Just in Case (48 page)

CARRDTS AND APPLES: KEEP CLDSE TD FREEZING

OTHER FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Once you have had some success with cold storage, you may want to try storing other fruits and vegetables. Winter pears, garlic, onions, cabbage, and turnips are all easily stored for several months. If you want to go beyond the basics you will need to invest in a dedicated cold storage space in your basement or consider building an underground root cellar. In either event, you will need more information than can be contained here. Your county extension service will be able to provide plans. Excellent plans and advice are also available from
Putting Food By,
by Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg, and Beatrice Vaughan, and
Root Cell a ring,
by Mike and Nancy Bubel.

HEATING WITH WDDD

A
S FUEL PRICES
continue to climb, many people are looking to wood as either a supplement or an alternative to traditional energy sources. There is a snug feeling to knowing that all of the fuel you need to see you through a long, cold winter is tucked away in the basement or stacked in a neat pile in your backyard, safe from the vagaries of an oil cartel and Mother Nature. But before you run down to the nearest home improvement store and drop a few thousand dollars on a Castiron behemoth, you would do well to explore all of the intricacies of woodstove options as well as the complexities involved with buying and storing firewood.

I have, over the course of many years, lived in several homes heated either partially or entirely with wood. The romantic memories are considerably dimmed when I remember getting up on frigid mornings when the stove had gone out in the night. It seemed to take forever to coax the few remaining embers into flame and another forever before the cast iron heated up sufficiently to thaw my frozen fingers. Still, I would trade my current self-cleaning, ceramic-topped, multifunction stove in an instant for that antique Majesty cookstove if I could get Bruce to go along with me. He is far more practical than I and has definite opinions about what the best wood-heat options are. The following information is based primarily on our own experience and personal preferences. Technical advice came from Frank and Stephen Philbrick, authors of
The Backyard Lumberjack.

OUTDOOR WOOD FURNACES

I became very interested in these furnaces after seeing my first one at a home show. The actual furnace can be located as much as a hundred feet from your house. These furnaces can take large logs, so there is a long burn time, which will save you some work in reloading. As the wood burns, the fire heats water, which is pumped either through a radiant heating system in the house or through a heat exchange system that blows heated air through ductwork.

Naturally, all of this pumping takes electricity, so when the grid is down, you have no heat. But that’s not the biggest problem with this system. The real difficulty may be with your neighbors. The smokestacks on the shed like structures are short and the smoke hangs low, impacting everyone living downwind with the smoke and soot. The problem is so acute that many communities are enacting ordinances to prohibit the installation of outdoor furnaces in residential neighborhoods. If you still think this is the right stove for you, check with your local building inspector before you sign a contract, and talk with your neighbors. No heat source is as valuable as a good neighbor.

DUTDDDR WDDD FURNACE

INDOOR WOOD FURNACES

A wood furnace works like any other furnace except that you are responsible for making sure the fuel gets to the firebox. This is another big investment, and one that also relies on electricity to run the pumps and heat-distribution system. It is possible to install a combination furnace that will burn a combination of fuels, often either wood or oil. The benefit is that you can use wood when you are able, then switch to the alternate fuel if you are going to be away from home for a while and don’t want the pipes to freeze.

MASONRY HEATERS

If I were building a new house, I would have one of these stoves. They are not only very efficient but downright beautiful. Bruce and I once went on an alternative energy tour and saw several in action. The heat is gentle and predictable and the stove has to be stoked only every twenty-four hours. These heaters are not small in either size or capital investment, and retrofitting one into an existing home will require expert assistance in both design and installation.

MASDNRY HEATER

WOODSTOVES

A woodstove is the option of choice for many first-time wood burners. It requires a smaller investment than a full furnace and will generally fit into an existing home with few structural changes. Woodstoves usually serve as an adjunct to a conventional heating system, allowing the homeowner to use it on an as-needed basis. It also has the advantage of offering a cooking surface, which will come in very handy during an emergency.

Woodstoves heat the air in a room directly, so location is very important. An exterior wall or, worse yet, a corner installation means that you are likely to lose a lot of heat to the outside. The ideal space is an interior wall toward the center of the house. Of course, that will work only if you happen to have a chimney there.

Wherever you install a stove, fire safety must be your first concern. Local building codes will determine what you need legally. At the minimum you will want floors and walls around a stove to be either ceramic or stone. This not only will be fireproof but will also absorb some heat and release it back into the air. Setback requirements must be carefully observed. Have your chimney inspected prior to any stove installation to be sure the flue system is up to the task of accepting an additional load.

Cast iron is the traditional material for woodstoves. It is durable and retains heat well. If you want to spend the money you can get a Castiron stove with an enamel coating that comes in any number of colors and designs. Soapstone stoves are also very durable and hold heat well. Steel stoves are another possibility, and they cost less, but don’t expect a steel stove to hold up like cast iron.

Woodstoves can be as simple as a small box stove designed to heat one room or as complex as a full cookstove complete with four burners, an oven, and a hot water reservoir. Something in between might be just what you need to see you through a crisis.

You often see used woodstoves on the market. However, have an expert evaluate any used stove before you purchase it. A stove in poor condition will be inefficient and may cause more pollution, both indoor and out, than necessary.

FIREPLACES

This is the most lowtech option and one that many families already have, even if more for aesthetics than actual heat. There are a number of problems with relying on a fireplace to meet your energy needs, which is why it is rare to hear of anyone doing it. In fact, a lot of older homes have their fireplaces completely closed off to stop drafts and heat loss. Fireplaces are really inefficient, even with a roaring blaze, with much of the heat going up the chimney along with a good deal of the rest of the heat in a room. Fireplaces are also the most dangerous heating choice; an errant ember could land on something flammable, such as a sofa, and start the house on fire. And it is nearly impossible to cook much more than hot dogs and marshmallows in a fireplace without investing in some hard-to-find equipment. What I see most often is a woodstove set in the fireplace with the stovepipe attached to the existing chimney. It doesn’t look as nice as an open flame and it is nowhere near as romantic on a snowy evening, but it is a heck of a lot more useful.

STACKED WDDD SHDULD ALWAYS BE KEPT DRY

PURCHASING FIREWOOD

Only a lucky few have a real woodlot to provide the many cords of wood it takes to make it through a cold winter. Most of us have to rely on purchasing wood, so it is a good idea to understand basic wood terminology to avoid a costly error.

•
Cord.
Wood is purchased in cords. A cord is 128 cubic feet of wood, when stacked. This is four by four by eight feet. How the wood is cut makes a difference. A cord of round (unsplit) wood will have more airspace than a cord of split wood, which can be packed more tightly.

•
Face cord.
A face cord is a four-foot by eight-foot pile that is only one stick deep.

•
Green wood.
When wood is first cut it still contains all of its sap. Burning green wood will clog up your chimney with creosote, and it won’t put out much heat.

•
Seasoned wood.
It takes a year for wood to dry enough to make good fuel; this is called seasoned wood. Get references from other wood burners to find a reputable dealer who sells only well-seasoned wood.

• BTU.
A British thermal unit rating refers to the amount of heat given out by a type of wood. The higher its BTU rating, the better a wood is for burning in your stove.

According to Frank and Stephen Philbrick, tree types can be graded for heating efficiency as excellent, good, fair, and poor. In the excellent range are apple, ash, beech, yellow birch, hickory, ironwood, maple, and oak. Good ratings are earned by white birch, hackberry, larch, and swamp maple. Black cherry, Douglas fir and hemlock are only fair, while alder, aspen, elm, cedar, cottonwood, balsam, pine, spruce, and redwood are all poor. Keep these ratings in mind when you buy wood.

If you don’t have a woodlot and you don’t want to lay out a good deal of money for wood, there are a few ideas to consider. Folks who are having trees removed may be happy to have someone take away the wood. You will need a truck, a couple of strong helpers, a way to get it cut up and split, and someplace to stack it until it seasons. Someone may be willing to split it for you for a cut of the wood. This is where community comes in. Put the word out that you are in the market for some cordwood and see what happens.

State parks will sometimes allow a certain amount of dead wood to be harvested for a one-time fee. Check with your state parks commission to find out how this process works in your region.