We Are Surviving the Cold

Between work and issues around the house, I have not been able to post anything for a couple of days. Although we certainly don't have as extreme cold as certain parts of the Great Plains, our temperatures have dipped to around 0 degrees F during the last week, with highs only about 10 degrees F higher. This type of cold puts a great deal of strain on vehicles, people, and other equipment.

We have a carousel fireplace that, while probably not as efficient as a wood stove, does a pretty job of heating the house. We use the fireplace to supplement our winter heating, using it during the day as needed, and relying on the central heating at night. A few nights ago, I woke in the middle of the night and discovered that our furnace had stopped working. I was able to get a fire going quickly, but because the outside temperatures had dipped to below zero degrees F., and the inside temperatures had already fallen into the 50's, the best I could do was stabilize the temperature inside the house at 60 degrees during the night.

In the morning, my wife started an electric space heater in the back of the house, while I unpacked and fueled a kerosene heater. Once the kerosene heater was going, we turned off the space heater. Between the fire place and the kerosene heater, we were able to get the house toasty warm. Fortunately, we were able to get a furnace repairman out later that day.

So what I learned is that at extremely low temperatures (0 degrees or less), our particular fire place is not able to do more than stabilize the temperature--it needs to be supplemented by something else in order to raise the temperature quickly and in a significant amount. For important things--like heating--have a couple of backup options. Not only does the "2-is-1, 1-is-0" rule apply, but you may actually need both to work at the same time.