Back-up Heat?

[Billy2]

whichever backup heat source you are going to use, I'd strongly suggest a battery-operated CO detector, especially if you are going to burn propane or kerosene in an enclosed space.

CO can sneak up on you in a hurry, esp if you're asleep.

+1 CO is no joke!

 

[Billy2]

Little honda generator for the oil burner. Look at a fireplace insert as well. You could store a pallet of biobricks pretty easily for fuel.

Strong advice. Bio bricks take up half the space of wood and no bugs. Keep them in the basement for cheap insurance...

Also don't use a great in your fire place. Huge heat loss for some decoration...

 

[Kevin_NH]

Also don't use a great in your fire place. Huge heat loss for some decoration...

Not sure what "great" results in a huge heat loss? do you mean a fire screen, or a raised log rack, e.g.:

Some fire grates are a great heat savings.

I'd like to have something small and cheap to power my router, cable modem, and computer

If you want something that can run just electronics, you may want a battery bank. You can charge it from the house power when the grid is up. When grid is down, it could probably last quite a while before being depleted. When it needs recharging, you could charge it back up pretty quickly using that generator. That's way better than continuous running of a generator just to run electronics. It's also quiet.

There's a bunch of options for running PC gear from batteries. If you don't want to bodge together a bunch of batteries and charge controllers and inverters, look at commercial UPS systems. Once you get a step above consume-grade UPS gear, most systems are designed for battery expansion, and you can often find older models cheap or even free, just plan on replacing the battery bank.

If you can work via a laptop, you can run all the computer gear directly off low-voltage DC, avoiding the wasteful conversion to 120VAC and back down again. Most laptops have a DC-DC power supply available or you can get a universal one from Targus, etc. There are DC power supplies available for desktop PCs, but they are expensive power hogs.

 

[the_shootist]

I have a pellet stove for my central heat and a 14kw propane standby generator to power it,and the house, in case of a power outage. Big investment up front but worth every single penny

 

[Billy2]

Sorry raised log rack. Run a fire with out it and u well see a big difference

 

[pastera]

Sorry raised log rack. Run a fire with out it and u well see a big difference

Most zero clearance fireplaces are not rated for use without a grate.

Also, unless the fireplace has a heat exchanger it will draw more heat from the house than it provides.

 

[Prepper]

I have a pellet stove for my central heat and a 14kw propane standby generator to power it,and the house, in case of a power outage. Big investment up front but worth every single penny

If your load is low, how much can your generator reduce its fuel consumption by running slower?

 

[fubar]

People love their open fireplaces to the point of denying physics. A fireplace makes a warm spot in your house. A fireplace insert heats your house.

 

[JayMcB]

If your load is low, how much can your generator reduce its fuel consumption by running slower?

there is a baseline to run a genset of that type at 3600RPM, and they are thirsty. Fuel consumption goes UP from there, depending on load.

AFAIK, only inverter generators like the Honda EU series can ramp speed up and down depending on load. I know that the general standby unit I have never drops below the 3600 unless it is starting, stopping, or has a temporary sag from a large load being added

 

[RHJJ]

A wood stove can't be beat for heat. I always have 2 cords available and use it as my main heat source.

 

[JayMcB]

People love their open fireplaces to the point of denying physics. A fireplace makes a warm spot in your house. A fireplace insert heats your house.

Inserts are very poor heaters without their blower kits, but one without a blower is still better than just s fireplace. With biobricks and an established fire, my fireplace insert generates solid heat output for over 10 hours. However, the defiant at our NH place will only burn 8 hours, and it convects heat with no blower until the upstairs is 80 degrees

 

[Mass-diver]

Inserts are very poor heaters without their blower kits, but one without a blower is still better than just s fireplace. With biobricks and an established fire, my fireplace insert generates solid heat output for over 10 hours. However, the defiant at our NH place will only burn 8 hours, and it convects heat with no blower until the upstairs is 80 degrees

My insert (joutel) is pretty much useless without the blower. With the blower it easily heats my colonial.

 

[pastera]

My Hampton insert also doesn't move much heat without the blower - removing the surround helps a lot though.
Given the blower is 50 watts on high and 30 on low, I can run it on the lawnmower battery for hours with an inverter and recharge with the genny while running the fridge and freezer

 

[glostamon]

My insert (joutel) is pretty much useless without the blower. With the blower it easily heats my colonial.

I run the Jotul insert & it cranks like a blast furnace.
The back up for a power outage (short term) effecting the blower is my portable 6500w generator ,with the blower running it causes the sweats & heat hang-overs.

 

[Mass-diver]

I run the Jotul insert & it cranks like a blast furnace.
The back up for a power outage (short term) effecting the blower is my portable 6500w generator ,with the blower running it causes the sweats & heat hang-overs.

Ya, with the blower mine is unreal as well. Had my living room at 85 on a cold night last week. I have a generator as well that I use to run the blower when we lose power. With that said, an actual stove, IME is much more efficient. Sorry about the misspelling.

 

[glostamon]

Ya, with the blower mine is unreal as well. Had my living room at 85 on a cold night last week. I have a generator as well that I use to run the blower when we lose power. With that said, an actual stove, IME is much more efficient. Sorry about the misspelling.

Nice,I'm working on the natural stone surround right now ,I'll post a work in progress pic.

 

[glostamon]

Conn. Bluestone mantel &hearth w/ irregular mosaic natural stone vineer

 

[pastera]

Dog was cold this morning
Stove damped down completely with the blower on low

 

[MaverickNH]

Hmmm... Might a blower work from a 12V deep cell battery? If so, I could recharge solar and alternate batteries.

 

[pastera]

Hmmm... Might a blower work from a 12V deep cell battery? If so, I could recharge solar and alternate batteries.

The blowers are normally a.c. so you would need an inverter, but it would run very well from a deep cycle with an inverter.

 

[Kevin_NH]

I'm really looking forward to the perfection (and mass production) of fuel-cell inverter technology.

Hmmm... Might a blower work from a 12V deep cell battery? If so, I could recharge solar and alternate batteries.

The blowers are normally a.c. so you would need an inverter, but it would run very well from a deep cycle with an inverter.

Figure 50-80W to run the blower on inverter; that's a lot of batteries to run the fan all day, or a very small load on your generator.

The blower motors on inserts are rather specialized designs to handle the high heat, otherwise you could swap in a DC motor.

 

[pastera]

I'm really looking forward to the perfection (and mass production) of fuel-cell inverter technology.


Figure 50-80W to run the blower on inverter; that's a lot of batteries to run the fan all day, or a very small load on your generator.

The blower motors on inserts are rather specialized designs to handle the high heat, otherwise you could swap in a DC motor.

Blowers on my insert and pellet stoves all push room air so they don't see any real heat. Swapping in a dc motor would be an exercise in finding one that fits - start with automotive fans