/diy/ - Do It Yourself

I got myself one of these bad boys
it's a mobile propane-butane gas heater

it stinks and you can suffocate from CO2 if you're not careful but heating with this costs about 1/4 of what my gas bill would be

Wear lots of layers bought from op shops. Heating a house is a lot harder than heating a person.

Upgrade your GPU to a Fermi 5XX.
Ask /g/.

put chili powder in your socks and baked potato's in or hot stones in your pockets.

There are two issues with heating in the winter. The first is keeping yourself from freezing. The second is keeping your pipes from freezing. Everything else is just a bonus.

Keeping your pipes from freezing without some kind of conventional heating is next to impossible. I live in Minnesota, and during the big blizzard last year our boiler was out of service for a week and a half. The only viable (and safe) option was to run 7 electric space heaters in the building 24 hours a day just to keep everything at around 40 degrees. And we have a fairly well insulated building. Unsurprisingly, the electric bill that month was monstrous (over $100 just to run three of the heaters in my unit for 10 days).

If you want to keep your bills at a minimum (including repair bills for a blown plumbing system!), set your thermostat for 40-45 degrees. Then bundle yourself up (a couple sweaters, long underwear, two pairs of thick socks, etc.) and put extra blankets on the bed. And then the key thing that people miss - take a cue from medieval castles and hang fabric everywhere. Fleece blankets and even cotton sheets over windows, doors, and walls if you have enough to spare will help boost your insulation. It won't be enough to keep you toasty, but just that little bit can really make a difference.

Finally, remember that cotton and wool will keep you much warmer than most conventional synthetic fabrics. Invest in wool sweaters and socks if nothing else.

>>61821

Samefag here. Another thing to keep in mind is your diet. Long-simmering soups and stews and anything that uses your oven (baking, roasting vegetables and meat) will not only heat YOU up, they'll add valuable heat to your house.

It also helps if you live in a reasonable house/apartment and not some suburban McMansion with lawyer foyers and 2 spare bedrooms. Heating 2-300 square feet per person is FAR easier than heating 1,000 square feet per person.

Anyone knows which kind of wood has the highest heating value? I still have an old furnace in my old-ass house. I used to collect scrap wood with a friend on his land last year, but now probably there isn't enough left to last all winter. I'm considering buying cheap firewood. If I wanted to heat up this relatively small place - 2 rooms, small kitchen, bathroom, toilet - with gas, it would cost $300-350/month in my almost-third-world country. It's madness...

>>61847
Why don't you go gather old and broken wooden pallets from behind stores?

>>61856
Simply because the gypsies steal those before you could even think about taking them yourself.

>>61847
http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

>>61758


1. DIY a kotatsu with a heater. Yeah. Those are the tables you see in Animes. Try googling it. A kotatsu with heavy blankets will keep you warm without needing to heat up the surrounding room. Turn your heating system on the low, and when you come home to a chilly house - just go for the kotatsu.

2. Burn candles. Candles can heat up a well-insulated room very efficiently. Be wary of monoxide poisoning and fire hazards.

3. Burn cheap fuel. Gas heaters works well. If you can, get yourself a fireplace and get used to getting hold of cheap or free firewood.
This is btw not the advice or request board. Please take your questions somewhere else.

>>61856
Those are often treated with chemicals I think

keep all doors closed
if you spend your time in a big common room, but you don't use it all the area, see if you can put a blanket in the middle like a curtain using a bath shower extendable stick

where are you from op ?

>>61880
Candles will generate heat, but you need quite a few of them to make a noticeable dent. Additionally, if you're relying on them heavily, you're going to want beeswax - less soot, fewer toxins than parafin or soy. And beeswax candles are not all that cheap if you're using a lot of them for an extended period.

Ultimately, I think candles end up being significantly more expensive than conventional heating for the amount of heat they provide.

remember that the floor is a lot colder than your body temperature. play a constant game of floor is made of ice-lava.

>>61856
also they are still owned even when broken, and thievery isn't cool

>>61758
Passive solar is the least expensive method.

Weatherizing is one thing many people don't do that can radically improve your home. Caulking, expanding foam insulation, window plastic to cover single-pane windows, etc are all inexpensive and can save you several hundreds of dollars in the winter. Fill every tiny crevice and crack around pipes, doors, and windows.

Other things,

-Vent your clothing dryer into your house.
-Mark off living areas and only heat the areas you are in with space heaters (heat areas with water pipes if it gets too cold in those areas). Only use them when you are in the room or need to.
-Buy foam pipe insulation for your pipes then buy more foam pipe insulation that can go over your 1st layer of pipes. Take care of joints so they are properly double-layered.
-Wear warmer clothing while inside so you can lower the heat a bit without too much discomfort.
-Check to see what heating energy service is cheapest for your area (gas or electric) and use that for space heaters.
-Keep a large pot /stockpot of water warm so it will give moisture to the air. This helps heat in the air keep you warm without need to turn the heat up.
-Cook foods like soups and stews or steam veggies that will breath moisture into the air.
-Use a wood stove if you can. Fallen dead wood in the woods can be used to heat while not requiring much equipment to work it up to get into the stove.
-Place wet wood 3 feet from your stove so it will evaporate the water out so you can use it later.
-Save all burnable paper trash to use to start stove fires.
-Cover your windows with thick blankets at night or in rooms you are not using.
-Uncover windows that receive full sunshine during the day.

Continued...

>>61927
...continued.

-Keep large amounts of thermal mass in your house. Soda bottles filled with water are perfect for this. They soak up ambient heat, during the day, and will release it back at night.
-Keep all doors closed and place an old towel at the bottom to help keep air flow to a minimum.
-When you shower, plug the drain to capture the warm water. Do not let that water out until it has cooled to room temperature. Do the same thing with your bath water.
-If you share you home with other people or pets, try to stay in the same room with each other. Pets and people create heat.
-If you live on a farm and/or have access to horse manure you can bring in 5-gallon buckets of FRESH manure. It's very bioactive and will radiate lots of heat. The smell on the other hand... lol (you can make a fresh horse manure hot water heater that gives piping hot water and use that to pipe hot water into your house for heating, from a pit/pile of horse manure that is located outside.)
-Use a new electric blanket so you can lower the temperature for your house while you sleep.
-Wear warm house slippers so that your feet stay warm.
-On bare wood, stone, vinyl, etc floors lay rugs down in the areas where you walk so your feet do not come in contact with the colder floor.
-Install a drop ceiling in rooms that have ceilings higher than 8 feet (I don't recommend doing this, it looks/feels like shit, but it does drastically reduce heating costs. Have it installed so it can be removed without harming the original ceiling or its trim work.)

In the current economy, a natural gas furnace/boiler is far and away the cheapest source of safe, clean heat. Wood and wax don't even come close. If you want to save money, the way to do it isn't in changing heat production. It's a matter of heat retention, both in terms of your body and your home. Trying to find an alternative source of cheap heat is a futile mis-allocation of time and effort until natural gas prices get quite a bit higher than they are right now.

>>61926
This is why I ask the people in the store if I can have the old pallets. I've never been refused, but the Quikrete pallets are off limits because the company comes back and reuses them. So, I get the non-Quikrete ones. I can fill my pickup past the cab most of the time.

>>61927
Listen to this guy. Especially the parts about humidity. At least around here, winter is DRY. Starting in mid-October, my knuckles start to bleed if I don't use lotion regularly. One thing you can do is line-dry your laundry inside. It does mean a trade-off between heat and humidity if you aren't using a dryer, but the evaporation from line-drying every other load of laundry really does help, especially in smaller bedrooms. Unrelated bonus: your clothes will last longer.

Get some bubblewrap and tape it to your windows

Noise kept out, decent heat insulation, light still comes in, and makes for a cool glass effect.

Wear a thick wooly jumper/sweater when indoors. Save on gas/heating.

>>61938
Venting your dryer's exhaust into your home will also put that humidity into your home from your clothing. Most people use panty hose over the dryer tube in order to filter any errant lint that made it through the inner filter.

The heat created from the dryer (gas or electric dryer) is in your home and you won't need extra heat from your normal heaters for that amount extra.

>>61758
Has anyone on here built one of these popcan solar heaters? I came across the video back in the summer and saved some cans but I haven't actually got around to making one yet.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzxw1j-dzY4

I wall off areas of the house to make it smaller in winter. The front of my house has 8 windows like a "sunroom". Admittedly, it actually gets warmer than the rest of the house when the sun is out, but this is wisconsin and it doesn't happen often in winter. I build a temporary wall of 2x4 to separate the room off, plastic both sides and insulate. Makes a huge difference.

>>61962
I have!

Don't use popcans. The paint for painting them is actually quite a bit. Use an old piece of roofing metal. The corrugated stuff that is wavy is best. Leave gaps at the top and bottom for air flow. They are simple to make, easier to make than the popcan one. It puts out a LOT of heat too.

Try finding an old, used sliding-glass, patio door as the cover for it. I got most of mine from freecycle.org (mostly for a greenhouse) and seconds/throw-always near the dumpster for a local window/door manufacturing company. For this purpose its okay if the sell is broken between the panes of glass. Having 2 panes of glass is far better than one in this case.

Out of curiosity did you take a temperature reading on your corrugated metal solar heater? I live in Huntington WV and we really only have 2 to 2.5 months of actual cold weather where I'm at most years. I'm thinking of building some solar heaters that double as solar water heaters. I've got a big roof and I'm a good plumber so figured if I could build something that could do double duty for around 10 months out of the year that would be neat.

>>61763
>it stinks and you can suffocate from CO2 if you're not careful but heating with this costs about 1/4 of what my gas bill would be
>

Not dying is a good reason to pay more.

>reading thread
>lots of nice tips
>remember I live in a tropical country

see ya guys

I just got my first contract for picking up used vegetable oil.

I plan on filtering it and saving it up all winter to heat my greenhouse in the spring.

It took a while to find my first contract but it didn't really take much time to put and ad on Craigslist and keep renewing it.

The only thing with these deals is that if you miss even one pickup they will find someone else in a heartbeat.

Also you would need a lot of safe guards to safely burn waste oil inside a home. You tube has a number of videos for starting ideas.

>>62016
We just got the first snow of the year. Fuck you.

>>61803

My 470 actually does raise the temp of my room a few degrees.

>>61991
No, I didn't. I dismantled it so I could use the door for my upcoming greenhouse project. The air coming from it on a sunny day was quite hot. I normally, didn't need that much it because my living area is very weatherized. I'm making my greenhouse attached to my house with venting into the house. It can act like a large solar collector that way. I'm planning on keeping a solar water heating system in it too.

It would be worth it as a supplemental heat source. If you had a massive storage tank and used reflectors you could use it for water and house heat. If you use a pump then you can place them anywhere. If you use thermosiphon to pump then the roof isn't a good place for them. See this thread for the image I made for a thermosiphon system, >>57291 for use in winter areas where water would freeze.

My main forte is solar box ovens. My best one reaches 450F.

I live near your area and even on semi-overcast days like today there's plenty of solar heat if you have a good system built. Insulation and large pipe size is key for heat retention and proper flow. With a pump system, pipe size isn't as important. With a thermosiphon system the larger the pipe size the better.

Cancel you internet, 50$ a month extra you can use for heating.

>>62092
Knowledge gain online is invaluable. These posts >>61927 and >>61929 alone can save you $1,000s over time. Without internet, you'd have much more difficulty compiling such information.

>Keep a large pot /stockpot of water warm so it will give moisture to the air. This helps heat in the air keep you warm without need to turn the heat up.
>Vent your clothing dryer into your house.
>Cook foods like soups and stews or steam veggies that will breath moisture into the air.
>When you shower, plug the drain to capture the warm water. Do not let that water out until it has cooled to room temperature. Do the same thing with your bath water.

Just FYI: doing any one of these things is probably okay. But doing all of them and having your windows taped up, or having good windows to begin with, is a pretty good way to get mold. Doubly so for a stick-built house.

If you have a gas hookup (not all areas do) I would possibly recommend getting a ventless space heater. They are much more efficient than vented and they release water into the air as the gas burns. (That should create all the moisture you need) Just make sure you get a CO alarm as well. Also, some of them run on propane or natural gas, so you can get a propane tank (like one for your grill) and they will be able to run off of that.

>>61803
my nvidia does a nice job

>>61938

>Especially the parts about humidity. At least around here, winter is DRY. Starting in mid-October, my knuckles start to bleed if I don't use lotion regularly.

As an addendum to my previous post: in places where it is unusually dry, or you have old construction (little insulation, drafty windows) the moisture stuff will probably work fine for you. A good way to tell without a moisture gauge is just looking at your windows, or if they are covered, solid surfaces in your house. If you see heavy condensation you might have too much moisture. If you do any of these moisture-things, make sure you don't close off the area you're doing it in. (eg don't vent your drier into a closed closet, don't close your bathroom door if there's a tub full of warm water in there.)

>>62107
>>62121
>is a pretty good way to get mold

As the one who posted that list, yes, if you overdo the humidity you will have mold issues; regardless of your original climate. It's best to have a hygrometer. I have one I bought from ACE Home Center that's build into the bottom of a thermometer. It was like $15 I think 3-4 years ago.

Cross reference the actual temp (left) with the humidity (top) and what temp it would feel like (middle) in this image.

Your recommendations are correct.

>>61803
>housefires
>housefires everywhere

>>62126

>It's best to have a hygrometer.

Agreed.

Also, I can't overstate the awesome combo that is rolled reflective insulation (the stuff car dashboard sun covers are made of) on your windows and a ventless space heater. Like

>>61821

said, make sure your pipes aren't freezing. Set your heat low or, if you live in an apartment, don't worry about it. Then heat your room with the ventless and you will be set.

>>62139
Once more, because it really can't be overstated. If you are intent on keeping your heating budget as low as possible, DO NOT let your home drop below roughly 40 degrees for any real length of time. You will have saved on heating bills, but you'll be paying to gut your house to replace pipes AT BEST.

When I'm fukken poor, I turn the heat in my house down to about 55, and just heat one very well-insulated bedroom with an efficient space heater.

Watch that cold toilet seat!

>>62298
>Watch that cold toilet seat!

Now I want to make a heated toilet seat..

>>62301
Run a hot water line to your toilet with a valve to adjust how much goes in. Just having that will warm the seat. I have it for my toilet so that the bowl won't condensate during the summer and rot the floor.

uhhhhh....fireplace? I didn't build it, but it is stone. I do cut my own firewood though. If I ever get my spot welder, I'm going to build a potbelly stove that runs on corn.

Close off doors to rooms you don't use often and don't open them. If you live with other people congregate in one room, light it up, if you're already running computers put your feet on 'em. If you take a hot shower shit afterward, dat steamy toilet. Cutting your hair means less wethead after showers, despite going against general wisdom of fur-heat. Cover yo floors. If the wood/stone/tile whatever is that fucking freezing to your barefoot, think of all the heat in the air that could be lost from it. If you live alone stay in one room as often as you can and do everything in one trip or two. ALTERNATIVE METHOD, spend time out of your house in a library or something as often as possible. If you have a pet make that fucker move of your blanket and steal dem warmfs for your feet. Blankets only work on heat-generating sources, your extremities like toes are often challenged to increase their temperature especially if you are inactive, so you may need to warm them separately through a similar method.

Well I have a space heater that seems to be slowly breaking so I'll milk that 1500W mini-monster for as long as I can. However I also am using a CRT monitor and intend on letting my PS3 run Folding@Home 24/7 once in-room temps drop to around 60°F

Turn a south facing window into a passive solar air heater.
>http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/HouseTS/RobTS.htm

also: other solar projects here
>http://www.builditsolar.com

i have a wood stove/ heater. i will be toasty warm as long as there are trees.

put sunflower seed inside your pockets. when its cold, not only put your hands inside your pockets, but you also hold the seeds inside your closed hand... enjoy your almost magically warm hands in the worse conditions

I'm going to boil some water, put it in a glass bottle, screw on the lid, and hide under my blankets for the next six months.