Heating Systems - Upgrades Complete!

Going back to the posts on October 15 (http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2007/10/another-big-project-for-this-year.html) and October 30 (http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/2007/10/heating-system-update.html ), we’ve upgraded the heating system in the cabin.

We retained the baseboard radiators as a supplement to the new propane system. These are installed in the bathrooms, the utility room, and the guest bedroom. We keep them set at 50 degrees while we are away as a way to help slow the use of propane and keep from having a freeze, but we are worried about the expense of this type of heat so we’ll be watching costs carefully.

Gone are the fuel tank from the front of the house (thanks very much for “no refund” on the unused propane, Valley Gas Corp. in Stanley – we went with Southern States partially due to this), the old propane fireplace and dining room heater, and the electric fan heaters that were installed in various parts of the house. Also, we eliminated the pellet stove.

We thought the propane heater in the dining room was salvageable, and that a farmer might use it to heat a barn or workshop; however, it was substantially rusted out and now rests in the Page County landfill (in case my fellow uninitiated city folk are interested http://www.co.page.va.us/dept/landfill.htm). The obsolete and non-working electric fan heaters are also there, as is the old propane fireplace.

This is one potential destiny for the pellet stove, which is now stored in the garage shed. Substantial cleaning will be required for that unit, and we could still end up using it to heat the outbuilding. Or, we could put it up for sale to a farmer as above. Our GC Jesse did a great job of patching the fireplace where the exhaust from that unit attached – he found a decent matching stone in the yard and installed it there.

Now for the new system: we have a larger tank that was installed out back – shown in the photo, conveniently hidden behind the small shed. Also, a new fuel tank line has been trenched in to the house, as shown in this photo. My Jacobs friends will remember my continuing lectures on Miss Utility…as they were trenching this line, they found an old electric cable that ran from the small shed out to the garage…this was abandoned and not a hot line. It is typical of the earlier utilities for the place, everything is spliced together in make due fashion…

There is a 25K BTU monstrosity in the master bedroom, which will serve to heat the entire addition. We are keeping this at 50 degrees also.

Finally, the new propane fireplace also pushes out 25K BTU, kept at 50 degrees when we are not there, will serve to keep the main part of the house at a toasty temp. The new roof job included 30 insulation, and we have a ceiling fan in there to ensure that the warm air circulates.

This heating system upgrade was one of the two major projects of the first phase of repairs. There is still plenty to do, and I’ll revisit the master task list later in the month.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!