compress. If the faucets are open, the pipes won't burst unless they freeze solid in two locations, then freeze between those locations. With the faucet open, as ice forms (which has a higher volume than water), it's able to push that water out the faucet.
OP, if you do drain your water lines, beware of this: make sure your gas to the hot water tank is turned off. Or, if an electric hot water tank, make damn sure you turn off the electric to the tank. If the power comes back on and that tank isn't full, then you get the pleasure of replacing the heating elements.
Shut off the water to the toilets and then flush the toilet to remove the water. I have seen toilets crack due to the water in the bowl or tank freezing.
you could turn off the water and drain all of the water lines, and add some antifreeze. This would fix your pipe problem.
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