[TheForge] Winter is coming (was: sure is quiet)

Mon Oct 28 10:07:00 2002

Dave,

If your shop is drafty enough that you can feel the wind blow in on windy =
days, you will probably save more money in heating than any other way by =
simply plugging the worst of the leaks.  I am NOT advocating an entirely =
air-tight enclosure, but when cold air blows in of its own accord, you're =
just throwing money away.

Insulating the shop is next in line, if it's not already insulated.  What =
you use or how you do it is an economic question.

Heating is third in line.  Most economical only when fuel is free or =
cheap.

Bruce
NJ

>>> [email protected] 10/26/02 11:15PM >>>
At 21:09 10/26/02 -0500, you wrote:
>Anybody home?

Well, I'm home, but have been away from the computer for most of the day.

Winter is coming and we've had a taste of it these last few days with=20
temperatures dropping into the mid 20'sF.

In past years I heated the shop with propane.  It got mighty expensive =
at=20
times, to the point that I'd stay out of the shop because it was cheaper =
to=20
pass up a job than it was to heat the shop.  So this year I started =
looking=20
around at alternative heat furnaces.  I had headed off in the direction =
of=20
corn burner furnaces.  Corn has a big BTU value and looked promising.  =
In=20
keeping with my coal forge, a corn burner produces a clinker that must =
be=20
fished out of the firepot daily.  At one shop out in the middle of farm=20
country the dealer took me through the pros and cons of corn vs=20
pellets.  Basically it came down to the pellets being cheaper to burn =
than=20
corn unless, that is, you get your corn for free or you burn the low =
BTU=20
and high cost pellets at Fleet Farm or similar "BORG" (big box) stores.

I ran into a good deal on some slightly damaged pellet stoves by =
Whitfield=20
(Lennox) at a touch under half of the usual price.  Pellet stoves are =
not=20
cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but at half price for a stove=20
designed to heat a structure more than twice the footage of my shop =
....=20
well it was too good to pass up.

It's direct vent, so no stack to run and it pulls the combustion air in=20
from outside.  This last bit isn't all that important since my shop is =
so=20
drafty in the first place.  But it reduces the heat loss a wee bit, so =
I=20
won't complain.

It's running out there now and if anyone is interested I'll keep them=20
posted on how it performs for me.

Dave Brown
Heritage Smithing
Green Bay, WI
ABANA, UMBA, GoM, MODA, ARG

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