Wife left me - heating / zoning question

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loveoldtrux
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:05 pm

Hello again gang!!

Not going to bore you all with a long story, but the wife left me after trying to kill herself.

You might remember I live in a 1982 24 X 55 double wide. She left me with $20,000.00 dollars of credit dept and I'm trying to save some money here... it's either doing this or sleeping under a bridge.

What I've done is I've taken half the mobile home (since she took all the furniture with her...) and I've taken cloth gasket and 6 mil polyethylene plastic to cover the openings between the great room and kitchen in both halves of the home (making 1/2 the home not heated or accessible). This has effectively "shut off" a good 600+ SQ FT. In addition to this I've taken all the floor registers and covered them over; leaving only 2 exposed - one in the kitchen and the other in the great room that I live in. I'm hoping this will drastically reduce my $400.00 a month propane bill. Is there any potential for damage here? The furnace fan is evidentally VERY strong - when it comes on the 8' X 15' sheeting sort of pulls to the living side of the home.... I've got it sealed really well.

I don't want to save $40 - $50 a month for an expense that will COST me several hundred dollars in the near future though if this will damage the furnace (air starvation?....) or the fan.

Please help me out here - I've been here for 23 years and don't wanna sleep in a box under a bridge somewhere...

So, the entire one half of the house is shut off AND the master bath at the other end of the house is shut off, too. ALL doors are kept closed... I'd guesstimate maybe 400 - 450 SQ FT are left to really heat.... (I was thinking the "extra air flow" I now have to heat this small space with the other registers covered over would heat the remainder of the home a lot quicker, saving propane and electricity to run the furnace fan <<GA POWER charges this single man that runs around at night with candles instead of turning on a light $170.00 a month!!>>)

Thanks for reading... as always, I am loveoldtrux
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Robert
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 am
Location: Tennessee

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your marital troubles. I remember you and the enormous front deck you built on your home.


Ok, I would not recommend that as it will cause excessive heat build up inside furnace chamber which can lead to furnace failure and a fire.


I have been having some health issues and lost a lot field work income because of it.

We live in an 1800 sq. ft DW with cheap aluminum windows, insulation problems, unusable fireplace and an electric furnace.

I'm in Tennessee, so similar weather and heat costs.

We covered ALL windows on inside with plastic (thin cheap kind-thicker would be better).

I covered fireplace opening good.

I sealed up vents and crawl space doors good.

Set t-stat to 63* when it above 25* outside. Set t-stat to 64* when it gets below 25* outside.

Closed one bedroom door at far end of home where we no longer sleep (largest bedroom).

We sleep in a smaller BR now, less space to heat.

Bought 3 small forced air ceramic type heaters at Wally.

One in bathroom we use.

One in other bathroom where we shower.

One in BR where we sleep.

Changed 60% of our bulbs to the new spiral CFL light bulbs (changing rest soon).

Installed new digital thermostat.

ALL registers open.

Our electric bill dropped from $250+ to around $125-$150.

We also only use lights needed, open curtains on warmer days and wear warm clothing, extra blankets at night.

I would go that route and work from there. may want to check into an EdenPure Heater.


Take care and best wishes,
Robert
Some people are Humbly Grateful, while some are Grumbly Hateful.................... Which one are you ?
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loveoldtrux
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:05 pm

I've got the t-stat as far down as it will go - internal thermometers indicate 50 degrees when i come home.

I'll do the plastic on the windows AND I keep all doors closed..... why leave the vents open if the door is closed?..

Thanks for the kudos on the porch.... I also recently completed a huge two story garage (30 X 40) in the back. Too bad the wife didn't appreciatel it. Won't say more about the wife lest I be banned from the site!!
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Robert
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 am
Location: Tennessee

Should keep doors and registers open. We have all registers open and all but one door.

Need to rid home of the chill and allow for the heat from furnace to adequately be dispersed.


Thanks,
Robert
Some people are Humbly Grateful, while some are Grumbly Hateful.................... Which one are you ?
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Oldtrux, If you can stumble across a Monitor type heater cheap, GRAB IT!! I have a 20k BTU unit that we heat the whole house with (14x80) on about a gallon of Kero. a day. The only time I run the furnace is when it is well below 0 just to keep the water from freezing. I say cheap because they run over $1000 new but worth every penny. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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loveoldtrux
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:05 pm

Thanks for the feedback Greg, that reminds me.... hey just turn the furnace OFF.... get a kerosene heater and go ahead and CLOSE everything off and then use the kero heater to keep 400 SQ FT warm!! By zingers... I can now tell Georgia Propane AND Georgia Power Co where to go... :D
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Robert
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Posts: 6413
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:07 am
Location: Tennessee

That EdenPure is fairly economical as well for that. Be sure your pipes are insulated if furnace is not running and all is closed off so pipes don't freeze.



Thanks,
Robert
Some people are Humbly Grateful, while some are Grumbly Hateful.................... Which one are you ?
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
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I really don't like the "basic" kerosene heater, they give off fumes and you just don't have the control that I would like. Monitors and a few others like them are Mobile home approved, use outside air for combustion thermostat controlled and fan forced. As I said if you can find one used cheap it could be well worth it. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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