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Live in the Northeast? Keep the wood dry! And Nearby!

18 years ago

I was just in a weather site and they were talking about historical data pertaining to the relationship between hurricanes and winters. When the hurricane season has been active, the following winters have been worse than normal. They have historical data to back this up. With the water off the Atlantic coast being so warm the likliehood of a nasty winter is looming. They say that there will be more storms in the ocean this year which means Nor'easters from Maine to Washington, DC. They're calling for temps to be below normal so the storms could produce snow along the coast as well as inland. And with the price of oil being what it is, and gas possibly going up 70% I'm happy I burn real wood. As I am sure my friend in Connecticut soon will be.

And as we see the devistation in the Gulf almost hourly on TV I can say with certainty, "GIVE ME A BLIZZARD ANY DAY!!" You shovel out, the sun comes out the next day, and the landscape is magnificent in the snow you see all around you. It's almost as if all the mistakes are covered up.

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Comments (6)

jjplant
18 years ago
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
garyg
18 years ago
I am ready for a cold Baltimore winter. I have 2 cords of seasoned wood to suppliment my heat pump. Got my chimney inspected last year - clean as can be. Got a 1200-watt power inverter so I can run my sump pump or fridge plus fireplace fan and some lights using my car battery if the power goes out. Got a kerosene heater and 5 gallons of kero as emergency back-up heat. My wife thinks I'm nuts - I think I'm just prepared.
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Switching2Wood
18 years ago
I am so looking forward to blazing up the insert for the first time.

I got an oxyacetylene torch today and cut out some of the old damper. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get a 350 pound insert up an outdoor flight of concrete stairs.

Well, the installation should be interesting. The "flex" pipe is very rigid, so it'll be interesting getting it through the offset and then through the damper gap I created.

Anyway, I keep looking out at the wood wondering if it'll be enough.

I plan to insulate my attics with this cool "Cocoon" stuff I found at Lowes.

If anybody is interested in insulating their attic, here are the specs on the stuff . . .

Made from recycled newsprint.
Better R value and Fire resistance than fiberglass.
Helps seal air leaks.
Buy bails of the stuff, feed into a hopper outside, up a hose, and spray into the attic.

Best of all? The stuff is about 1/2 the price of the pink insulation, and I really, really hate working with the pink stuff.

So I figure I'm going to insulate and hope that helps with the insert effectiveness because . . .

The 3-4 cords I have doesn't seem like it's going to be enough.

Fired up the old gas furnace for the first time. I could not believe what 180,000 btus of gas looks like. It's a monster flame!

Rambling done.
ventupete
18 years ago
Wow. Grew up in the Northeast but have been living in So. Cal for over 20 years...my wife's main worry is that it stays warm enough for the blossoms to stay on the hibiscus and my son worries that it doesn't get cold enough to ruin the wax job on his surfboard. Now if only the ground doesn't shake...
Switching2Wood
18 years ago
How is southern Cal?

I've heard a lot of bad reviews coming out of that part of the country recently.
christopherh
Original Author
18 years ago
Ventupete
Ilovermont. No people, no traffic, no crime, no need to lock the doors. And when it snows, it's just beautiful outside. And around here, when the weatherman predicts "Chance of accumulation" it means anywhere from one to eight inches. And we live in the southwest part of Vermont. The "Bananna Belt" if you will. It only gets to minus 30 in January.

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