Tips for staying warm in your house when the furnace isn't working. Tip 1. Setup your tent. Tip 2. Drink something warm. Tip 3. Do you need a backup space heater? Tip 4. Use a generator to power your furnace.
I'm playing with the "tea candle terracotta heater" tonight, and I have to say, it's working! While it may not be heating my house, it is definitely a worth huddling around to keep your hands and feet warm. I'll have a video posted eventually, but it will probably be too late for those without power now. Stay warm y'all!!
I've used two sets of two pots for hand warmer, but not room heaters! I've found that when I go to bed, mice get up on & in them as saunas! "Oh Baby, I love this guy, he rally knows how to take care of us! An dis you see 2 Wal mart cheese balls he dropped last nite, Mmm! Look close at black candle wick residue it may very well be mice an rat droppings! (Mine left me a note at more than two candles burn their tails, so I keep it down to two!)
Great tips. I hope some Texans found these last week. On the terracotta heaters, we used them inside sink cabinets here in the Ozarks and they kept the pipes from freezing. A $6 indoor thermometer verified the temps in the cabinet stayed at 60 degrees.
A few years ago I was without a furnace for 2 weeks in the middle of one of the coldest Decembers on record. There are three things that made the sub-zero temperatures tolerable: 1. My house has a wood stove and I have lots of firewood, 2. I have a propane construction heater and lots of propane, and 3. I have goose down sleeping bags and warm clothes for all family members As a side benefit to this experience, my wife finally admitted that my preparations were NOT a waste of time and she's now 100% on board with my emergency planning.
A good sleeping bag would prevent a lot of deaths or just discomfort. I slept outside in the mountains at 15F to test mine to see what was comfortable. A wool blend blanket inside the bag made a huge difference. It was a 20 degree rated bag. That and 3 layers, with a baklava, and I was very comfortable all night.
I have tried to talk to several people but most still rely on the system and that the power will never go out for long. What a bad idea to depend on the system.
I tried to share this information with my family. I hope that they get some information out of it. The best that I can do is share the videos. I know how you feel
@@matthewsresilientways When government says "Help is coming", GTFO - Catrina, Sandy..................Government was summonsing guys with vans, "without license", helping people clear out yard debris.
We have a portable tent stove for backup. It sits in front of a window that is rigged for a piece of plywood and stove collar. If needed, the stove can be set up in 10 minutes. The room can be closed off to be kept warm. The stove has racks for cooking and a water heater hangs off the side.
Hi Matthew! I got a lot of ideas from your video. I've been without electric during a snow blizzard, we kept warm putting blankets on our walls in our smallest room, oil lamps for heat and lighting. But a tent sounds like it would be much warmer, so I'm going to buy my family a tent. Thank you for this excellent video! 👍❤💕
I wish I had seen this before the abominable snowman hit Texas. The tent trick is something I really could have easily pulled off. I have a few small dome tents.
It's funny I live in Texas also have most of these things and never once thought about using then..i bet I will next time.that snow storm wasn't playing. I started prepping months ago but not like I should have..that snow storm was a wake up call for me..ive started making some home made burners my family thinks I'm çrazy when I tries to get them to prep..so I'm doing it for them just in case shtf .i don't ever wanna be in that position again.so now I'm storing extra everything be I need it or not.thanks y'all for all of the awesome tips
If tent not too big i would set up tent on my full-size bed-which would be similar to curtains around bed in Victorian days and you would be up off floor
Your so right....know your neighbors....be prepped for whatever may occur so your not THAT guy knocking on doors" hey do you have some can food?" Being prepped feels Great 🤗💚
Those aluminized plastic sheets are lifesavers, Wrap up in one,or laying them under ,or over blankets. If long term emergency, have the whole family move into the smallest room possible to conserve heat. You could even paper the walls with those sheets I mentioned.
My grandfather used to heat up bricks for my mom and her sisters when they were little girls. They would put them under the covers at the bottom of their beds to keep their feet nice and toasty.
@@survivortechharold6575 Your oven is a safe place to put a brick or stone inside and a candle underneath it a bit to warm it up. I have even cooked eggs by candle power in my oven.
Great idea about the tent! We have a couple of back up plans in the event the power goes out, but the tent is a great plan if needed. And grandkids would love the experience!
This was a great video! I knew a lot of these ideas. However, I still watched to see if there was anything I did not think of. This video actually reminded me to service my gas generator and to call my HVAC guy so I can install shutoff and a 120 volt plug (between my boiler and shutoff) for my boiler heat system. My boiler runs on minimal 120v electrical current as a circulating pump is a lot less draw than an air handler. Great video! I definitely agree with people needing to become self reliant. Self reliance is freedom and dependency is servitude BTW!
I learned a LONG time ago that if you live in an area that is subject to extremely cold weather to make sure you have a secondary heat supply. Keep your propane filled, your wood supply handy and open the fridge and freezer and let mother nature take care of it. Just move it to a cold room or outside.
Dear Matthew , Thank you for a very informative and helpful video ! I had learned some of the things you mentioned , but did NOT think about insulating the floor of the tent , nor adding layers to the outside of the tent , to keep in the heat . Bravo , YOU !!! Knowing that a power outage , of whatever length , means no computer access , I have been writing these wonderful tips into notebooks...one each for DIY , FOOD and HEALTH . Be safe and well...
If you keep a fire going outside, you can put large rocks in it to heat up. The rocks can be carried in a metal bucket or large pan. These can be placed in a tent or small area to heat the air. The rocks should remain near the fire long enough to heat through. Do not put them in the fire, as the contrast of cold air could make them shatter. If you don't have big rocks, you can use gravel or even sand.
When I lived on Oklahoma we had no power for 9 days after an ice storm. We had an old water heater with a piolet light so we had hot water. The hot water was so important. The pipes didn't freeze and something warm to drink was a lifesaver. All the motels were full and our friends didn't have power either. We had a gas stove. The old kind without electronic ignition. We kept the oven open and we had all of our neighbors at our house. We all slept on the living room and signing room floor. We all servived dot it wasn't easy.
I’ve never actually set up a tent in the house but I have fired up my big kerosene heater, hung a blanket up to block off the hallway and stayed in the living room. Power goes out here all the time in bad weather. Was out for almost 2 days last week with the Ice storm. Generator and kerosene are the best way for me.
Thanks to some old friends I was able to get access to a phone and internet when I needed it. They saved the day lots of times..Unfortunately I was not able to return the favour much when they lost family members. Thanks Sue and Gladstone for putting up with my daily phone trips.
Thank you for this video. I am learning to be more self-reliant. I do share these videos with my family on our group chat. It’s left to them to decide if they are going to watch it or not. But at least I tried.
Great advice! Prepping is key. Buy your fuel sources when you really don''t need them so much and are more readily available. Don't wait until freezing temps and no power cause it will end up just like the toilet paper shortages. People will hog and store and you're SOL.
Very much appreciated that you did take the time to help us who might not know what to do in this kind of emergency. I do like to be prepared for what ever I can. We rent our home an, unfortunately it’s an all electric home. So I’m trying to get prepared in case of a harsh winter. The tent is a doable thing we can do to make it through in case our power does go out in a snowstorm. Gonna go buy a camp stove next month, thanks for the information!
A few years ago we moved into a triple wide mobile home that had no heat source. In Fla. we get a few days of cold weather. Sometimes a week or so. I Bought a Mr Big Buddy propane heater. Hung up sheets to keep heat in just one room. It will keep the room very warm. I put a small slab of cement outside and run a hose ( made just for Mr. Big Buddy ) through a small hole in the house. Put a propane tank outside, hooked to that hose . through the hole into the home. Screwed it into the heater. And put that foam from a can to keep out any bugs. We run a small fan. To move the air around if we have electric. If no Elect. Open a window just an inch for fresh air. We have 2 propane tanks. One ready when the other runs out. Do not forget to have a fire/ carbon Monoxide detector in the room. Good luck .God Bless and stay awake. Oh and we have a pull out sofa. So we sleep in that warm room. .
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and common sense approach to creating solutions! BTW, love your doggie reclining on the lounge with its exposed rubber ducky belly rub demanding stare and stance. (Don't forget to cuddle up with each other and let your doggie join in as the extended family member they too are a great source of affection with an additional element of a 'natural hot water bottle' effect). Win win if you both love your pet.
Put your bed mattress on the floor and put your tent on top of it. If you haven’t already used it to insulate windows. Use your barbecue outside to cook
I have some more ideas for you. I use tricks the hunters use to stay warm. I have a stockpile of handwarmers and heated seats. No batteries needed and nothing to plug in.
My furnace plugs into the wall (in the garage) so I can run an extension cord under the garage door and to a generator. I have a small 2 cycle generator that will run the furnace and the freezer and refrigerators individually. We also have a welder/10K generator that we could hook to the house/shed and disconnect from the electric co if things got real bad.
I’ve done this plenty of times. My bedroom, in my apartment, is cold because the filter vent leads straight outside, so I put a micro fleece blanket in front of the closed door, a towel/door stop in front of my main door, and heavy drapes over my windows. It warms up my living room considerably and if it’s still cooler than I want, I sleep in leggings and camping Socks. (Think menopause 🔥)
We are in the UK and our electricity bills have tripled. We have no choice but turn the heating off a lot of the time. So far, it hasn't been cold up enough to use our tent, but we will consider it and it is certainly useful to know how to keep the tent warm. Yes. we do have plenty of warm drinks. I would add that preventing draughts is paramount too and some of the rooms can be blocked off. We also use the bath water to heat rooms when we have finished using it and when it is cold use it for the garden. We use solar camping lights in the house and motion sensor battery lights. We also have an oil lamp and can use that and re use the oil. Good sleeping bags are great. Apparently you can get solar generators, but they are a bit out of our price range
Better drain the water pipes. If the pipes freeze you can’t flush the toilet. Pee outside. 100 watt solar collectors, connected to a 12 volt car battery and then through a converter could power your furnace for an hour. Shut it down when the temp comes up to 60 degrees, because the converter draws a small current when the furnace is off.
Do a search on RU-vid on how to build an emergency heater out of Terra-cotta planting pot, a candle, and a few other household items. They’re inexpensive to construct and you can have them ready and heating in moments. You’ll need to play around with them to see how many you’d need to heat the area you’d want to and time how long the candles will last. These work very well. Hope this helps. Have a great day and be blessed.
Troy Stutsman I would skip the terra cotta. I would use metal baking pans as they would radiate the flame heat better. Just make sure they are not air insulated baking sheets.......
One real quick suggestion: Get an emergency/space blanket and put it directly on top of your tent (and under the blankets). These things were designed to reflect heat back the way it came from. By putting the emergency/space blanket on top of your tent and under your blankets it will not take as long for your tent to heat up. The only real problem is that it may get too hot after a while. The other thing to consider is a Crisco candle with a good lid. A Crisco candle doesn't really burn that hot but they do burn warm enough to take the edge off of the cold before you crawl in to go to bed (or whatever) and screwing the lid on will make sure hat even if the candle should tip over not hot shortening will spill out and mess up your tent. Take care.
If ya have a working gas hot water heater, city water, hot water baseboard heat, route 2 garden hoses in and out flow ,water valves on gas boiler so water from can through baseboard ending outside or into a drain. Run it slow enough so that the, water should exit cool! Or run a generator to run the gas boiler!
Thank you, your video was very informative. I use some tricks hunters use to stay warm. I have a stockpile of handwarmers and heated seats. No batteries are needed and there's nothing to plug in. I keep some in the car along with foods and water. Another trick, my car didn't have a seat warmer until I used the cordless one the hunters use.
Very good video and yes most new homes have a furnace and some even have a fireplace but most will not heat the whole house. What a waste for a fireplace i say. I guess it is only good for show.
As we can see now with the winter storm which has left Texas frigid, causing many to be without power or water and short of food that we live in a society where too many are unprepared for any kind of disaster, including the ones they don't expect. And given that we're a year into a pandemic that has caused shortages, including food, that by this point people would at least have a well-stocked pantry to fall back on, but no. I live in Wisconsin where it gets damned cold in the winter and even though in the 30 years I've lived in my house I don't remember losing power in the winter for more than an hour or 2 I'm still prepared for that to happen. Preparation: better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. That includes knowledge as well.
The heater meals are a good thing to stock upon. A totewith a good sleeping bag and and extra sleeps. I have a travel trailer lucky that is small enough that if I have a power outage ,I can stay water and cook.
The tent is a good idea that I'd never thought of. But it's kinda along the lines of piling on blankets on your bed...super cold when you first go to bed, but by the time you get up, it's HOT! :-D
Thank you for this video. You potentially just saved my life. We are facing the first ice storm in years, also i just had my gas shut off when my roommates moved out because of miscommunication. I have electricity and a small electric heater, but temperature is about to drop into the teens during the following days. Already the DOT is working non stop and trying to get everyone who can to stay home so i do not know if i can even get the gas company out here to turn it on. I am going to keep trying and i am going to throw up my tent (i never would have though of that). So thank you so much!
I survived that junk.. Thank you. It dipped into the negatives for the first time in forever. I lost power however i was able to survive off of this. Thank you mate
Space bags and space blankets... they keep your body heat inside very well, and it can be 20 degrees or more warmer under or inside a space blanket or space bag. I have a sleeping bag, with a subzero fleece liner that goes inside, and a space bag outside all of it. More than 40 degrees warmer inside - can sit on the couch with feet, legs and body down inside, a fleece hat and gloves on, and will stay toasty warm.
looking into solar generators and solar ovens for cooking bought solar charged recharging units to power cell phones tablets ..some solar generators store enough for 3 days use when camping..
Back in the day everybody had curtains to close at night you know like Ebenezer Scrooge. They also have head warmers they heated on the fireplace and rubbed it all over the blankets and sheets and then you would get in there before it got cold again and close all the curtains around you keeping all your body heat .
I can get warm when the power went off when I lived in a northern state but the big deal is staying cool during a power outages down south in extreme heat and humidity. The heat kills a lot of folks every years in the south..
I lived 3 blocks from the ocean when Hurricane Sandy paid a visit - Jersey Shore. No electricity for 6 days. When the storm hit the outside temps were 60 but dropped to the 30's within a day or so. No furnace but an old-style gas stove & I had hot water. My space was "open concept" so I sectioned off a small area adjacent to the kitchen by hanging blankets from the ceiling to create my interior weather barrier. I used the oven while awake but to go to sleep comfortably i.e. peace of mind, I burned gel fuel (alcohol). One can burns for approx 3 hrs and really heats up a small room. The gel fuel fireplace is not necessary, just stick it inside a tall spaghetti or crab pot. Best deal is Target - 24 (13 oz) cans for $80. I keep these on hand cos in NJ we get crazy weather.
Keep an eye on carbon monoxide levels in the tent also. Just suggesting this because I bought a cheap popup tent for the kids and once you do the zipper up it becomes a sealed unit with no windows or vents for air. I imagine that could potentially be dangerous.
Thanks for the information I have a ⛺ I'm 63 My family thinks I'm crazy. Being a woman I don't know a lot about electricity. But I have no problem asking for help.
