By: LsFarm On: Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:07 pm
And I'm not talking about keeping the place like a sauna either. I used to keep the house at 60-62*, the apartment at 45* and the shop at 40*.
The problem is the house [aka the MONEY PIT] is old, with sections aging from 1849 through 1950. The ceilings and attics that I can get at are well insulated, I removed siding and added 1" foam board and Tyvek house-wrap, and some of the 41 outside windows have been replaced with thermopane windows, and the rest have clear mylar sheathing over them for insulation. But the place is 4000 square feet and the hot water heat runs inside the un insulated walls in some areas and I can't separate out the un insulated areas from the insulated, And I can't just drain and blow out the system either. So I just have to heat the place.
With coal I have a warm home, I keep it around 70-72* What a luxury!!
Used to be when I came home from work and staying five nights in warm hotels, I just froze for several days in the 60* house [meatlocker]. Now I just go out and toss some more coal on the fire and turn up the thermostat. And in my new master bed and bath, I have hydronic [hot water] heated ceramic floor tile, so I have warm feet too!
I'm expecting to burn around 7-8 tons of coal this year and a few cords of wood, all of that will be less than $2000 I hope, and that is about 1/3 of my projected propane bill. It's worth the work and effort.
Greg L