Category Archives: Heating

Ready for Winter

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Darlene & Ken

October 26, 2017   We are ready for winter – rain barrels are emptied, eaves troughs cleaned, equipment put away and wood sheds stocked. And just in time, too. We awoke to a blanket of white this morning and the … Continue reading →

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Wood Stove Hearth Reno – Lessons Learned

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Darlene & Ken

May 15, 2016 I love my woodstove, a beautiful and functional Kitchen Queen 480. It supplies all our heat and hot water during the heating season as well as handling all our cooking and baking. The hearth and surrounding walls … Continue reading →

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Batteries

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Darlene & Ken

November 18, 2015 We purchased our last set of batteries, Trojan L16H-AC, for the solar system about four years ago. We had eight six volt batteries for a 48 volt system. Under optimal use, the batteries should have lasted at least five years, … Continue reading →

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Wood Shed

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Darlene & Ken

September 27, 2015 Putting up the woodshed was not in our plans for this year, but as the weather started to turn cool we began to wonder about how best to store the wood for the house this winter. Last … Continue reading →

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Kitchen Queen 480 Update

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Darlene & Ken

April 5, 2015 At the end of October 2014, we installed a Kitchen Queen 480 wood cookstove in our kitchen. Since then we have been using this stove not only for cooking, but also as the sole source of heat … Continue reading →

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Kitchen Queen 480 Wood Cookstove

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Darlene & Ken

August 10 to November 25, 2014 After a nice long fall season, winter has descended – fast and furious. Our main project this fall was to get our new wood cookstove installed in the house before the heating season arrived. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Food, Heating, Home, Kitchen | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Art of Building a Woodpile

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Darlene & Ken

July 20, 2014 The other day, Ken announced that he would like to build a woodpile like his grandfather used to build. I laughed, because Ken is not the woodpile building kind of guy. He is more chop and split … Continue reading →

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Appliances

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Darlene & Ken

June 26, 2014 We have made our decisions on the major appliances for the house. While we are trying to use repurposed material for most of the building fixtures (doors, lights, sinks, etc), the appliances will be new. It’s amazing … Continue reading →

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THE BUILD RESUMES – 2014 – INSULATING

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Darlene & Ken

March 23, 2014 Winter has not yet released it’s firm grip on Manitoba, but the sun is powerful. It has warmed up enough that we can start doing a bit of work inside the house. The next job on the … Continue reading →

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Wanted – Wood Burning Cook Stove Reviews

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Darlene & Ken

January 10, 2014 We are currently researching wood burning cook stoves. I love cooking on a wood stove and we plan to have one in our new kitchen. I have a big, bright 14 by 17 foot kitchen space – … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking, Food, Heating, Home | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments