Mr. Heater to the rescue again!

RedneckContributor - February 1, 2023

Once again, an ice storm moved in this week and I lost power for most of the night.  It was late enough that I decided to not run the generator but the house was getting cold.  So I brought out my 30,000 BTU LP portable heater, and set it on the hearth.  It is ventless and has a carbon monoxide sensor but to be extra safe, I cracked open the flue.  Last year, I posted about using this heater and my generator at my mother-in-law’s house.  This year it was my turn.  It has a thermostat and set on 2 out of 5, it kept the center of the house toasty warm and ran for about 3-4 minutes every 15 minutes.  This Mr. Heater is probably the best prepper investment I’ve ever made… and I’ve made a lot.  🙂

So typical of a prepper, I had my generator ready to run if needed.  I had both Humless solar generators in use.  One was just running a few LED lights and recharging other lights.  The other was beside my recliner, keeping my phone fully charged and powering my CPAP.   I’m one of those that can not sleep without a CPAP anymore.  Without it, I start snoring as soon as I fall asleep and the snoring now wakes me up.  So if I’m gonna sleep, I have to power the CPAP.  Having solar generators allows me to use such equipment without running the generator.  I prefer to not run the generator overnight, while I’m sleeping.

Took this pic from the recliner.

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Is this what they sell at St. Paul’s Mercantile?

 

I have no idea.  I’m in Mississippi.

Got mine from Amazon.

 

Redneck, what is the current situation in your area? I assume you are squared away. What do you see in your area?

 

The freezing rain stopped last night and I’m still without power.  Lots of limbs down as well as trees.  On my property just limbs.  Most of the nearby town was without power too as well as all towns in this area.  They are slowly restoring power but with me being out in the country, it could be several more days.  I hope not but could well be.  Sun is out today and the temps are gonna get in the upper 30s during the day, so we should see a lot of melting.

Last night was the 3rd night I slept in the den in my recliner.  The Mr. Heater really, really does a great job.  With its thermostat, it keeps the area at a uniform temperature 24 hours a day.  The way my generator panel is setup, our bedroom area natural gas central heat works while the generator runs, so it is toasty warm during the day.  I prefer to rest my generator for a few hours during the day and overnight.  Having the Mr. Heater allows me to do that, as it is a standalone system… heater & 40 lb LP tank.  Also during the day while the generator runs, I recharge the solar generators used during the night.

 

I have an NG line in my LR for my similar heater. I have not had to use it yet but I think I will buy 2 more, w/ propane tanks, for my kids if they have the same problem.

I have gone 9 days without power during an ice storm and being prepared sure beats sleeping on the firehouse floor.

 

I have NG lines in both our fireplaces, used as ignitors for the wood logs.  I’m considering getting another heater and am considering NG.  It is convenient and in most cases, you won’t run out of gas as with LP.  However you have very little flexibility in using that heater elsewhere.  Last year I brought my gear to Memphis and I couldn’t have done that if the heater was NG.

It did just order another 7500 running watt dual fuel generator.

 

Natural gas is nice because you have an almost infinite amount of fuel to draw from (it just keeps getting pumped into your house), while propane has to be delivered and stored. We live rurally and don’t have the option of NG, but I wish we did.

 

If you have the option of natural gas, one has to determine what is more important to you.  1) Use natural gas, which generally won’t run out during a normal event.  However it greatly limits your flexibility in using the heater or generator elsewhere.  2) Use LP gas, which you will have to replenish the fuel but can be moved most anywhere.

Even though I’m considering NG for my next heater, I’m betting I’ll stick with LP gas, even though I have NG at my house and already run to both fireplaces.  I just keep seeing flexibility in using these expensive items at other locations as the most important factor… to me.  I’ve already had to use my gear at other locations.  With bottled gas, it was no issue.  But if someone considers using LP gas, make sure you have plenty of gas on hand.  

 

Is that an functioning fireplace? 
If that is propane, how does it vent?

 

Yes, both of our fireplaces are wood burning.   I’m getting a bit old to bother with hauling in the wood so we don’t use them too often anymore.  But as a prepper, I wanted wood burning because we have an unlimited supply of wood around here.  At my age now, during an event like this, I prefer using an LP heater where, thanks to the thermostat, the room stays a constant temp.  Stays that way all night while I’m sleeping.  I have six 40 lb bottles of LP gas and used less than two these past few days.  Neither was full to begin with, so I don’t know my exact usage.

The Mr. Heater is ventless, no different than ventless gas logs.  It is built with a sensor and will shut off if the oxygen level falls.  That being said, I prefer not to trust my life to technology, so I cracked open the damper.  That provides a draft to remove any gasses that could possibly be released.  That open damper doesn’t really remove much of the heat, as the design of the unit sends the heat outward… not upward like a normal wood fire.  That might cause the heater to work a little harder, but not much.  I will gladly burn a tiny amount more fuel to be safer.

BTW, we got our power back yesterday afternoon.  Sure was nice sleeping in my bed again!

 

Been following your posts and am glad to hear you got your power back. Thanks for posting your updates — I love first person accounts — and it’s nice to read about someone’s thought processes and hear that their preps are working out.

 

Thanks.  Every time I use my winter preps, I find things that could be done a bit better so I make updates and make additional purchases.  I too like to read of other first person accounts.  I’ve adjusted my preps numerous times due to reading of other folk’s usages.  I’ve found you simply can’t have too many electric extension cords or too much fuel in storage.  I really like this extension cord and use many of them.  It is perfect to use when you branch off of a bigger line to feed several small appliances or lights.

I’m specifically learning how to share my resources with neighbors during such events.  For example, we have a neighbor who’s house is rather close to ours.  It worked out that way due to the terrain.  Well I figured out if I had a garden hose with female fittings on both ends, I could connect a hose from my frost free hydrant in the garden, to a hydrant at his house.  That would give them at least some water pressure.  They have a well but no way to power it with a generator.

Ran into another neighbor, down the lane a bit, who was out during the ice storm delivering small Honda generators to several other neighbors.  Big enough to power their refrigerator & freezer.   He said he purchased several spare just for such an event.  His actions spurred me to purchase another generator myself.  Lots of good, caring folks out here in the country.  

 

“Lots of good, caring folks out here in the country.”

I couldn’t agree more and I agree with your approach to help others.

The idea of having a year of food and ammo to fight off my neighbors is repulsive to me. I would rather have a year of food and run out of it in a month, with my neighbors, than threaten them with a gun – even if I could ‘hold them off’.

Helping others, quietly, is one of the joys of life.

That said, I don’t have much sympathy for a 25 year old living in Mom’s basement that won’t look for a job.

 

The idea of having a year of food and ammo to fight off my neighbors is repulsive to me. I would rather have a year of food and run out of it in a month, with my neighbors, than threaten them with a gun – even if I could ‘hold them off’.

Helping others, quietly, is one of the joys of life.

Amen to that.  It took me a few years of prepping to realize hungry, starving neighbors would be my greatest threat during a severe crisis… not some strangers.  Once I came to that realization, I decided to add greatly to my long term food stores, so as to feed the neighbors that were still around.  So as opposed to running out of food, I decided to store food for them too.

I think it is a better choice to have neighbors working together rather than fighting each other for food.  I likewise store extra garden seed for neighbors too.

 

Hi Redneck, I’m getting ready to buy one of these.  Looking at it on Northern Tool and reading the manual, which seems to discuss only permanent installation, so I’m hoping you can answer a couple of questions.

I see it requires the additional purchase of a regulator.  There is a Mr. Heater two stage regulator, is this the one you bought?  And a Mr. Heater hose? Your help is greatly appreciated! 

 

This is what I have:

I recently added this gauge.  I really like it:

 

Thank you!

 

@Redneck, what dual fuel generator do you have?

 

Sorry for the delay.  The power supply on my computer died.

I have a Champion Dual Fuel with 7500 running watts when using gasoline. 6750 running watts when on LP gas.

 

Thank you!