gusherb
Well-known member
Our 5 day forecast is still continuing to drop. I just hope it doesn't snow anymore at this point. We got 3-4" today, just enough to make the roads extra extra shitty for Friday rush hour.
How Is Everyone Keeping Warm?
- Thread starter launderess
- Start date
Help Support :
-4 now in the Twin Cities:
Down to -13 tonight and only up to -5 tomorrow. I don't see any relief in the near term. At least we aren't up to our ass in snow. As far as staying warm I LOVE my Heat-N-Glo fireplace.
WK78
Down to -13 tonight and only up to -5 tomorrow. I don't see any relief in the near term. At least we aren't up to our ass in snow. As far as staying warm I LOVE my Heat-N-Glo fireplace.
WK78
arbilab
Well-known member
More Americans are now below freezing than were alive any time prior to 1968.
DFW is no stranger to freezing but seldom for 72 hours at a stretch as forecast Sat-Mon. Could bundle up, sit on the pawch and listen to the pipes break. Codes here ignore extremes, though they occur with regularity. All our TX houses had days when heat/air ran continuously, not quite keeping up. If you wanted it warmer or cooler, tough. Wait.
This 15yo Howard Johnson lookalike retirement poorhouse has already had 3 indoor flood events; two from freezing and one from shoddy construction. No, they didn't upgrade the repairs. So it will happen again. And they don't compensate inma... er, residents, when the building becomes uninhabitable. Renters insurance might. Might otta call them.
DFW is no stranger to freezing but seldom for 72 hours at a stretch as forecast Sat-Mon. Could bundle up, sit on the pawch and listen to the pipes break. Codes here ignore extremes, though they occur with regularity. All our TX houses had days when heat/air ran continuously, not quite keeping up. If you wanted it warmer or cooler, tough. Wait.
This 15yo Howard Johnson lookalike retirement poorhouse has already had 3 indoor flood events; two from freezing and one from shoddy construction. No, they didn't upgrade the repairs. So it will happen again. And they don't compensate inma... er, residents, when the building becomes uninhabitable. Renters insurance might. Might otta call them.
diesirae7
Well-known member
Warmed up to 14 today, felt great, another 6" of snow on top of the 6" we had over Christmas. Spent the day shoveling, only one of the three snow-blowers decided to start and of course it was the smallest of the three LOL. And now its slowly dropping to 1 degree F by 8am. The 50s Lennox furnace is doing fine, lucky I have a small one bedroom house, easy to heat, just wish I had the wood stove installed about now...
My heatpump chugging away-wish my place had GAS heat for these REALLY cold days!Had to fire up my portable 'Lux heater in the TV room while watching TV.The heat from it felt good!
rolls_rapide
Well-known member
Boiler malfunctions
I returned from a few days away, to find that my 'combi gas boiler' was delivering hot water to the taps, somewhat erratically. (Why is it always this time of the year - never during the Spring/Summer???)
One emergency callout later - and lo and behold - it appears the 'annual Service Agent' (a different company) hasn't been doing their job properly. The 'combustion condensate drain' was choked with silt, causing the erratic behaviour. This is supposed to be cleared at every service interval. This is the first time I had seen anyone remove this component for cleaning!
It appears that the condensate drain has to be thoroughly clear and clean, else the boiler shuts down. I remember several years ago during a cold winter, peoples' boilers shut down - because in some cases, their condensate drain went through the external house wall, and froze solid - shutting the eco boilers down. Needless to say 'Ye Olde Fashioned' gas-guzzling boilers were still merrily steaming away.
I returned from a few days away, to find that my 'combi gas boiler' was delivering hot water to the taps, somewhat erratically. (Why is it always this time of the year - never during the Spring/Summer???)
One emergency callout later - and lo and behold - it appears the 'annual Service Agent' (a different company) hasn't been doing their job properly. The 'combustion condensate drain' was choked with silt, causing the erratic behaviour. This is supposed to be cleared at every service interval. This is the first time I had seen anyone remove this component for cleaning!
It appears that the condensate drain has to be thoroughly clear and clean, else the boiler shuts down. I remember several years ago during a cold winter, peoples' boilers shut down - because in some cases, their condensate drain went through the external house wall, and froze solid - shutting the eco boilers down. Needless to say 'Ye Olde Fashioned' gas-guzzling boilers were still merrily steaming away.
xraytech
Well-known member
It’s been in the teens for highs here with lows at near 0 and looks to stay there through next weekend.
Got cold enough to fire up the big old Englander wood/Coal stove. It keeps the house warmer and it keeps the natural gas 1995 ComfortMaker enviroplus90 furnace from coming on much.
Got cold enough to fire up the big old Englander wood/Coal stove. It keeps the house warmer and it keeps the natural gas 1995 ComfortMaker enviroplus90 furnace from coming on much.
To answer the topic question ... 14-years-old Carrier 5-ton heat pump, with a Vornado in the bedroom at night and a Honeywell in the office room for occasional spot-heating.
Boiler Malfunctions
Rolls_rapide,
I hope that your house did not suffer any cold-related damage in your absence. I don't understand about silt in the drain. This is a condensing gas boiler, right? I have never heard of silt in the drain system of a condensing furnace and I am on my second one. The water drains out of my furnace about 5 inches above the floor and into a condensate pump which periodically pumps water up to a standpipe.
Is this silt situation related to dust from the outside being drawn into the combustion chamber and then precipitating out as carbonized particles which they are calling silt?
Hope you stay warm and happy in 2018.
Rolls_rapide,
I hope that your house did not suffer any cold-related damage in your absence. I don't understand about silt in the drain. This is a condensing gas boiler, right? I have never heard of silt in the drain system of a condensing furnace and I am on my second one. The water drains out of my furnace about 5 inches above the floor and into a condensate pump which periodically pumps water up to a standpipe.
Is this silt situation related to dust from the outside being drawn into the combustion chamber and then precipitating out as carbonized particles which they are calling silt?
Hope you stay warm and happy in 2018.
rolls_rapide
Well-known member
rolls_rapide
Well-known member
@tomturbomatic
Thanks! The house was fine ta, nothing to report, other than decidedly cool 'hot' water. The radiators were operating okay.
Our snowy weather has been absolutely nothing like the deposits in Erie, Pennsylvania - that was something else entirely!
Yet our silly news reporters (BBC, ITV, Sky) have all got to make a 'song and dance' out of a few centimetres of snow falling on the UK - and it's not even the whole country like it was in 2009-2010! Honestly, the way they carry on, it's like it's the end of the World. Basically, they see a snowflake fall somewhere, and they panic.
Mind you, our news reporters and presenters in bygone days simply reported the news. Nowadays they have to act it out too - usually at the side of a busy motorway, where it is impossible to hear the dialogue. That irritates me something awful.
Thanks! The house was fine ta, nothing to report, other than decidedly cool 'hot' water. The radiators were operating okay.
Our snowy weather has been absolutely nothing like the deposits in Erie, Pennsylvania - that was something else entirely!
Yet our silly news reporters (BBC, ITV, Sky) have all got to make a 'song and dance' out of a few centimetres of snow falling on the UK - and it's not even the whole country like it was in 2009-2010! Honestly, the way they carry on, it's like it's the end of the World. Basically, they see a snowflake fall somewhere, and they panic.
Mind you, our news reporters and presenters in bygone days simply reported the news. Nowadays they have to act it out too - usually at the side of a busy motorway, where it is impossible to hear the dialogue. That irritates me something awful.
It's getting as low was 35°F here at night which is hysterically described as "Arctic" by some people.
Occasionally, there's a mild frost in the morning and a little bit of ice on the car that clears in about 5 mins if you just start the heat.
Perspective is everything!
Also with regard to snow in Ireland and over in the UK, for the last part it's a rare phenomenon and we don't have the gear to deal with it. Hardly anyone fits winter tyres because nobody needs them most of the time and snow chains are virtually unheard of and totally unnecessary.
We are as far north as Edmonton in Canada but without a continental effect and with the warning gulf stream. So we basically never get anything other than cool temperate.
It's do bloody mild down here on the south coast of Ireland moss never stops growing. So you have to be extremely careful of slates and gutters. It will even grow on your car !!
Occasionally, there's a mild frost in the morning and a little bit of ice on the car that clears in about 5 mins if you just start the heat.
Perspective is everything!
Also with regard to snow in Ireland and over in the UK, for the last part it's a rare phenomenon and we don't have the gear to deal with it. Hardly anyone fits winter tyres because nobody needs them most of the time and snow chains are virtually unheard of and totally unnecessary.
We are as far north as Edmonton in Canada but without a continental effect and with the warning gulf stream. So we basically never get anything other than cool temperate.
It's do bloody mild down here on the south coast of Ireland moss never stops growing. So you have to be extremely careful of slates and gutters. It will even grow on your car !!
polkanut
Well-known member
We're keeping warm with a 5 year old Bryant natural gas furnace w/ a 2 stage blower. Our house has all of the ducts on the inside walls because when our home was built in 1925, it had a coal gravity furnace. Later on, the coal furnace was replaced with a fuel oil furnace. When that one died in 1994, it was replaced with a Lennox natural gas furnace.
I like the 2 stage blower (
) on the Bryant.
I like the 2 stage blower (
The house has electric baseboard heat, and I hate to see the bill when it comes! I don't heat the upstairs except for the bath, and have been keeping the door to it shut when not in use since it's been so cold.
gusherb
Well-known member
The wind kicked up and the temp quickly started plummeting toward 0 around 3 PM. It's currently 2 degrees and falling.
I did a video for YT and nearly froze to death, and that was wearing my super warm puffy down coat that has kept me warm every day this week on my walk. The wind took it from "It's very cold" to "I'm gonna die".
Edit: It's dropping so quick it dropped another degree by the time I hit post.
I did a video for YT and nearly froze to death, and that was wearing my super warm puffy down coat that has kept me warm every day this week on my walk. The wind took it from "It's very cold" to "I'm gonna die".
Edit: It's dropping so quick it dropped another degree by the time I hit post.
Drinking hot tea
herbal--Celestial Seasonings and regular Red Rose by (what seems like) the gallon, and layering my clothes.
This building is two years old, and the Rheem gas furnace and gas tankless water heater are noisy! Does not help that their closet is across the hall from my bedroom.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
herbal--Celestial Seasonings and regular Red Rose by (what seems like) the gallon, and layering my clothes.
This building is two years old, and the Rheem gas furnace and gas tankless water heater are noisy! Does not help that their closet is across the hall from my bedroom.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
lordkenmore
Well-known member
It's not easy staying warm... My climate doesn't get as cold as some places, but the cold is damp cold, which feels colder than a much colder dry cold.
Making matters worse, I live in a place that is poorly insulated, and has electric heat. So I keep the thermostat low when I'm up, and even lower when I'm in bed or leave on errands.
Like Lawrence above, I drink a lot of tea (and coffee), and tend to eat warm meals. I wear a warm sweatsuit when I'm staying in. A hot bath, even with a small quantity of water, helps to warm me up. I also keep a blanket in the living room to wrap up in.
When going out, it's easier...since most places I go to are heated better, and so all I need to worry about is the time I'm actually outside...
Making matters worse, I live in a place that is poorly insulated, and has electric heat. So I keep the thermostat low when I'm up, and even lower when I'm in bed or leave on errands.
Like Lawrence above, I drink a lot of tea (and coffee), and tend to eat warm meals. I wear a warm sweatsuit when I'm staying in. A hot bath, even with a small quantity of water, helps to warm me up. I also keep a blanket in the living room to wrap up in.
When going out, it's easier...since most places I go to are heated better, and so all I need to worry about is the time I'm actually outside...
lordkenmore
Well-known member
gas furnace and gas tankless water heater are noisy!
When first living here, furnace noise was hard to get used to. It's noisy in operation--both a blower, plus some relay that clicks on when it starts up. Making matters worse, it's in the hall very near the bedroom. I think I've gotten used to it--I can sleep through the noise of it running in the middle of the night.
I've lived at least 2 other places where furnace noise is noticeable in my bedroom in the last 25+ years. It's strange, even, to think of my childhood home where the only sound I ever heard in my room was just a hiss of air coming out of the register...
When first living here, furnace noise was hard to get used to. It's noisy in operation--both a blower, plus some relay that clicks on when it starts up. Making matters worse, it's in the hall very near the bedroom. I think I've gotten used to it--I can sleep through the noise of it running in the middle of the night.
I've lived at least 2 other places where furnace noise is noticeable in my bedroom in the last 25+ years. It's strange, even, to think of my childhood home where the only sound I ever heard in my room was just a hiss of air coming out of the register...
2 above here and falling
Typical winter gear
wool/cotton blend socks
kellsport heavy cotton sweats
tshirt
long sleeve sweatshirt
LL Bean flannel robe
And a wee bit of a dram 'fore retiring for the night.
Also the Electrowarmth bed warmer, it is a true godsend.
Typical winter gear
wool/cotton blend socks
kellsport heavy cotton sweats
tshirt
long sleeve sweatshirt
LL Bean flannel robe
And a wee bit of a dram 'fore retiring for the night.
Also the Electrowarmth bed warmer, it is a true godsend.
