Emergency Heating

1. Wood and Coal

-Fireplaces, wood burning stoves give off a lot of heat. But, most of the heat goes up the chimney if you do not have a very efficient one.

-Wood can be messy and take a lot of space to store. Attracts bugs. Usually a cheap source of fuel.

-Coal can be messy; can be buried underground. Cheap and safe way to store fuel but hard to start and difficult to work with.

2. Kerosene

-Burns 45 hours on 1 quart. A 55 gallon drum stored in the back yard will provide enough fuel for a full winter, if used conservatively.

-The cheapest of all storage fuels and stores for long periods of time.

-Purchase only 1-K rated kerosene, as other lower grades produce a strong odor.

-Not explosive.

-Leave one or two windows open when burning to circulate fresh air.

-Kerosene heaters will heat a good-sized area extremely well, but are large and do get hot. Some can be used to cook on at the same time.

-Find more information on kerosene at this address: http://www.milesstair.com/kero_fuel_primer.html.

3. Propane

-Burns 2 hours on 1 quart. A great fuel for storage outdoors, but not indoors.

-Burns clean enough to be used indoors, however open a window just a crack when burning propane.

-A small 10,000 BTU propane heater connected to a 5-gallon bottle will last about 4-5 days if used sparingly; a 100 lb. cylinder (23 gallons) will last about 2 weeks.

4. White Gas

-Burns 12 hours on 1 quart.

-Coleman stoves are very popular.

-Easy to use and gives a lot of heat, but must be used outdoors.

-Extremely flammable-use with caution.

5. Newspaper

-Roll a 10-inch bundle of paper and it will contain as much heat as 18 lbs. of coal.

-Newspaper logs can be stacked and stored the same way you stack wood logs.

-Burns the best if used with firewood also.

-Colored paper ink gives off heavy metals that can be toxic, so avoid using.

6. Catalytic Heaters

-Converts fuels to flameless infrared heat.

-Safe to operate and attain nearly 100% combustion during usage with no measurable carbon monoxide to worry about.

7. Butane Space Heaters

-About the size of a shoe box and will heat the space around you, but not a whole room.

-On high, 8 oz. fuel container will only run about 3 1/2 hours.

Other things to consider:

-Another valuable addition is sheets or rolls of plastic, or plastic tarps that can be used to divide off rooms into smaller sections to maintain heat.

-Make sure you have adequate cold-weather clothing during the colder months. Dress in layers so you can quickly adapt your attire to the different temperatures.

-A critical item in keeping warm is an adequate supply of blankets. A variety of compact and lightweight emergency blankets are available. They can be used alone, but are even better when used in conjunction with a "real" blanket.

-Look for a virgin acrylic blanket. They have many of the advantages of wool, yet are light weight and "squishable" if needed in 72 hour kits.

-Learn how to make a blanket robe.