Oil prices...

[AxlsMainMan]

These days someone passes gas in the Middle East, and oil prices go up

[pilferk]

Pilferk, you should look into wood stoves.

Wood pretty much never goes up in price, and it's alot more environmentally friendly than burning oil to heat the ol' homestead.

Nope.  Won't do it.

I grew up in a house with a wood stove.  They make everything in the house smell like smoke, they take CONSTANT attention to keep the fire going and, quite frankly, a cord of wood (cut and split) up here in the NE would run me roughly what my oil bill does in a month.  Considering the stove would need to go pretty much 24/7 (remember, stay at home wife with 3 kids), I'd go through a LOT of wood.  And my wife would be tied to the stove.

It's also not real envirnomentally friendly because you can't burn the stuff that grows fast.  Or, at least, you can't heat your house on it.  You're burning pine or oak, mostly....neither of which I consider to get high marks in "replenishability".


I love wood stoves and wood fire places for atmosphere.......even as a part time heating suppliment for specific areas of a house.  But as a full time solution....No way.  It sucks.

[SLCPUNK]

There is a psychological type of comfort that comes from a fireplace or woodstove too. I'd have one as an extra source of heat in my home or cabin.

[pilferk]

There is a psychological type of comfort that comes from a fireplace or woodstove too. I'd have one as an extra source of heat in my home or cabin.

It was something we talked about when we built, but ultimately decided to pass on...for a variety of reasons.  Our lots are long and narrow,and adding the chimney to the side of the house we would have needed to add it on to would have caused some configuration "issues" with the house and more importantly some zoning "issues" that we didn't want to have to tackle (because our zoning board considers the chimney as "occupied space....don't get me started....and putting it on the side of our house put us 14 feet 9 inches from our neighbors unattached "garage"...which our zoning board wanted to consider as an occupied "out building" of our neighbors house.....so they considered the set up a zoning violation since we have to be 15 feet between occupied spaces).

My dad was a stone mason, when I was growing up, and I worked summers (and some winters) with him and his crew.  I could practically BUILD the chimney/flu/fireplace in brick or fieldstone.  It was a toughie for me to give that up when we were building (not the doing it myself...just the having it), and was one of the LAST things we eliminated and only after having a round of "discussions" with our local zoning board.

[SLCPUNK]

Well that being said, my Father had his house built in Texas with a wood stove, and never uses the thing in the winter. Thinks it is too much of a hassle, like you said.

Has your history with stone work ever come in handy as an adult for you?

Edit (My AC just kicked in, hahaha.)

Edit 2: That also reminds me of our heat recovery system on our AC. It takes the heat generated and heats our water up with it. I will not have to turn the water heater on for about 6 months out of the year.

[pilferk]

Well that being said, my Father had his house built in Texas with a wood stove, and never uses the thing in the winter. Thinks it is too much of a hassle, like you said.

Has your history with stone work ever come in handy as an adult for you?

Yup.  From a homeowners perspective it's saved me a bundle.

I did our exterior sidewalk from the front stoop to the driveway (brick in dead sand).

I've done all our brick edging and planters in our yard.

I've done a blue stone patio and walkway in the back yard, as well as setting up a couple of nice hard scape seating areas in our backyard, near garden areas.

I've also tackled drainage in our backyard...something I learned to do when putting in fieldstone walls.

I've also done some projects for our neighbors, and my mom....saving them a bundle, too.

[AxlsMainMan]

We only use our stove 6 months out of the year, and leave the windows open the other 6 months, so any "smoke smell" disappears really quickly in the spring time.

Even in the winter time, I don't even notice a "smoke smell" unless I'm outside within distance of the chimney to tell you the truth.

Once you've got a bed of coals going, the stove doesn't really require any attention at all.

As for cost, wood is incredibly cheap if you cut and split it yourself.

Me and my Dad live out in farm country, and many farmers will let us cut down, and split up trees they don't want anymore, only charging us a mere $40/quart.

But if you don't have the time to cut it down, and split it yourself, as I'm sure a family man like yourself probably doesn't; it would probably cost almost the same as your gas bill, as you said it would.

As for your point about environmental friendliness, yeah, we're burning pine and oak.

Sure it doesn't get huge marks in "replenish-ability" as you said, but there is no foreseeable shortage of pine and oak here in Canada.

As for emissions, it's most certainly more environmentally friendly than burning oil 24/7.

[pilferk]

Well that being said, my Father had his house built in Texas with a wood stove, and never uses the thing in the winter. Thinks it is too much of a hassle, like you said.

Has your history with stone work ever come in handy as an adult for you?

Edit (My AC just kicked in, hahaha.)

Edit 2: That also reminds me of our heat recovery system on our AC. It takes the heat generated and heats our water up with it. I will not have to turn the water heater on for about 6 months out of the year.

It's in the mid 70's up here, in CT today.  Not quite AC weather YET.  Gorgeous weekend, though.

I wish our AC unit had something more than just being energy efficient.  That might be something I swap out, soon, too. 

[pilferk]

We only use our stove 6 months out of the year, and leave the windows open the other 6 months, so any "smoke smell" disappears really quickly in the spring time.

Even in the winter time, I don't even notice a "smoke smell" unless I'm outside within distance of the chimney to tell you the truth.

My wife's mother has one.  Dead of summer, every window in the place opened up wide...I can still smell the smoke in the soft goods (furniture, rugs, etc) when I walk into her house. 

In the winter, I could tell you when she's stopped to visit us before my wife says a word...I can smell the smoke lingering in the air.

It's not a BAD thing....it's just not something I would want in my house.  It would...annoy is not the right word....distract me. 

Maybe it's me.  Maybe it's something that, when you're used to it, you don't notice it.  I don't know.  But I know that I've ALWAYS been "sensitive" to that smell...even at my Dad's when I was a kid growing up.  It's what he heated his whole house with.....the electric heat was turned on only if it was colder than a witches tit.

Once you've got a bed of coals going, the stove doesn't really require any attention at all.

Other than feeding it, you mean?  Getting up once or twice a night to stuff it full so it doesn't burn down to nothing (or get cold)?

Too much attention, for me.

As for cost, wood is incredibly cheap if you cut and split it yourself.

Me and my Dad live out in farm country, and many farmers will let us cut down, and split up trees they don't want anymore, only charging us a mere $40/quart.

But if you don't have the time to cut it down, and split it yourself, as I'm sure a family man like yourself probably doesn't; it would probably cost almost the same as your gas bill, as you said it would.

Bingo and Bango.

While I will admit I live in the rural part of NW CT, there's still not many places that will let you go chop down their trees and haul them away. 

And as you rightly point out, I don't have the time to cut it and split it, even if they did.  Between work and my commute, I'm out of the house 10 hours+ a day.  I suppose I could make time, if I had to.  But I'd choose not to have to (well, I did choose, really).

As for your point about environmental friendliness, yeah, we're burning pine and oak.

Sure it doesn't get huge marks in "replenish-ability" as you said, but there is no foreseeable shortage of pine and oak here in Canada.

No, probably not down here in CT either.  But CT is starting to lose it's forests a lot faster than I'd like.  I guess I don't want to contribute to that unless I have no better option. 

As for emissions, it's most certainly more environmentally friendly than burning oil 24/7.

Absolutely true.  Though we do use a clean burning, very fuel efficient furnace, which helps some.

[AxlsMainMan]

My wife's mother has one.  Dead of summer, every window in the place opened up wide...I can still smell the smoke in the soft goods (furniture, rugs, etc) when I walk into her house. 

In the winter, I could tell you when she's stopped to visit us before my wife says a word...I can smell the smoke lingering in the air.

It's not a BAD thing....it's just not something I would want in my house.  It would...annoy is not the right word....distract me. 

Maybe it's me.  Maybe it's something that, when you're used to it, you don't notice it.  I don't know.  But I know that I've ALWAYS been "sensitive" to that smell...even at my Dad's when I was a kid growing up. 

Yeah, I've probably grown used to it, and don't even notice it anymore.

It's kind of like someone who smokes cigarettes.

They can't smell it, but everyone who doesn't smoke can.

It's what he heated his whole house with.....the electric heat was turned on only if it was colder than a witches tit.

 

Other than feeding it, you mean?  Getting up once or twice a night to stuff it full so it doesn't burn down to nothing (or get cold)?

Too much attention, for me.

Just put a big chunk of wood on the fire before you go to bed so you won't have to get up in the night.

"All nighters" me and my Dad call them

[SLCPUNK]

Saw that a Norwegian company will also have an electric car in the US by the end of this year and that Nissan and one other (can't remember) are developing one right now. Could you imagine running solar panels and and electric car? That would be awesome.

Oil hit 118 so far today too.

[pilferk]

Saw that a Norwegian company will also have an electric car in the US by the end of this year and that Nissan and one other (can't remember) are developing one right now. Could you imagine running solar panels and and electric car? That would be awesome.

Oil hit 118 so far today too.

You give me an AWD electric car with a range of around 200 miles on a charge (I go about 120 miles, round trip, to work every day), at about 75 mph and I'd be on it like white on rice.

Give me a hybrid AWD/4WD that gets better than 35 to 40 mpg on the highway and, likewise, I'd be on it like white on rice.

I often wonder why Suburu hasn't entered the hybrid market.  They (along with Toyota, who has) seem like no brainer entries.  I know Subie had an issue with making their electric motor cost effective, but that was 2 years ago!   

On the positive side of things....I've managed to convince the powers that be to let me telecommute 2 days a week starting in July.  That'll cut my gas use almost in 1/2.  2/5, obviously, to be exact.

[SLCPUNK]

I think the price of oil will push many car makers into that segment very soon.

I was planning on holding my car until 2010-12, until I saw a diesel (love the smell, haha) alternative but now I am going to add electric as an option. The only thing I am concerned with, as far as electric is concerned, would be safety.

We'll see!

Happy Earth Day! 

[fuckin crazy]

I know someone that installed a wood furnace that is located outside; about 20m from the house. The thing will go for 12 hours without having to be fed.

Another lady built a passive solar design. It has a wood furnace in the basement for those really cold nights. but this lady rarely pays for heat. Got solar panels on the roof, so water is also free.

[russkwtx]

What we do to save energy:
1. bought the wife a Prius, she gets 51-55 mpg
2. insulated the hell out of the attic
3. caulked the house all the way around, every year
4. I drive slower, and take off more gently from stop lights
5. I go into the office only 2-3 days a week and work at home a lot
6. We combine errands so that one trip can get 7-8 things done
8. put a heat blanket around the hot water heater
9. caulked the electrical outlets
10. sealed the leaks in the duct pipes that carry hot and cold air
11. close the blinds in the afternoon in the summer and keep them open in the winter
12. get a programable thermostat and set is way high in the summer when no one is home, and way low in the winter when no one is home
13. wear sweaters in the winter to keep the thermostat lower
14. have good ceiling fans that run all year round, they really help!
15. collect rain water and also water from the shower as it heats up, using it for plants in the yard
16. starting composting our waste

Call us tree huggers, as the derogatory term goes, BUT:

Our energy bills are a fraction of the neighbors.

[SLCPUNK]

What we do to save energy:
1. bought the wife a Prius, she gets 51-55 mpg

Wow, that's pretty darn good! I didn't know they returned that high MPG.

4. I drive slower, and take off more gently from stop lights

Me too, I putt putt, in the right lane now, and leave ten minutes early so I'm never in a rush.

14. have good ceiling fans that run all year round, they really help!

They help us in the summer especially. We can set the thermo higher and the fans are great. It also allows us to put off using the AC by about a month. Warm with the fans on, is still comfortable in our house.

15. collect rain water and also water from the shower as it heats up, using it for plants in the yard
16. starting composting our waste

We just started our compost pile in our back yard.

Should be getting a container for rain collection next month (rainy season is coming up.)

Call us tree huggers, as the derogatory term goes, BUT:

Our energy bills are a fraction of the neighbors.

Saving money means more time for YOU. Cutting down on emissions and waste is good for everybody IMO.

[SLCPUNK]

Oil prices up on word US ship fired on boats in Persian Gulf

More middle east tension causing the price of crude to swing up....

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Oil speculators use ANY excuse to raise prices...

[SLCPUNK]

Any old excuse, like conflict in an oil rich area....

[Dr. Blutarsky]

When was the last time conflict wasn't in a oil rich  area?