propane vs. solar appliances

[Denim Deb]

BB, sometimes you can get them even cheaper. Look for the coupon for $150.00, then see if you can find a coupon for 20% off. I got those solar panels for Christmas. Once the weather breaks, my hubby will be putting them on my tack shed. I'm hoping they'll generate enough power so that I can have some heat and light in there.

 

[animalfarm]

bibliophile birds,

My toaster oven uses 1500w. It will state on the label somewhere, but I have the advantage of a meter on my inverter controller so I can take note of the amount of power being used, turn on a given appliance, and read the new value.

Not sure why you would need a toaster oven if you have a wood cook stove.(at least the old- fangled kind) They work fine for baking and water heating and a simple wire rack over an open stove hole will make toast. That cook stove you are thinking of is the single most important appliance you will be choosing as the right one will handle so many different needs.

You can make an oven with light bulbs and aluminum foil. You don't need anything more then 350 degrees.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Not sure why you would need a toaster oven if you have a wood cook stove.(at least the old- fangled kind)

i'm just worried about the house getting too hot if i'm using the wood stove in summer. i guess if i just use it judiciously it won't be a problem.

 

[Denim Deb]

If something doesn't list the watts, just multiply the volts x the amps. That will give you the watts used.

 

[MorelCabin]

I would do propane over solar any day of the wekk...especially in climates like mine that just don't have enough sun to support solar. Propane is MUCH more reliable...and much cheaper in the long run. I think solar is a gimmick in many ways...cost you just as much, if not more than hydro...and goes right along with global warming in my books...smoke and mirrors.
All those batteries and lead panels are going to have to go somewhere when they no longer work or break...propane is a whole lot cleaner and better for the environment too

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Not sure why you would need a toaster oven if you have a wood cook stove.(at least the old- fangled kind)

i'm just worried about the house getting too hot if i'm using the wood stove in summer. i guess if i just use it judiciously it won't be a problem.

If you get a wood cookstove, that can be placed on your porch.
Make a section of it so that it is winter proof, and can be opened up for the summer.
Thats the way it was doen inthe old days.

 

[Marianne]

What about slow cookers? I use mine a LOT year round, uses 170 watts. (Look on the bottom, the wattage should be listed). In the summer, you could use it outdoors if you have a plug there somewhere. You can even bake potatoes in them. Maybe if you cooked something on low, out in the sun, it would heat like it was cooking on high.

My mother told me that years ago people had porches on the front and back of their houses. They cooked on the warmer porch in the winter, the cooler porch in the summer. I'm sure they didn't have two stoves, so I don't know how they accomplished that... Honestly, it gets so hot here in the summer, I wouldn't consider wood heat for cooking then.

Would an outdoor cooking area appeal to you? Just a little campfire with grill rack over it? There are some designs for simple DIY grills using concrete blocks. Probably several different ways to go about it, and it'd be a lot cooler in the house. I'm going to try water bath canning in a metal tub outside this year.

You might want to check out simple hay box cookers. If you're cooking for one, a wide mouth thermos can be used, too. And YAY, solar ovens! I baked a respectable loaf of bread in one.

For laundry, you can soak your clothes for several hours and then run them on the shortest wash setting. They'll be really clean. Or, do it like 'No Impact Man'. Soak them in the bathtub for three hours, then get in there barefoot and stomp away. I think you can still get a wringer from Lehmans.