Winter survival in your house

mjbskwim · Jan 29, 2017

We get minus temps here all the time I'm told. It penitrates the house quickly if you aren't insulated good.( my floors are lacking). You need to keep the heat going good.
It kinda funny though,I see it's only 8 below.
Oh yeah that is cold. I better throw a lot on

The Heretic · Jan 29, 2017

mjbskwim said:
We get minus temps here all the time I'm told. It penitrates the house quickly if you aren't insulated good.( my floors are lacking). You need to keep the heat going good.
It kinda funny though,I see it's only 8 below.
Oh yeah that is cold. I better throw a lot on

That's why I prefer the "wetside" of the Cascades.

Sure it rains a lot here (and on the mountain, I get double the rain), and it does occasionally get below freezing, sometimes even into the single digits, but I do not recall any temps below zero in my lifetime. East of the Cascades over into the Rockies - not uncommon to have temps below zero in the winter.

IMO, that makes a big difference in survivability and somewhat makes up for the population density.

Joe13 · Jan 29, 2017

If my boots get wet, I've done something wrong

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Oil and snow seal work on about everything footwear wise

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mjbskwim · Jan 30, 2017

The Heretic said:
That's why I prefer the "wetside" of the Cascades.

Sure it rains a lot here (and on the mountain, I get double the rain), and it does occasionally get below freezing, sometimes even into the single digits, but I do not recall any temps below zero in my lifetime. East of the Cascades over into the Rockies - not uncommon to have temps below zero in the winter.

IMO, that makes a big difference in survivability and somewhat makes up for the population density.

Having lived on the wet side of Wa for 57 years(minus a month) AND working outside for most of that, I needed something other than rain,rain,rain,rain
Plus I like the seasons and less people and better people and more hunting and more open spaces without people and better gun laws
I had only one winter that it was frozen enough to dig .Late 70's?
Cold can't hurt you if your just a little smart about it.
Heck some kid here spent time in Snohomish county. I said it's hard to get hypothermia in western Wa.
He said he had done it

I've spent my whole life outside in western WA and have never been hypothermic.
It like a kid here said,there's no bad weather it just bad choice of equipment

Now if it's say 32* and wet? Well if you aren't dressed right,the wet can be as bad as below freezing temps. Cold and wet sucks the life out as fast as anything
Why do you suppose they always put water in with ice to chill wine? The cold water chills twice as fast as just ice.
Now add some wind to the wet

ikemay · Jan 30, 2017

We have the following:
10K lpg portable generator with transfer switch on house .... plumbed into our 325 gallon tank. Run it intermittently for freezers, fridge, well pumps, lpg hot water heater (uses small amount of electricity) for showers.

5K gasoline generator ......... it's my backup.

Blaze King Sirocco 30.1 ............ even during the last bit of cold weather in western WA we were getting 12-14 hour burn times. House never dipped below 65F. Goes without saying, plenty of split/stacked/seasoned firewood.

Three Rayovac Sportsman Extreme LED lanterns and plenty of "D" size batteries. Runs for something like 90 hours on low, 40 hours on high. Don't know as we only run them for a few hours in the evening.

Assorted flashlights of all kinds and tons of batteries (plus rechargeable ones) . Could probably not have to buy batteries for several years.

Gasoline ....... treated with PRI fuel treatment.

Chainsaw ....... extra chains, spare parts, oil mix.

Food, toiletries, etc, etc, etc ............ all covered.

Radios, first aid, etc, etc, etc .......... all covered.

Cold weather gear, rain gear ........ all covered.

Winter? We're good.

Defense Minister · Feb 1, 2017

Another vote for the Big Buddy as a quick, easy solution. They have a tip-over shutoff, low-oxygen sensor, and don't produce carbon monoxide. Get the OEM quick-disconnect hose for using bulk tanks; it's worth the money. Also, get a battery-powered gas detector so you don't go BOOM if you try to light your heater after your bulk tank has been leaking all day. You can nail blankets up to create a "wall" or close the door of a large room to heat a smaller sanctuary area and conserve fuel in a true disaster/emergency.