Kristie's weekly-ish pics

Len Ovens wrote:So outside the living quarters, yes. Outside in the very cold? not so much.

Could you explain further why not in the very cold outside? I've never heard of a problem.

Bella is a happy girl getting her own pen !

Well we almost had easter babies on the lab ! Our lgd heeler had her babies Saturday night. There are 4 babies ....three girls an a boy!

Here are the other three babies

aww poopie doopie puppies (:

here is a good pic finally of the baby pigs we got a few weeks ago!

ron is torching off a chunk of metal so he an tim can move the hitch down

Len Ovens wrote:

Peter Hooper wrote:Hi,

Looking at your kitchen photos...

You are aware, aren't you, of the dangers of keeping a propane tank inside--even a little 20 pound tank? It's easy enough to run a line for the tank from outside. As an alternative builder, I know it's easy, as I have to do it.

pros and cons both ways. I have heard of people killed both ways... See "Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding" book (in most libraries) for a good explanation of why it is really bad to keep it inside. However, please note that his experiences are all in warmer climates. Please also note that most propane bottle use is in the summer in any climate. Some friends of ours who lived in Three Hills Alberta in a mobile home that was heated by propane died of suffocation when their propane setup froze. The valve to safely shut off things froze open and the trailer filled up from the bottom and killed them in their sleep (I wish I had more details, but it was a long time ago now). So outside the living quarters, yes. Outside in the very cold? not so much. I don't know if the propane solution is a permanent thing or not in this case (I would guess not), but if it was, building a propane container/closet within the earth mass with a drain downhill would be the best way. The main valve for shutoff would be outside of the dwelling space too. It would be important to make sure the propane closet drain did not get covered with snow

Although I'm sure it's possible and obviously has happened in the past, the risk of any valves freezing open and allowing the propane to leak into a house is extremely low. With much of North America relying on propane heating during the winter months, I believe current manufacturing techniques address and solve many of these possible malfunctions. Here in western SD nearly every single house is heated with propane (many use it for cooking, as well) and I've never seen a setup where the propane tank was located anywhere but outside. This is probably partially due to convenience for having the tank filled, though. We see temps consistently dropping under -20 F and I'm not aware of any instances of this kind of malfunction occurring.

Maybe there is an increased danger of that happening with those small tanks, though? If propane leaking into the house is a concern, a good gas alarm can be purchased for around $50. We have one in our basement and one on the main floor; they can detect small levels of carbon monoxide, natural gas and propane and they also contain a 9v battery for backup if the power goes out or if they get unplugged. Definitely worth the investment if you're using any sort gas for heating or cooking, even if the danger is fairly low. With a good gas alarm, I don't see any advantages to having the tank inside (other than the extra work it takes to run the gas lines). I'm not an expert by any means, just sharing my 2 cents for what it's worth. So if anyone has more information or opinions, I'd love to hear it.

Yesterday alivia was helping me to move the cows to thier new pasture...

Alivia an I found these growing on the lab in one of the pastures we were taking down yesterday