Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Remote Update

Grumpy Dan, begrudgingly starting the weight calculations.
Greetings from Montana!



I'm currently out in the mid-west for a work trip, but I wanted to put up a post before too many more days go by! 

There hasn't been a whole lot of action on the house since the last post. Dan is in school full time with classes on Saturdays, and I just started a beekeeping class on Saturdays too! So excited!! The trade off is that it takes a huge chunk of our weekends away- and that's when we have done most of our work in the past. 

We also have some other....projects....going on (not related to the Pod) that are taking some of our time and attention at the moment. We are both super excited, and I will share more about it once more details have been figured out! Eeee!

Although we don't have any physical labors to report on, we have started some of those more "book keeping" type tasks that we have been avoiding for months. One of which is calculating the tiny house weight. We have talked about this quite a few times in the past. We don't really have a clue what the Pod weighs and we aren't about to take it on the road to go weigh it--especially if it might be too heavy.




Well, I'm happy to say that as we continue our figuring (still aren't done, it's quite a job) the numbers are adding up slowly, which is in our favor. So far, we have calculated the weight of the tiny house skeleton- meaning the framing, plywood and insulation. With all four walls and the roof-- plus a smattering of other things that we have found weights for- like the doors, flooring, etc and we still haven't broken 2000 pounds. 

I'd say we are in good shape! I can't imagine the remaining ship lap on the walls and the various pine cabinets/storage adding up to 6000 pounds so I'd say we are good. haha (We have a 10,000 lb capacity and we are leaving a conservative 2000 lbs to the trailer) That's exciting because it's looking like we can choose whatever we like for siding. As mentioned in the last post, we will be making use of recycled pallets. I've been cruising craigslist yet again and have already found a promising supplier of FREE pallets. 



In other news, the little heater I ordered FINALLY came in. It was supposed to be delivered about 10 days earlier than it was, NOT SO conveniently leaving us to face another cold snap with just our electric heaters. Since I pay the electric bill for my Dad's place and what we use in the Pod- I'm very aware of how much energy that stupid oil/electric heater sucks up. I don't want to be depending on that thing if I can help it!

This little heater has been a pure JOY. It comes from the Mr Heater line and operates off a 1 lb can of propane. The Little Buddy was perfect for us because we were looking for something that would heat our home- not make it into a sauna. Before I found the Little Buddy, the smallest indoor propane heater I found was designed for 200+ square feet. We would have been roasted out of our tiny house in minutes. This tiny heater is designed for 100 square feet and it has been perfect! 

It has it's own igniter- no matches needed. After running for just a few seconds, it's completely silent. It also has a bump/tip sensor and an oxygen sensor. (We already have a fire/carbon monoxide detector so we are doubled up!) The bump sensor works quite well. I was shuffling by it as I went into the kitchen and bumped it just a bit with my leg. It wasn't even enough of a brush to knock the thing over, but it promptly shut itself off. NICE.

For any truly tiny house people out there-- as in you live in 130 square feet or less -- we highly recommend this little guy. We like that we can move it around the house easily, and when summer comes, we can just pack it away or even take it along on hiking trips or other outings in the fall. 

Thanks for reading!
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2 comments:

  1. You should be aware that using an unvented propane heater indoors may kill you from carbon monoxide poisoning.

    Their manual states you must have AT LEAST a 2''x2'' opening to the outside for venting - perhaps at minus 25 you had your windows open but I am not sure.
    http://www.mrheater.com/upload/newsletter/MH4B_US%20(10).pdf

    At a bare minimum you should ensure you should have a carbon monoxide detector. Personally, I would never use a heater like this in an enclosed space.

    Also be aware that a liter of propane will produce a liter of water vapor which is a significant mosture load for a small space.

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  2. Hello,
    Thank you for your concern. We do have precautions in place. We have a smoke/monoxide/o2 sensor and the heater itself is equipped with an o2 safety shut off. We actually do crack a window when using the propane heater. The heater provides enough heat to offset the cracked window. We are hoping before next fall to get a wall mounted direct vent unit.

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