What heat to use when supply chains break down?

Matthew Nistico wrote:

Kelly Craig wrote:A friend mentioned he put a teaspoon of the Safeway cayenne in his socks when he went out skiing.  We concluded the stuff I had, which was about 180,000 BTU, vs the Safeway stuff, at about 40,000 BTU, was way to much.

...First, BTU stands for British Thermal Unit, which is a measure of heat energy.  Cayenne pepper is not actually generating heat; it only makes you feel warmer.  Not to mention that 180K BTU is 3x the output of a woodstove!  So I'm kinda doubting that was occurring inside your socks.  Your legs would literally have combusted.  I think perhaps you meant to write "SHU" instead of "BTU."  SHU stands for Scoville Heat Unit, which is a measure of the capsaicin content of a chili, and thus its spiciness.  SHUs do indeed run into the hundreds of thousands and into the millions. ...

I think Kelly was being playful. I laughed out loud at BTUs as a casual descriptor of how "hot" cayenne is. One time I bought some cayenne in the ethnic foods aisle and ended up using it as cat deterrent. And I like some good "heat!" Wow!

[]It's a very common heating device in my country, but note that butane/propane supply depends on oil consumption: the more petrol derivates (fuel oil, gasoline, tars, kerosene, parafine, sfsf) are consumed, the more butane/propane is produced. So, if oil is running low, so will do propane. Maybe it is not an issue for this winter, but it could be for the followings. Good thing is that even if you are cut from the electric grid, it will still work as long as there's gas left in the bottle.


One difference with propane=- the stuff doesn't have an expiration date.  so if you can fill your tank(s) now, you are good to go for winter.  It's a bit pricey here delivered though.

I am fairly certain that if it has not already been mentioned that the solution is a Rocket Mass Heater aka RMH.

This could be the cleanest and most sustainable way to heat a conventional home. Some people have reported that they heat their home with nothing more than the dead branches that fall off the trees in their yard. And they burn so clean, that a lot of sneaky people are using them illegally, in cities, without detection.

source

For those that have not heard of one:





https://permies.com/t/41635/Top-Questions-Rocket-Mass-Heaters

   heat your home with 80% to 90% less wood
   exhaust is nearly pure steam and CO2 (a little smoke at the beginning)
   the heat from one fire can last for days
   you can build one in a day or two
   folks have built them spending less than $20
   less CO2 than natural gas or electric heat
   if you buy the wood, it costs less to operate than natural gas

https://richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

Anne Miller wrote:I am fairly certain that if it has not already been mentioned that the solution is a Rocket Mass Heater aka RMH.

Yes, RMH has absolutely already come up earlier in the discussion.  While RMH is undeniably a superior heating technology, especially for heating when fuel is scarce, the problem is that the OP is expecting to spend this winter in a rental property.  They will not be at liberty to make permanent modifications to the building, like installing an RMH, nor has the OP expressed willingness to make a substantial capital investment into property that they don't own.

In addition, as has also already been discussed, we on permies like to tout anecdotes of RMH being used as "sneaky heat," but so far as I am aware those are all based on examples from the USA, specifically I believe in PNW jurisdictions with wood smoke bans.  The successful "guerrilla" installations of RMH in those anecdotal accounts likely did not have to contend with the level of pro-active code enforcement that is being reported as routine in Germany.

Matthew said, " the problem is that the OP is expecting to spend this winter in a rental property.  They will not be at liberty to make permanent modifications to the building, like installing an RMH, nor has the OP expressed willingness to make a substantial capital investment into property that they don't own.

Has anyone come up with a solution?

I was mainly responding to the title:

What heat to use when supply chains break down?

Maybe the solution would be a portable unit:



source

Anne Miller wrote:

Matthew said, "the problem is that the OP is expecting to spend this winter in a rental property.  They will not be at liberty to make permanent modifications to the building, like installing an RMH, nor has the OP expressed willingness to make a substantial capital investment into property that they don't own."

Has anyone come up with a solution?

Not that I am aware of.  I will be interested to hear from the OP what they finally decide to do, but I don't think that info has yet been posted.

Anne Miller wrote:Maybe the solution would be a portable unit:

source

Even a cottage rocket still requires a visible penetration to the outside of the house to vent exhaust gases.  I had previously advocated for some form of wood burning device, also, but that apparently won't fly.  See my earlier comments about landlords and intrusive code enforcement.