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Most of us are considering multiple "layers" to handle these problems. Initially it might be as simple as a firestarter and a dutch oven. Later it may move into more long term solutions.
Many are against wood because of the smoke and smell. Properly seasoned wood gives off little of either.
LP gas for cooking and even heating is one option. LP stores well, tanks can be buried. Tanks should always be purchased versus leased. You have no control over the price per gallon you pay with a leased tank, as you cannot "shop around" to get the best price with a leased tank, you must use the company that you lease from.
We purchased our tank well over a decade ago. Many many years later we started getting a BILL for "leasing" of the tank from the major gas company that we bought the tank from! After digging and digging we found the original receipt, called the local office, got a "I can't help you" stonewall. Then we made copies and sent certified mail to the company headquarters of this Feral dog company ;) Finally they recanted and said yes you actually do own that tank you purchased from us.... Well gee thanks!!! That's happened to at least three other people we know. Moral of the story, be sure to keep your receipt of sale!!!
An LP tank causes some tactical dilemmas for the survivalist. If the tank cannot be buried, it should otherwise be reinforced to protect it against ballistic intrusion....
Yet one day, the LP will run out. The one time we ran our tank dry we looked back and it was over 3 years since our last fill. And I like really hot water baths ;)
Wood is probably the best long term solution *for us*. Keep in mind we live in an area with an abundance of timber and I love to cut wood.
The last couple years we have been updating some of our stoves and we purchased a Vermont BunBaker stove. It's a space heater, it's baking oven, it's got a large cooktop and you can order it with a H20 heater as well.
So far, it hasn't been cool enough yet to really give it a good go, but we did burn a fire after we installed it to make sure everything was pulling fine.
DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!!!! I ordered ours WITHOUT the water heater! I guess I figured I could add this on later, I screwed up.
Other options we have been using for years now include these Waterford Parlor Stoves-
A Waterford "Erin" that served as our only heat source for years before we added on to our house a few years ago-
And a Waterford "Leprechaun" (they are made in Ireland...I didn't name it :) )
Long story but the Leprechaun was originally never needed and never installed in the original part of the house. The Erin more than heated the whole house (1,200 sq. feet then).
In the original hoo ha of getting the thing, having it in storage for almost a year before it was originally going to be installed, etc. several key components of the stove came up missing. Unfortunately this was not realized till much later. One of the items missing was the removable top plate. Replacement cost today for that piece was $240.!!! Original purchase price of the Lephrecaun was $900'ish back in the day.... So you know their was no way I was going to drop $240. on a small piece of metal for it.
What to do what to do..... I postulated that since the stoves are cast iron, why couldn't we take a piece of cast iron cookware of similar circumference and use that? The Kat found a piece of cast iron cookware we maybe have used once in 15 years. I took the handle off with a metal chop saw and spent about 5 minutes grinding it down to fit. That's why you see these little piece shaped indentions :)
Eventually we plan to add some active solar heating collectors to the mix for part of the heating equation also, probably a "Sunsheet" type model. The house and the addition is already setup for passive solar with lots of south facing windows, thermal mass, decent overhang, deciduous tree cover for summer, etc.
Properly stored, we have seen firewood that was cut and brought up to the hunting camp about a decade ago last and burn well. Ours at home never lasts that long though :)
Many are against wood because of the smoke and smell. Properly seasoned wood gives off little of either.
LP gas for cooking and even heating is one option. LP stores well, tanks can be buried. Tanks should always be purchased versus leased. You have no control over the price per gallon you pay with a leased tank, as you cannot "shop around" to get the best price with a leased tank, you must use the company that you lease from.
We purchased our tank well over a decade ago. Many many years later we started getting a BILL for "leasing" of the tank from the major gas company that we bought the tank from! After digging and digging we found the original receipt, called the local office, got a "I can't help you" stonewall. Then we made copies and sent certified mail to the company headquarters of this Feral dog company ;) Finally they recanted and said yes you actually do own that tank you purchased from us.... Well gee thanks!!! That's happened to at least three other people we know. Moral of the story, be sure to keep your receipt of sale!!!
An LP tank causes some tactical dilemmas for the survivalist. If the tank cannot be buried, it should otherwise be reinforced to protect it against ballistic intrusion....
Yet one day, the LP will run out. The one time we ran our tank dry we looked back and it was over 3 years since our last fill. And I like really hot water baths ;)
Wood is probably the best long term solution *for us*. Keep in mind we live in an area with an abundance of timber and I love to cut wood.
The last couple years we have been updating some of our stoves and we purchased a Vermont BunBaker stove. It's a space heater, it's baking oven, it's got a large cooktop and you can order it with a H20 heater as well.
So far, it hasn't been cool enough yet to really give it a good go, but we did burn a fire after we installed it to make sure everything was pulling fine.
DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID!!!! I ordered ours WITHOUT the water heater! I guess I figured I could add this on later, I screwed up.
Other options we have been using for years now include these Waterford Parlor Stoves-
A Waterford "Erin" that served as our only heat source for years before we added on to our house a few years ago-
And a Waterford "Leprechaun" (they are made in Ireland...I didn't name it :) )
Long story but the Leprechaun was originally never needed and never installed in the original part of the house. The Erin more than heated the whole house (1,200 sq. feet then).
In the original hoo ha of getting the thing, having it in storage for almost a year before it was originally going to be installed, etc. several key components of the stove came up missing. Unfortunately this was not realized till much later. One of the items missing was the removable top plate. Replacement cost today for that piece was $240.!!! Original purchase price of the Lephrecaun was $900'ish back in the day.... So you know their was no way I was going to drop $240. on a small piece of metal for it.
What to do what to do..... I postulated that since the stoves are cast iron, why couldn't we take a piece of cast iron cookware of similar circumference and use that? The Kat found a piece of cast iron cookware we maybe have used once in 15 years. I took the handle off with a metal chop saw and spent about 5 minutes grinding it down to fit. That's why you see these little piece shaped indentions :)
Eventually we plan to add some active solar heating collectors to the mix for part of the heating equation also, probably a "Sunsheet" type model. The house and the addition is already setup for passive solar with lots of south facing windows, thermal mass, decent overhang, deciduous tree cover for summer, etc.
Properly stored, we have seen firewood that was cut and brought up to the hunting camp about a decade ago last and burn well. Ours at home never lasts that long though :)
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