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paulz
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2025 03:33pm
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Back at the cabin after a week away during ‘atmospheric river’. No snow of course but branches everywhere, luckily non through the roof this time. A few things: I had left my WiFi dingus plugged in to the battery bank so I could look at the place on the cameras while away. I figured the solar would keep the bank charged but down to 12.3v on arrival, yikes. Good news is the new to me diesel genny started on second try, pumping in 40 amps.
Then tried the new Mr. Coffee I got my wife for Christmas. Same one she uses at the house. So she can’t complain about my ‘boil water on lp and pour over’ method at the cabin. Uses about 1,500 watts but only takes a few minutes.
I brought out this Kant Twist clamp that’s been kicking around the garage for who knows how long. It’s for holding two pieces of wood or metal together while screwing or welding. Don’t recall ever using it, maybe I grabbed it at a yard sale, but if it was around when building the cabin I would have used it 1,000 times.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2025 06:54pm
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Glad to hear your place didn't side down the hill!
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 26 Dec 2025 08:15pm
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I think Southern California got the worst of it. Ironically though, my 10 acres had a house on it (as I’ve mentioned before), a mansion they called it, that came down in a mudslide in 1967. When I bought the land 30 years later this is what I got. I built the cabin above the remains, then a few years later dug out the remains and built my shop on the concrete floor and back wall. Newspaper photo from ‘67.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2025 10:40am
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We went back yesterday, it was overcast but temps hit high 30's, one of those cold/damp feeling days. Got corn, pumpkin and deer block out for 'our critters' and had a good afternoon then home by dark.
Forecast today says a repeat for today then tomorrow aft rain starts then turning to 6-9" snow all night, 16f by Mon am, 18f pm and 3f Tues am. Looks like we will be snowed and cold out again 
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paulz
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2025 12:17pm
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Quoting: gcrank1 one of those cold/damp feeling days
You got that new lp heater figured out, get back out there! Got mine going today after a long hiatus. Better than the 5 pound tank one in the way.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2025 02:04pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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Our 30k btu heater works great  , once we get in to start it!
Great news in the past couple hours, we have a friend with a big pu truck with a snowplow not too far away from the cabin. He offered to open the driveway after each significant snow.
Guess he will find out what he got himself into after this one coming.....lol
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paulz
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2025 05:51pm - Edited by: paulz
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Cool. Well all not unscathed here. Went up to blow off the array. Ew, more branches through. Didn’t seem to hurt the ones from two years ago, we’ll see.
Turned off the Lp wall heater after good and toasty. I’m a diehard wood stove burner, but gotta say it’s dang easy just to turn on the lp heater. I do enjoy sitting by the wood stove door with my coffee in the morning, shoving sticks in.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2025 07:54pm
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Ouch!
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paulz
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 11:07am - Edited by: paulz
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Quoting: gcrank1 Our 30k btu heater works great , once we get in to start it
Been running my lp wall heater quite a bit, hoarding the firewood that’s still dry.
I haven’t yet hit a 40 degree rise in outside vs. inside. High 30s mornings, low 70s inside. You must do better in your colder weather with the tight new cabin.
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 11:42am
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Yesterday we went from 78° to 17°!
We were sweating at noon, and freezing by 6:00.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 11:48am
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Yes, we do. Last trip it was 36*f out And in when we arrived and within 2hrs we were up to 80 so I throttled it back. Iirc after the 1st 1/2 hr or so we were up to 62 so it gets livable quickly.
Fwiw, I think the calc says that for our space (336sf with a cath ceiling) a 20k btu unit would do but I really wouldnt want to go less than the 30k that I can always turn down rather than run the 20k full blast and have a slower warm up.
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paulz
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 12:04pm
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I’m feeding the water heater, cooktop and wall heater off the same 5 gallon tank. Only one at a time but just checked the tank, close to empty but everything still working. Perhaps a new tank will help, doubtful.
Btw the little tank top heater I was using seemed to crank out more heat. So does the toilet ready buddy heater.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 04:36pm
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What btu is each heater?
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 09:46pm
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Wall heater is 30, tank top no writing.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 29 Dec 2025 11:02pm
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Does the Williams have a fan option?
Is the thermostat working? Maybe it is stuck on something less than high.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2025 09:33am - Edited by: paulz
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Yes it does have a fan I use. No thermostat I know of. I’m suspecting the 5g tank, single stage regulator, supply line or shut off valve. Even though the cooktop and water heater work fine, there may be a restriction keeping the wall heater from putting out full btus.
But I’m actually ok with that for a couple reasons. The wood stove, which burns all day and night, is a foot away. And a recently made wood shelf sits above it, and gets warm to the touch. Don’t need that getting too warm. So I’ll just live with the smaller btus. That’s cabin life, 10 pounds of sh@@ in a 5 pound bag. 
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2025 09:56am - Edited by: gcrank1
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Does that tank have the triangular valve handle, if so it is the OPD (since about '03?) that is designed to shut down if the valve senses a leak. Too often they restrict the flow if they are turned on too quickly, you know, like we used to do back in the day, lol. I read online repeatedly of people with a new bbq, and now the griddle, who cant get them to really kick out the heat.
Lots of info and vids online!
The short story is, shut the valve off, let it sit a bit so the spring loaded OPD can reset, then open slowllyyy, ie, I do a 'thousand one, thou two, etc' count for each 1/2 turn until full open.
Cant hurt to try, even with your low tank, but be sure to do so with the replacement.
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paulz
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2025 10:05am
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Yes it has a triangular handle. Never shuts off though, maybe restricts. I’ll play with it once the sun comes up. Again not a big deal, fresh load in the wood stove, 69 in here, and it’s putting out whatever btus it’s getting.
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Fanman
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2025 10:33am - Edited by: Fanman
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A small propane tank can only supply a certain amount, and it slows as the tank nears empty. The reason is that it takes heat to vaporize the liquid propane in the tank into vapor that feeds through the regulator. The faster you draw fuel from the tank, the colder it gets, and the colder it gets, the slower it can vaporize. As the tank empties, the surface area of the fuel contacting the tank walls drops, further cooling it. And of course the colder it is outside where the tank is, the worse it is. Eventually you get to the point that it can't supply the demand.
Most regulators, even the cheap single stage barbecue regulator that you really shouldn't be using, are 100,000 BTU/hr or more so that probably isn't the problem.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2025 10:48am
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The big snow we were predicted to get didn't happen, a friend near the cabin says they got maybe 2" so driving through that small snowplow berm out front with my AWD GMC Terrain I should walk right in. Downside here now is the cold temps (highs only in low-mid 20's) which is just is below our comfort. Before my stroke we would go, get the furnace going, haul the stuff from the car in, maybe do a perimeter walk around our 9+acres and it would be warm when we got back. I used to snowshoe too, we each have 2 pair for dif conditions that are just sitting now. Guess I should give em a go next decent snow, I use two ski poles so maybe I can keep enough stability to not become a Snow Angel.
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paulz
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# Posted: 1 Jan 2026 08:34am
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Quoting: Fanman A small propane tank can only supply a certain amount, and it slows as the tank nears empty
Wow, great explanation Fanman. Even I could understand. Went to a fresh tank yesterday, it’s hotter. It does have single stage reg though. I have a dual stage, will swap it today, if this rain ever stops.
So the method lately is get up, get a cup of coffee, plop down at the ‘heating center’. Turn the knob on the wall heater to On (starts right up with pilot on all night). There are terminals for a thermostat, I just have it jumpered. Then I open the wood stove door. Hopefully the ‘night log’, about 10” around 16 long, still has enough burning coals to throw some branches on. Then make breakfast.
Thanks FM. Happy Cabin New Year.
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