Firewood heating vs virus

[sb47]

Firewood and coronavirus.
What now seems a lot of years ago, our son who was then in eighth grade, and I crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Los Palmas, Grand Cannery to Barbados on friends 44' sloop. They wanted another adult to help, and our son and their daughter were the same age.
There is a lot of stuff on a boat that you hope you will never have to use. Bilge pumps, stand alone back up pump, life raft, emergency bag with gps sender, flair guns, radios, weapons, handcuffs, etc.
That was my thinking these past few days, that culminated in ordering a Honda eu7000 generator today for back up power. Something to supply water from a well, refrigeration, power a radio, and charging phones/computers. Something to run an hour or two a day if needed. Probably will not cover the electric hot water heater, but maybe, if dedicated to only that before showers. I'll be needing a transfer switch as well.
I also canceled insurance on my large truck used for deliveries ($580. refund), and failed to renew the $590. license plates the end of February. I did pay $850. to service the truck, annual DOT inspection, fix the emergency brake and a couple things last week. Oh well...
I have no use for the generator other than backup, and hope we will never need it.
The thought of not having potable water available made the choice real enough.
I don't think anyone thought our country and life style was this vulnerable.
I'm feeling vulnerable.
Regardless of the reasons, it is a huge expense and deviation, from doing firewood.

Honda EU's are great quiet fuel efficient gens. I have 2 eu3000is gens, one is over 10 years old and I used it every weekend at the track for my toy hauler. They are pricey but there bullet proof. I run mine once a month for 30 min with a half load then turn the fuel off and let the carb run dry. I also only use e free fuel in them. You should be happy with it and it should last a very long time. Mine are only rated to run 110 so I can't run my well witch is 220. The eu7000 is rated at 5000 watts and 7000 watts surge with an inverter witch produces clean power to protect sensitive equipment. so it should run the hot water heater. The thing about using generators is power management. They can run full loads for a short time but it's best to keep the wattage down to about half of what it's rated for. I did noticed this model is fuel injected so no carb to reduce fuel issues. It also has power management with echo option that only runs the gen at what ever the load is and it's automatic so when your load is low it idles down to save fuel and when you turn something else on it will automatically speed up to keep it in optimal fuel consumption.
I run mine 24/7 at the track to keep the heat or a/c going all weekend long. I have not has a single issue with mine. My eu300is does have a battery start but also has a secondary pull start. I didn't see that the eu7000 has that feature.

I would also recommend an APC power ups for your PC and TV so you don't have damage from your PC shutting own improperly witch will cause issues to your Operating system. It gives you time to shut down your PC properly and it will do that automatically once it gets down to about 10 min of power left in the battery. It will also give you time to transfer over to the gen without having to shut the PC down. I also run my motum so the internet stays up and running. My APC will keep my PC, motom, and monitor running for about 2 hours. I have another APC on my security system that will keep it working for about 4 hours if the power goes out. The Honda's are so quiet you can't hear then running from just 20 feet away. That keeps thieves that can hear a loud gen running and steel it. I ran mine 24/7 for 14 days and it worked perfectly. I get about 18 hours run time on a 3 gallon tank of fuel.
There expensive but sure handy when you need one. Just make sure you have some e free fuel on hand cause if it a wide spread power outage getting fuel is not an option as there pumps are not working.

 

[Brownthumb]

My freezer took a crap in the garage. Lost about 75 pounds of venison.
My heart sank losing all that meat. Thank god I canned half of it. Canned Venison is awesome.

 

[Huskybill]

Sorry, will the virus effect you from cutting wood?

 

[sb47]

Sorry, will the virus effect you from cutting wood?

Not me, I'm blowing and going like crazy. I'm trying to get next years wood stocked up before the summer heat sets in.

 

[SS396driver]

I usually dont go out cutting wood at my 3 locations this time of the year just to muddy but I will be cutting and splitting what I have here already. About 18 to 20 cord still in rounds and logs

 

[FlyingDutchman]

My truck is broken so I've been really badly hindered getting firewood and I burnt up almost every stick I had stored. My partner lost her job due to the virus and can't contribute to bills so money I had saved for the truck has to go to bills instead.
I've been working from home which frees up gas money and 2 hours a day, a huge blessing as I am able to go out in the scrub and scrounge boxelder I've cut that's dry enough to burn to keep the house comfy and give me some iota of purpose in this strange time.

 

[svk]

@Huskybill, You have two posts on this. I haven't figured out the virus part as yet?

Two, heck I think huskybill has 5 or 6 coronavirus threads going across the forums. He might take out Dano as the #1 AS thread starter for 2020

 

[svk]

What’s the future of your heating with firewood?

I’m at the crossroads again. Enough for the coming season but the future I’m thinking about. Should I go buy split/ seasoned wood by the cord or get bunk truck loads. Options?

If you have saws that run and are physically able to do your own wood, they you should be ordering logs.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Winter is a good time to order logs, especially this years mild winter, because the ground is hard and they can get access to logs they may not have access to in the spring or summer. This time of year frost laws, or road weight limit restrictions, delay some deliveries depending on county laws.

 

[sundance]

Two, heck I think huskybill has 5 or 6 coronavirus threads going across the forums. He might take out Dano as the #1 AS thread starter for 2020

I still haven't figured out the coronavirus connection.

I'm not sure he'll make #1 starter but certainly in the running for digging up antique threads.

 

[muddstopper]

Two, heck I think huskybill has 5 or 6 coronavirus threads going across the forums. He might take out Dano as the #1 AS thread starter for 2020

You telling me theres a contest. With all this home time, the competition might get a little heated

 

[chucker]

You telling me theres a contest. With all this home time, the competition might get a little heated

heated?? "HEATED", heat is good! it's supposed to kill the virus... get it warmed up then....

 

[MountainHigh]

Some talk on business news that NatGas may start climbing in price soon as oil price war has put hold on drilling and therefore, NatGas is gonna run low maybe next Fall ... no crystal ball here, just conveying the news.

Keep your wood shed stocked up is always a good insurance policy.

 

[chucker]

Some talk on business news that NatGas may start climbing in price soon as oil price war has put hold on drilling and therefore, NatGas is gonna run low maybe next Fall ... no crystal ball here, just conveying the news.

Keep your wood shed stocked up is always a good insurance policy.

a mouth full of truth! in any hard time, wood has always been a hot commodity for a better sustainable value then trying to deal with oil/gas for a barter item! lol if you have a use for it? stay warm!!

 

[sb47]

Some talk on business news that NatGas may start climbing in price soon as oil price war has put hold on drilling and therefore, NatGas is gonna run low maybe next Fall ... no crystal ball here, just conveying the news.

Keep your wood shed stocked up is always a good insurance policy.

Fuel oil prices should dip as well making it more affordable, and that may make firewood a slow seller next year. It should also make electricity prices go down as well.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Virus.
And a bit about Honda eu 7000 generator at the end.
The news is troubling.

The news is model predictions of a peak in April.
The predictions are, as most know, with of course the exception of Georgia's governor and a few other states, that the virus spread is doubling every four days. The news seems to support this. The death rate is, I think, 1%.

In Michigan seventy five people died yesterday.
The only "real number" known is the death toll.

Working backwards...
doubling twice a week.

By the end of the week, per present modeling, we can expect 75 to grow to 300 deaths per day.
The following weeks end 1,200 deaths per day.
Third week, 4,800 deaths per day.
And months end, 19,200 deaths in a single day. One state.

The present modelings "best case outcome" predicts in the months to come 200,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US.

Here is the part I need help to understand.
The peak is expected by the end of April.
What stops the peak?
Predicted approx. 20k deaths per day, in Michigan alone, and that is 1% (?) of infections, or 20,000 x 100 for one day spread.
2 million/day spread, doubling every four days
.
What stops the peak from continuing to grow?

It seems to me as a lay person, peak will be herd inoculation in the country , perhaps the world.
What is the total US population of heart disease, cancer, copd, diabetes, old age, and obesity? Those most susceptible... your talking considerably more than 1%, considerably more than 240,000 people in the US, if that is the case.

Honda eu7000 generator.
Looks very impressive, although I've yet to start it.
I ordered it from a local John Deere dealer as it was not a stocked item.
Payed via visa over the phone. Stayed in truck after removing tailgate and they set it on a pallet and placed in truck after prepping it and testing.

I am disappointed, with myself for not doing more research,
and Honda for misleading me.
The control panel has 120/240 30 amp breaker or protection.

In the owners manual I discovered the unit produces 45.8 amps, however this is split on the 240 side to 22.9 amps.
There is no 30 amp leg in 240.... only 30 amp in 120.

Hondas next size up is a commercial unit for job site construction. These meet different standards, and for home use would need the control panel rewired to avoid tripping GFI's. Didn't want to go there. Also not sure if the larger units are inverters, or if it matters.
I made the initial assumption that a house standby unit would be cost prohibitive (would need to add propane, natural gas, maybe diesel), but after the fact, am getting an estimate for a unit, and natural gas hookup. We are presently 100% electric with ground source heat pump. Natural gas would be dedicated to a generator, and therefor somewhat expensive to hook up to, although it is available at the road 300' away.

I've yet to get a transfer switch installed until I know more.

 

[full chizel]

Some talk on business news that NatGas may start climbing in price soon as oil price war has put hold on drilling and therefore, NatGas is gonna run low maybe next Fall ... no crystal ball here, just conveying the news.

Keep your wood shed stocked up is always a good insurance policy.

Turn off the fear mongering propaganda filled news.

 

[old CB]

Those of us who heat with wood . . . we heat with wood. What's happening in the world has no effect on our wood supply or wood use.

I take the present thing very seriously. Am hunkered down inside, not doing work even in my neighborhood where I have customers waiting.

But the virus has absolutely no connection to my wood supply. It's mostly in place for next season, though much splitting and stacking remains.

It's the life-goes-on-regardless stuff, like carrying in my daily supply of heat from the woodshed, that keeps me on an even keel throughout. That's another benefit to wood heat, even beyond the old thing of "wood heats you twice, once in the cutting and once in the burning."

We'll get through this thing. Most of us will.

 

[MountainHigh]

Turn off the fear mongering propaganda filled news.

try watching the Canadian news and other foreign news for some wider perspective .... all things in moderation and taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Because of the reduced traffic from the shelter in place, I scored probably two years worth of firewood helping a county crew cut roadsides. Black locust, black walnut, and a little bit of maple, cherry and cottonwood. There's a 20x30x8ft pile of logs waiting for me to process less than 5 minutes from the house.

Brutal work, and very frustrating with all the people trying to push through the road closed signs. The crew said the Sheriff's department wouldn't let them shut down the road until now because of the traffic.

One guy wouldn't leave and insisted that we let him through so they had to chase him out with the skidsteer. Out of state plates, had to drive though yards to get past trees felled across the road and a truck and trailer parked across it too. He had no business being out of his state, no less. Before I got there, another guy had a boat and a trailer and had to get chased out too.