Heating Our Off Grid Cabin in the Woods in Winter | Self Sufficient Living in Canada

[@elizabethmoore6993]

This is how we live as well...in northern ontario. Wood furnace and never have to think about how to heat our house which is such a blessing. I love the daily routines and rhythms of getting up and starting a fire and having morning coffee.

[@willamettehops]

Same here in Oregon. Wood heat is a blessing.

[@richardtitcomb5894]

I am so happy to see that you and your family are doing well through the brutal winter. I was just curious as to how much wood you have burned so far this winter. Thanks again for the nice videos and have a great day.

[@cmc7106]

It’s a wonderful way to live for you and your family. Stay warm and safe !

[@ethelbramston4882]

It looks very romantic....I lived this life from birth, 1938 to 1956. It's a hard life even though we did have electricity. Looking back what I believe I enjoyed the most was the freedom. Would I want to go back? No, but wish you all the best. Enjoy the freedom

[@thehomeintent]

Thanks, we enjoy the freedom and peace so much!

[@sjackson99]

I've lived my whole life (67y) in the same small Oregon town and I've had wood heat for all but 4 years. I've seen a couple houses that had wood stoves in the basement. One had small vents in the ceiling around the perimeter of the basement. So the whole basement room would get very warm but beside the vent it would heat the floor above. The other had the stove in a small room and there was duct work to circulate the heat through out the house with a return to the woodstove. Thanks for sharing.

[@glengillis7775]

Great upgrade to your heating system. Always smart to have a good back up. Hey just picked up a fan from Little Griff channel. They sure move air around. Will be watching for the wood shed build. Good work you all

[@the496elcamino]

What a nice life. Errika you and Mark are amazing.

[@shortsweettoo]

Love wood stoves. They are so cozy in winter. In an apartment now but really miss my fireplace. Enjoy it as long as you can.

[@thehomeintent]

Thanks, we sure will!

[@designsbydriedgers]

We do wood heat aswel. Someone called us a little bit old fashioned lately 😂 but very often people come in run to wood stove rub their hands and exclaim how awesome it is 🤣 On cold days just before supper I fill the stove and open damper all the way and get the house really warm, then at bedtime there’s just coal left and load up the wood stove with as much unsplit wood as possible and then fill up the cracks with split wood. ( all those hours playing Tetris as a kid finally paying off ) 😅 Then close the damper all the way. Then there’s still good enough fire goin in the morning that I can throw in more wood without having to start a new fire. And that’s house we heat a pretty big house with a small wood stove. People ask us if our little stove warms the entire house. Yes. It does. We do need a backup tho for when we wanna leave on a weekend 😆

[@OurLifeLakeside]

We burn wood as well as our main source of heat. All we have is an electric heat pump/air conditioner combo for backup if we go out for the day and the fire goes out. It won’t work in extreme cold temperatures though and it’s not enough to heat our home, so we’re tied down in the sense that we can’t go away due to not having a propane backup furnace. We’d need a house sitter to keep the stove going. We burn around 5-6 bush cords a year but we burn exclusively hardwood here because it’s readily available in Ontario. We’re also arborists so it helps that we’re in the business of cutting trees 😅 We also use the propane torch to start a fire - I always know if the fire went out overnight when I hear my husband clicking the propane torch on in the dark in the morning to restart the fire 😅

[@lostbear53]

I've lived my life my way. I'm 71 and live alone in Indiana and spend my days watching tv and my computer... It's good to see how others live and just ran across your site. Sub'd , rang the bell & liked!! love cooking, children and enjoy video's like yours. Children are the greatest source of free love in the world!!! Vet and pastor

[@osamabuabbas7144]

Nice illustration of how you make the home feel warm. Totally different in our part of region in the persian gulf. Where we have to make our homes coolfor 8 months in harsh summer. Great work your doing to make it warm for angles. And great vedio.

[@nathaliedasilva555]

Great info - thanks Erika 🤗That's good Mark can clean the chimney easily. We go Winter camping in a yurt every year and have chosen the ones that have a wood fireplace several times - the problem is that we can't see a damper so we can't control the burn and inevitably one of us has to get up in the middle of the night to start a new fire!LOL It's not me! I suppose the parks want to keep the fireplace less complicated by leaving the dampers fully open. This year we are going to a new area for us - a park on the shores of Lake Huron - this time we will have a yurt with a gas fireplace. The best part is that we actually have a good amount of snow this year so we'll be able to do some cross country skiing , snowshoeing and ice skating.

[@rccollins8160]

I love that your husband lights the fire with a blow torch. I have been doing the same since 1989..😊

[@thehomeintent]

It's the best!

[@VillaRoundabout]

I heat the house with a wood stove. There is an oil furnace for back up but I try to minimize its use as much as possible. Sometimes it’s convenient to use the wood stove as an excuse for having to stay home to tend to the fire! LOL 😆

[@carolwhisenhunt7504]

Great info Erika. Ty. Loved it.

[@DarrenCharron]

Hello Alta That was an intense few cold days thank God it’s starting to warm up. I have a mobile home that I am restoring on 15 acres in Manitoba. I haven’t had the chance to hook up the wood stove yet but it’s definitely on my list of things to get done before next winter sets in. I am looking forward to watching your channel videos. Stay warm!!

[@thehomeintent]

Yes, we had a cold snap there for a few days, but it's warmed up now! It's been quite a mild winter for us, which we are thankful for. Thanks for watching!

[@designsbydriedgers]

Also. When we first started our woodstove journey we were told to let the fire roar every morning for about 10 min. Like open damper,open door a bit, it gets all really hot and self cleanses the chimney. I only do this if there snow on the roof and ground tho cuz sparks do occasionally fly. It sounds wild but apparently prevents chimney fires. Also read in a Amish remedies book to keep a tin soup can in the oven with the fire, it helps prevent chimney fires aswel. Maybe it was a aluminum foil ball 🤔 I’m not to sure.

[@LostCaper]

East coast canada here. Awesome set up. Thanks for sharing.

[@thehomeintent]

Thanks for watching! What part of the east coast? Mark and I both lived there for a short time

[@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837]

Great video ! Yes we love our wood stove heat for sure :) Your little helpers are getting the hang of it ! Yes we had a couple of those -40 nights & warm but brutal wind today ! I call that house work weather lol :) Take care have a great evening"

[@thehomeintent]

Definitely house work weather, I agree!!

[@alyssategge8090]

As always, great video! 😊

[@katienesom5591]

Awesome video! I would love to see how laundry is going for you this winter

[@thehomeintent]

Thanks! I will actually talk about that in a video coming soon. 😄

[@thewatchman6074]

I found the wood dries better in a roofed shed that has 2 inch gaps between the boards, as it creates a good air flow.

[@josannefromin7750]

Wonderful beautiful day and loving great

[@robinmoore5181]

🕊 amazing.

[@edprotas4148]

I am 78, and have heated my home with wood for the last 20 years. I have always enjoyed the entire process - cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking, etc. Burning wood is both art and science, and generally runs about 7 months (sometimes longer or shorter). When "burning season" ends, I really miss the process for a couple of weeks... and then it is time, once again, to get my permits, sharpen the chain saw, and head into the national forest. Sure, it's work, but it doesn't feel that way. It's a bit dirty, but quiet. All-in-all, I love it, so I stay fit and hopefully I can keep at it for another 20+ years. I love to see young folks take on the kind of life you have chosen. You made a choice to live with nature. All the best to you!

[@SANDEEPKUMAR-kt6vk]

बहुत सुंदर जगह है

[@LostCaper]

The firewood cures so the surface wet is not the end of the world.

[@KristenLegge]

Love your off grid home, beautiful spot. A couple tips on wood burning I’d like to pass along. ONLY burn seasoned dry wood. Wet/damp wood doesn’t burn hot enough and you will get creosote build up. I would recommend getting a thermometer for your stove pipe. Wood should be stored at a minimum under some sort of roof. You should never have to clean your chimney part way through the winter. I check my chimney regularly and after 4 years I decided to run the brush through anyway just because and I didn’t get a shovel full out of it. There are many charts on the internet that list different types of wood and rate them for their burning properties. Popular is usually the worst wood you can burn. Great for splits and starting the fire because it burns like paper but very little heat and produces a lot of ash in comparison to birch for example. Honestly not worth the effort!! I would also recommend researching catalytic wood stoves, it’s a must have for full time off grid living!!

[@thehomeintent]

Thanks for the all the tips!!

[@maryegerton6848]

I would love a wood stove. We are going through a cold snap and man is it cold out there. I use propane. Does your propane just kick in at night when the fire goes out and you’re sleeping? Great video❤

[@jedidiah5131]

Buy the wood cart from Princess Auto....it holds about 30 rounds, instead of using that carry bag.....it wood also eliminate the need for a wood box...

[@thehomeintent]

Ooooo I’ll look into that, thanks!

[@HartPfortmueller]

Use an Ikea bag to carry the wood into your house. No more mess.

[@thehomeintent]

Good idea!

[@simonemoreno4324]

Tell the kids to build a snowman and fill it please pretty please please please please please please❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@LostCaper]

It’s a health life style

[@smert_rashistskiy_pederacii]

It's interesting, but not very clear: is such a small stove really enough for you, because -40 is very cold, are 6 cords enough for you per season (1 cord is 3.6 m³, so 6 is = 21.6m³)?

[@JohnCampbell-hc9ik]

❤

[@Inspector694]

I would probably find a new spot kindling maybe not put it right beside a tank full of propane.

[@personaltrainer1]

Did the small spinning fans come with the stoves or can they be bought separately?

[@thehomeintent]

They can be bought separately! I linked some that are similar in the description. 🙂

[@personaltrainer1]

@@thehomeintent thank you!

[@Hanna-e8b]

Привіт з України. В зв'язку з обстрілами буває перебивають електромережі та газогони і люди зостаються без води та тепла. Я рада що в нас є піч. Ось тільки ззанесла купу дров дня на 3, та сіла перепочити, а тут ваше відео. Дякую що поділились. Здоров'я вам.

[@bmlennox]

Since wood heat is so dry do you add humidity in your house?

[@ChefEarthenware]

I'm sure you already know this, but leaving the stove door open is dangerous. Combustion produces carbon monoxide, which is odorless, invisible and deadly. I see you only left it open for a short while, but I thought I should mention it just in case.

[@HartPfortmueller]

Not a problem since air is being sucked INTO the stove by the fire/updraft.

[@ricknichol3688]

Burning wet or damp wood in your Woodstove will clog up your stove pipes

[@thehomeintent]

That makes sense!

[@debrashonk3370]

Hello

[@Indah_D]

Apakah kalian menanam pohon kembali... Untuk stok kayu bakar kalian atau alam sudah banyak menyediakan mereka?

[@rodsilva80]

needs more vocal fry

[@marywalker2896]

To short..not long enough..

[@IceHog1970]

If you're going to utilize a propane furnace it would be very wise to install something ducted and efficient. That set-up is such an inefficient waste of energy.