Autumn is right around the corner
You may not have noticed it quite yet but if you are an early riser you might feel a change in the air. The winds are beginning to get a little bit cooler and the leaves might be just starting to change ever so slightly in color. Maybe you think you don’t need to worry about the coming winter but now is the perfect time to get started.
What type of heat do you have?
Let’s start by checking out what kind of heating you have in your new rural home, there are many ways to heat your house. Maybe we should start by checking out the kind of heat you have, a furnace, what kind is it, does it use natural gas, propane, or diesel? What about a wood stove, pellet stove or oil burner (also known as a free standing diesel stove). I have a propane furnace in my house but I also have an oil stove that uses #2 off road diesel fuel.
There is good and bad with each type of heater you use. A propane furnace is great until the power goes out, the same goes for the pellet stove. A wood stove takes no power so in an area prone to power outages this is a good choice, if you can go out and cut the wood yourself or have access to someone who sells cords of wood. You must also make sure you bank your fire for the night so your house isn’t extremely cold in the morning until you get the fire going again.
The diesel stove is a good choice due to the fact that it uses gravity feed and has no fan on it so when power is out, there is still heat and as a bonus, no noisy fan running. Just a constant heat that you can leave on when you aren’t home and not having to worry about the power going out. The drawback of this stove is that you need to keep your fuel filters from gelling up in the winter. This can be done by using winterizing additive in your fuel tank.
I am sure you are still sitting there thinking why in the world is she discussing this when it’s still 80 degrees plus outside. The answer is simple, it is so much easier to change filters, clean stoves, fill the tanks or go out and cut wood when the weather is warm. You aren’t out in freezing temperatures trying to find enough wood to get you through a couple of nights, or going to the gas station to get enough diesel fuel for a couple of days.
Clean those stoves!
When you clean out your wood stove make sure to put the ashes in a metal can, get used to doing this so in the middle of winter when you are cleaning out the buildup of ash you don’t make the mistake of putting hot ashes in a cardboard box or anything else that is flammable. Don’t forget to clean the chimney, so many times birds like to make nests in the stove pipe which could cause a house fire. If you don’t have a chimney cleaning kit check with your local fire department, if they can’t clean the chimney for you they can point you in the right direction for someone who can.
Your propane/natural gas stove can be checked by your propane provider when they first set your propane tank.
The diesel stove is one you will maintain yourself, at the beginning of the season change your fuel filter, make sure there is no water buildup in your fuel tank. Clean out the inside of your stove, one issue with diesel stoves they will build up a coal like product called “clinkers” you will need to carefully scrape these out. Make sure to check the seals around the doors of wood stoves, pellet stoves and diesel stoves so you’re ready when the temperatures drop and the snow starts flying.
The choice is yours what type heat to use in the winter but if you are just getting ready to install a stove don’t forget that you will have to cut a hole in the roof for piping, so get out there now before the cold wind begins to blow. Get the prep work done now so you can enjoy the warmth in winter! Have to run for now, we have stoves of our own to get ready! Talk to you soon!
