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Dojocat
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# Posted: 16 Apr 2022 20:05
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Hi all,
I’ve been looking for a waterfront cottage for a while and my budget is not even close to own an all-season property. So I’m settled for a seasonal one. I will mostly use it for the summer, and occasionally for the winter, ie after skiing I can have a place to stay for the night. It won’t be ideal I know (lack of insulation, water and plumbing), but can I at least use the wood stove for heating during winter occasionally? I can survive a night w/o using the toilet and water. Will this Cause condensation and mold?
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 16 Apr 2022 21:51 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Have you done any winter camping or just day trip stuff? Some cold weather experience is recommended, people still die from exposure even in the civilized world. Lots to study up online too.
That said, people have lived for millennia in basic shelters. And it sounds like you have a woodstove. So, ahead of winter make sure you have stocked up a LOT of firewood inside.
Have you ever fozen water bottles in a home freezer? They will do the same in an unheated cabin. Leave some space for ice expansion and set them in a bucket in case of a burst so you dont have a mess. Once you get the the woodstove going set them to thaw and have real water, not just melted dirty snow. You NEED lots of water in the winter too.
They will need to be hung high, above the stove, where the heat rises. Heavy duty 1/2 gal plastic jugs with handles are handy and thaw quicker than 1 gal.
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Houska
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# Posted: 17 Apr 2022 07:54
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Re condensation: I doubt it will be a problem for occasional winter use. Most uninsulated or poorly insulated structures have tons of air leaks, so any humidity you introduce will dry out soon. If you wake up in the morning and there's condensation, just open the windows/door for a while before leaving.
Regardless, whatever you've done will likely dissipate as air exchanges in/out in the day or two after your departure. If you were staying frequently or for extended periods, you might need to pay more attention.
If you're contemplating this, take the time to learn how your woodstove behaves in the fall first. What level of wood loading and damper opening generates the most heat inside (as opposed to sending it up the chimney)? How long will it burn without you having to reload (so - how many times per night will you have to wake up to feed it)? How many degrees temperature differential can it sustain *in your space* vs the outside? That will help you decide when is it reasonable to be there for a night or two in the winter.
We have a 3 season yurt on our lake, with 1/4" wood felt (and aluminum reflective liner) as insulation and a small Jotul woodstove. We've figured out how to load it to sustain a 20 C (35 F) temperature differential vs the outside getting up 1x night to reload, and know by paying more attention to it we can get to a 25 C (45 F) differential with some effort. We also know we're quite comfortable snuggled in a good sleeping bag at +10C air temp (50 F). So we're good to go for a night at the yurt when the forecast low is -10C (15 F) or better, but not when it's colder than that.
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Dojocat
Member
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# Posted: 17 Apr 2022 08:31
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Those are terrific recommendations- appreciate it great
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 17 Apr 2022 08:49
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I ran an antique (somewhat leaky) woodstove at our first cabin for 30+ years; it would not burn but about 4 hrs in a night. I learned to sleep with one bare arm outside the covers, when it felt cold enough to want to pull it in under the covers it was time to reload the stove. At that point I still had a great bed of lively coals and a reload got burning pretty quick.
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Fanman
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# Posted: 17 Apr 2022 09:56
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We use our cabin frequently in the winter. No insulation. No water (pipes get drained in October), may or may not have electricity, woodstove in the living room, antique coal stove in the bedroom, the outhouse is up the hill. I bring a couple gallons of water with me. Lots of blankets including an electric blanket if the power is working.
I don't worry about keeping the wood stove burning overnight, I retire the the warm bedroom. In the morning, I relight the wood stove and have breakfast in the still-warm bedroom. Of I'm going right out for a hike, I just get the wood stove ready for a match when I get back in the afternoon.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 18 Apr 2022 08:33
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The issue with coming back to a frozen cabin at night may be the fact that it could take many hours to heat up. How ever if you leave that cabin in the morning with a roaring fire it will be less cold that night thus less heat is needed to warm it up.
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zorro
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# Posted: 18 Apr 2022 10:46
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The other thing I would ensure is that you have a REALLY good Down sleeping bag or Down comforter (or 2) rated for 4 seasons
At least that way if you struggled to heat the cabin one night for any reason - no wood/injury or whatever, you should survive and not freeze to death
Alternatively, a lot of blankets to layer up
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FishHog
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2022 08:37
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presuming that you will be close enough to walk to your vehicle so you won't actually freeze to death, go for it. The only way to learn the specifics of your cottage and your woodstove in the cold temps is by trail and error.
Take warm clothes, good sleeping bag, get there early enough to warm the place up before bed. Mattress take a long time to warm up. I arrived once at 11pm to -33C temps and it was like sleeping on an ice cube. Now I prop the mattress up by the woodstove to get it warmed up.
Carry enough water for drinking and brushing your teeth.
Leave a vent open when you leave so any excess moisture you introduced will leave the cabin
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Brettny
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2022 08:58
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I have a little 10x14 shed that has 2in foam board in the ceiling and that's the extent of insulation. It has a wood stove and a small cover for firewood about 10ft away. It's no problem heating in 20* weather even though theres cracks you can see though the sub floor. I even forgot my sleeping bag this last trip and only had a blanket along with 2 short hair dogs. We where fine and even woke up to snow.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2022 10:33
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Wow, Brett, you are roughing it! Reminds me of when I was young.....long ago in a world far away.....
On the cold mattress, +1 on that. Be sure to have a good backpacking insulated ground mat to plop on the cold mattress or that thing will suck the heat right out of you.
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shingobeek
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2022 22:18
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Trial and error taught us the wood stove game . I have a 24x24 vertical log cabin, small Amity wood stove slightly off center. Logs are about 8-10" thick red pine. When we go in winter with temps below say 35f, it takes about an hour per 10 degrees to heat. Once it is heated up, we use small amounts of wood to maintain the entire time we are there. We really rarely have moisture issues the cabin has many small leaks! We purchased it as a 3 season and go 40-45 weekends a year....so don't let that 3 season stuff stop ya!
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Brettny
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2022 07:20
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Quoting: gcrank1 Wow, Brett, you are roughing it
Not really. We have a nice soft foam mattress bunk bed, appartment sized stove, 120v power and I can relax in socks and a T shirt in a few hours.
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Fanman
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2022 21:57
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One other thing that may seem obvious, turn down the blankets on the bed to let the mattress warm up. Unless you have an electric blanket, if so turn that on several hours before bedtime.
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happilyretired
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2022 11:16
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Quoting: Fanman One other thing that may seem obvious, turn down the blankets on the bed to let the mattress warm up.
Yes. There's always a lag between the inside air warming up and the bed and floor warming up. Our cabin can go from around freezing to +20C in 3 or 4 hours but it takes several more hours for everything else to catch up.
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