Temperatures have been oddly mild, most days, for this time of year. October came in really cold after a scorching summer. November and December….so far bearable, even the wind has let up. That trend seems to be coming to an end this week. With negative numbers in the forecast. I was abruptly woken up at 3:50am by the sound of the roaring wind. At that time the temperature was still in the 20’s. Since sunrise, it has only dropped steadily. The wind is howling across the fields, creating mini snow tornados. Time to stay warm and cozy.
Our main source of heat is a vented propane Empire heater. With settings “night time”, then settings 1 through 9, this time of year it stays mostly at 1, occasionally set at 2 if we’d been outside and chilled to the bone. If the generator happens to be running, we plug in the blower, to help push the air across the room. Another handy gadget we have come across is a heat powered fan. It sets on top of a heat source and as it gets hotter is blows the warm air. No electricity required.
Over night, if the temperature doesn’t drop below 40° we set the heater on “night time”. Cool air and a nice quilt or duvet keeps us plenty warm. Perfect combination for a good nights sleep. Tonight, we’ll be set at 1 and I’m planning on both, quilt and duvet, on the bed as they are calling for below zero temps and windchill. Just to be safe.
Our second source of heat is a wood cookstove. The original stove we had, an old enameled one, I loved. However, it needs some refurbishing done. The rivets on the back, where the firebox is located, started rusting out. One was completely gone and had been for awhile. Having old, oiled wood floors and the idea of stray embers made me nervous. These floors burn quick. In the mean time, we have a smaller antique cookstove. This one has a warming oven, as the other one didn’t.
The newer, old cookstove, took some elbow grease and tweaking. I scrubbed all the rust off with a wire brush (not that there was much), vacuumed the fine dust, cleaned the oven and blackened the exterior of the stove with blacking paste. I then seasoned the cooking surface with cooking oil. Once both jobs were done, I started a fire, to cure the stove. If you ever plan on or need to season a cookstove, do it on a day when you can open ALL the windows. Jesse says it smells like French fries. I disagree. I love fries and they don’t smell like that.
The next thing I need to do, which I still haven’t gotten to, is build a small hearth for the stove to set on. A friend helped me gather some 2 inch thick slate to raise it up (people were short back in the day), but mostly to protect the floor. One of the first fires we had, I noticed embers falling out of the clean out door. When cast iron gets really hot, it will expand and warp. The door no longer fit snug. So back to the hardware store I went. I bought stove cording and cement. Old cast iron cookstoves don’t have cording typically, this one now does, so the door closes completely with no gaps and no more worries.
The next predicament with the old, new stove was our wood. We had wood left over from last year and more delivered early fall. Cut 16 inches in length. The new stove has a much smaller box. Maximum length…13 inches. For the first few fires I dug through the stacked pile for shorter pieces. Then we ended up having to cut every single piece with a battery operated skill saw. That battery tires pretty quick. Talk about tedious work.
I just recently celebrated my Birthday. My 30th, for the 15th time. My wonderful husband who knows my taste and style got me a chopsaw. Yes, it’s exactly what I wanted. I had been working on projects the last few weeks. Skill saws, chainsaws, jigsaw and sawzalls just weren’t cutting it. (No pun intended) The chopsaw was a game changer when it came to the firewood issue. Not only did it make the job quicker and easier, but much safer. So the other day, knowing the cold spell was coming, I filled the rack and cut extra ahead of time. Last thing I want to do is stand out in the unheated woodshed chopping wood in subzero weather.
To be honest, I was hesitant on starting a fire today. I waited and waited and put it off. I’m by nature a pyro. I can start a fire in the rain, without using accelerants (that just pisses me off). I have a great respect for the element. Years ago, the girls and I were here for the weekend in the winter. At the time we had a wood stove, not the propane heater. Late that night the wind picked up, trees bending sideways. I was laying in bed reading, they were fast asleep. I heard this noise. It got louder and louder. It sounded like a train. I got out of bed and the stove pipe coming out of the stove was red. Crimson red. I shut down all the dampers, closed the flue and let the fire smolder out. As I waited for the fire to die down, I lined up boots, coats and knew exactly where my keys were. Just in case. I was scared, but prepared.
This past October, I had another scare. It was a rainy, cold, miserable day. And again….windy. I had started a fire in the other cookstove we had and was carrying on with my daily routine. I thought about running down to our friends camp, who were working on their place, to give them a hand. I tooled around for a few more minutes. Lollygagged really, cause who wants to go out in that nasty weather? Then I heard THE NOISE. The sound you never forget. I walked over to the propane heater, listened. I stepped in front of the cookstove, listened. I stepped behind the cookstove. Thump, thump, thump. I look above my head and the stove pipe is red hot. Almost see though. RIGHT next to the wall.
First thing I did, closed all the dampers and flue. I have never in my life called the Fire Department, but I did that day, right after I texted my neighbors, Mark and Lori, to get to our house “NOW!!”.
The interior walls of the Schoolhouse are tin. As well as the ceiling. Being nearly 200 years old, we had no clue on the condition of the wall behind the tin or even what is behind it. Mark and Lori hurried right up. When I told them what was going on Mark listened, felt the stove pipe, the walls and even went up in the attic (we don’t go up there). I had moved the shelf in front of the cleanout door to the chimney (which holds it shut, so critters can’t come in) so he could check that out. I intentionally didn’t open that beforehand, for the fact I didn’t want to feed oxygen to an existing fire, if there was one in the chimney itself. Chimney was clear. Walls in the attic were cool, as well as the chimney and then eventually the stovepipe cooled.
Living in a very rural area it took 45 minutes for the Fire Department to get to our house. Before Mark and Lori even showed up, I had Willa in the breezeway that went out to the woodshed, so if need be, I could get her from the outside. I figured with our little dog, Charlie, I’d grab him and leave the doors open for the cats. Willa had to be put else where anyways, to let the firefighters in. She’s not always so receptive to people.
Mark was confident I got the fire under control, the firefighters said the same, “You did everything right”. I just wanted to be certain there wasn’t a fire smoldering in the walls.
That situation had me so scared. My adrenaline was full force and my brain in over drive. Once all was said and done, I was having the worst anxiety pains. I felt like I was going to have a stroke, full blown anxiety attack and puke. All at the same time. But in the end…it was a good day. The Schoolhouse didn’t burn flat.
That would be the last fire we had in the old cookstove. When the second stove arrived, we had brand new stove pipe. Even so, I was still hesitant on having a fire. Knowing how fast that happened, once I get a fire going, I’m home to stay.
Then there is MY heat source #3. Not only will I have a quilt and duvet tonight. I guarantee I will have a cat next to my head, one lying by my right shoulder, one on my back and one between my ankles. I will also have an 11 lb rat terrier/ chihuahua to my left and most likely a 140lb St. Bernard/Newfoundland to my right. And of course Jesse in there somewhere amongst the menagerie. The fury ones don’t understand personal space. But then again, there’s no such thing in 400sqft.
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Off-Grid Soul 