Heating issues

[moodlymoo]

Here is my situation. I have 4 kids who are skin and bones and cold 99% of the year. I cant get them to let me turn the heater any lower than 68 day and 60 night. I have 4 oak trees that came down summer 2010 and have a crummy fireplace. How do I get this to be an effective heat source for my house. I know wood stoves are much better but I dont understand why. What can I do? My heating bill is over 100 a month

 

[Beekissed]

Moo, I'd be looking around for either a fireplace insert or a wood stove that you can pipe into your existing flue. Put out the word to friends and relatives you are looking for this and looking hard....I get most of my best bargains and freebies from the tell-a-friend network. Somewhere out there is someone who is tearing out an old one and putting in a new one and would just love to get rid of it...no time for cleaning it up for sale, etc.

If you don't already have plastic over drafty windows and draft stoppers at the base of your doors, these are great ideas. You don't have to get the fancy window plastic they sell in the boxes. Walmart has some excellent, really thick but extremely clear plastic on a roll. You can secure it with staples, clear tape, duct tape, etc.

Also...contact your local community services office and see if you qualify for weatherization of your home. They replace windows, blow in insulation, seal up drafts, etc. and it's all free of charge.

 

[deb4o]

First off make sure your chimmley in clean, if it is not you could cause a fire. I would place a small fan in front of it to move the warm air.

100 a month isn't to bad, well depending on if this includes your lights and water heater,we have a 5 bedroom double wide mobile that is 8 years old, it is all electric and we keep the heat pump at 64 to 66 when we are home and at night down to 62, our monthly bill is about 125.00

Have the kids wear sweats and sweaters(we do here)as a matter of fact Iam sitting here now in long johns lol

we snuggle with lap blankets when watching t.v.

 

[Gypsi]

I had a $300 electric bill last winter with my electric heat, and I barely got the house above 66 that month - that is with fresh caulk, fresh wood around the windows, covered attic vents, curtains, quilts over windows, draft blockers, the works. We had a cold front that set 100 year records and lasted a week or so. Which is why I got my wood stove.

Window plastic, caulk, if you have attic vents you can cover PART of them (never all - I cover my top one and west one from inside the attic with window plastic and a staple gun), home depot sells nifty foam draft blocks that can go into a gap in a windowframe, stay put, and come out when you open the window - their insulation and weather stripping aisle is quite enlightening.

 

[moodlymoo]

I actually just got online to my gas company cause we have natural gas heat and last year this time my heat only was 250 so crap. The only thing that uses gas is the heater. I have got to make this fireplace work for me. It doesnt help my windows are old as dirt and my curtains blow when there is a breeze outside and my slider to the backdoor is falling apart and I have no way of fixing it.

 

[dacjohns]

You need to seal up those air leaks before you do anything else. You are going to keep heating the outdoors if you don't.

Fireplaces are not efficient. I would install an insert or stove but you have to look at it as a long term investment. Quality is not cheap.

 

[moodlymoo]

I have been working on it as much as I can I have a bunch of free very thick plastic paint cloth type sheets that are thick and was thinking I could use them on the outside of the windows to stop a lot of the drafts but I go in for a major back/pelvic.hip surgery in 2 days so I have to do as much as my broken body will allow quickly. Could I just use a staple gun and get the plastic up? Something is better than nothing I guess

 

[Marianne]

You need to seal up those air leaks before you do anything else. You are going to keep heating the outdoors if you don't.

Fireplaces are not efficient. I would install an insert or stove but you have to look at it as a long term investment. Quality is not cheap.

X2. The insert is not cheap and neither is fixing the chimney if it's not up to par. I'd consider closing it up with plastic until your situation is a bit better.

Use masking tape around that plastic to help seal the edges. If it's easier, put the plastic on the inside of the windows - in the house, not the exterior. Do you have to use that sliding door? I'd try to get it closed as best that I could, cover with plastic (even taping it to the floor) and then hang a blanket over that. Actually I'm not against nailing blankets to the frame if I'm cold enough.

Check the plug in's on the exterior walls, too. I was surprised at how much air was blowing in from a few of mine and I insulated behind them plus caulked the hole in the stud where the wire ran before we hung drywall. It's crazy how much air can sneak in places. I used some blue painters tape over the plates since that's what was handy. Easy to remove if I need to plug something in there.

Holy cow! And surgery like that 'round the corner?!

 

[FarmerChick]

Here is my situation. I have 4 kids who are skin and bones and cold 99% of the year. I cant get them to let me turn the heater any lower than 68 day and 60 night. I have 4 oak trees that came down summer 2010 and have a crummy fireplace. How do I get this to be an effective heat source for my house. I know wood stoves are much better but I dont understand why. What can I do? My heating bill is over 100 a month

if you can not afford an insert, then use common sense. fireplace and everyone sleep in that room, or rooms near that it warms.
second would be place an electric fan to the side, maybe one on each side...to blow that warmth into the room.
and seal all air leaks you find ANYWAY you can.

if you have a fireplace and you need to cut costs, you have warmth. it is there. you can survive cold winters for sure.

 

[moodlymoo]

Today I am adding plastic to all the windows that leak, putting up blankets over the plastic and who knows about the slider. It is the only access to the backyard and I have 3 dogs who need to go outside, chickens out there and that is where all my wood is. I may put a blanket up on the slider and leave part of it loose so we can pull it back like a curtain I guess. I put a stick in the door to push it closed tightly so that is helping a little too. I found an insert on CL but I dont know anything about them or how to install one. New is way to expensive, heck used is so expensive but is half the cost of new. I like the idea of the little fans.

What is the difference between a fireplace and wood stove? Why is it better to have the wood stove?