Chapter 24

Heating the Cabin

You may not be in your cabin all year round but you'll need a source of quick, economical heat for off-season vacations or unexpected cold days.

By Byron B. Courtney

A raised hearth, outside loading firebox. Tents for draft are features of fireplace with Heatform unit. Charming corner fireplace and hearth of concrete masonry with cast-in-place reinforced concrete chim­ney heats bedroom nicely.

EATING THE CABIN is much simpler than heating a full-sized house, pri­marily because cabins are usually smaller and generally are not occupied the year around. A source of quick, economical heat is usually desired, with the availability of fuel determining just what type of unit will provide this source.

In addition to your local heating con­tractor, building supply dealer, contractor and city inspector, here are more sources of information dealing with the heating of a cabin:

Write the Superintendent Of Docu­ments, Washington 25. D. C. and ask for Price List Number 72, Homes & Home-making. This contains the list of several booklets printed by the government de­signed to aid the cabin or home-builder in all phases of planning and building. Many of these pamphlets deal with heat­ing, chimneys, ventilation, insulation, weather-proofing, and other subjects re­lated to heating.

The National Warm Air Heating And Air Conditioning Association, 145 Public-Square, Cleveland. Ohio, will help advise you on any complicated warm air heating problem you might encounter.

The L-P Gas Information Service. 11 South LaSalle St., Chicago 3. 111., will send information or give you advice concerning any phase of the use of L-P Gas.

The Portland Cement Association, 33 West Grand Ave., Chicago 10, 111., will send data on the construction of chimneys and fireplaces. The Small Homes Council, Mumford House, University Of Illinois, Urbana, 111., issues circulars on all phases of home con­struction, particularly the planning of fea­tures like chimneys, fireplaces, fuel use and storage, etc. Write for list of available circulars.

The National Board Of Fire Under­writers, 85 John Street, New York 35. N. Y., will send you a copy of the Na­tional Building Code or the Fire Preven­tion Code, or advise you on safety factors in connection with your cabin construction.

Remember, plan your cabin heating method before you begin any work. Unless you are well informed in this field, seek advice before you decide. You want to be sure you have selected the right method, before you start, because changes later can be costly. No matter what type or size of cabin you intend to build, or where it will be located, there is a safe, practical and economical way for you to have all the comfortable heat you'll need, at a price you  can  afford.

Cutaway of fireplace, chimney, ash pit shows con­struction.  Note trapdoor lor ash dump  in hearth.

You  can  arrive  at  how much heat you'll need by knowing how much time you'll be occupying the cabin. You can then determine the best method of heating the cabin by the availability of fuels, and comparing delivered prices.

Generally, buying heat is like buying anything else these days: The more you pay, the better the product and its service to you. Consider all the above factors, and make your choice now, on just how you'll heat your cabin. To be sure that you are selecting the most practical method of providing heat for your cabin, make all your plans before any construction work is begun.

Modular and Standard Size Concrete Chimney Units for Use with Clay Flue Lining

At this stage, the three most important things to be considered are:

What types of fuel are available?
Solar Orientation.

Will I either want or need a fireplace?
Concerning the fuel you will use, it will depend of course on the geographical lo­cation of your cabin. If you are building in a mild climate, a simple wood-burning fireplace may easily provide all the heat you'll need. Or, if you do not intend tooccupy the cabin in the colder months, a fireplace may be adequate. The important thing just now is to determine your fuel so you can design and plan the chimney. You must know the fuel you'll be heating and cooking with so the chimney may be designed accordingly. Solar Orientation may sound like a com­plicated, scientific phrase, and it is.

Chimney walls are constructed around Due lining. Walls and lining are embedded in Portland cement.	Chimneys dispose of combustion products, create a draft. Flashing (note diagram) protects the roof.

All that you need to know about it as far as heating a cabin is concerned is simply this:

It means taking heat from the sun's rays and using it to best advantage. You can accomplish this by merely planning the cabin so all the windows of the largest or main rooms will face directly south. This will give you a considerable amount of "free heat" during daytime hours. Natu­rally, it may be that you cannot face the cabin south, but it will be well worth it in fuel savings if you can.

You can decide easily enough whether or not you'll want a fireplace. If wood is available, you'll probably want a log fire­place, or, you might be near enough to a coal dealer, and wish to heat and cook with coal. This, of course, will depend on whether your cabin is accessible via truck. You might want a fireplace, even though you plan to use gas for fuel. Burners are available, complete with synthetic logs, for this type of fireplace. At any rate, a different type of fireplace design is re­quired for each of the above mentioned fuels. So you can see the importance of planning. Consult sources listed on p. 121 for fireplace and chimney sizes.

If you plan to heat and cook altogether with either gas or electricity, or both, you may wish to save money and not build a conventional masonry chimney. This can be done safely by using any of the several lightweight portable chimneys now on the market. These chimneys also can be used with space heaters using the other fuels.

If you plan to have a fireplace with a masonry chimney, be sure to include an extra flue, in case you wish to add a space heater or cooking stove. You will almost certainly need this extra flue if your cabin has more than one room.

Further planning the cabin for best possible heating results takes in insula­tion and general "winterization" of the structure. A cabin that is completely in­sulated can result in fuel savings up to 40<v£. Whether or not you'll want complete insulation will depend on the general weather conditions, and how much money you have alloted to the project. By all means, insulate the attic, using any loose-fill type insulating material. Caulk and weatherstrip around the doors and win­dows. Remember: No cabin can be prop­erly heated if it isn't properly built.

A fireplace can and will provide all the heat you'll need, if (1) It's to be a small cabin; (2) it will not be used during the extremely cold months; (3) climate is such that all the heat necessary is just something to take out the chill of late eve­ning and early morning. A larger cabin, or one that is to be occupied during the coldest months, cannot be heated to the proper degree of comfort with the fireplace alone. Usually an additional source of heat is necessary. Although most of the heat from any fireplace goes up the chimney, they do provide an excellent source of psychological warmth, in addition to being a  cheerful  and  even  decorative part of the cabin.

As you will notice in the map above, the United States is roughly divided into iour zones. Zone 1 is the cold section. Zone 2 is somewhat milder. Zone 3 is temperate and Zone 4 is warm. Reading the map in conjunction with the chart below, you will be able to estimate your cabin's heat requirements.

The newer more modern types of fireplace are the circulator type, whereas the warm air is "caught" and pro­jected back into the room. See the photo­graph, p. 120. There are also fireplaces on the market that may be ordered already built, and can be installed by the handy­man very quickly.

If you plan to build the fireplace, study the chart (p. 123) to determine the proper size of the opening and the flue.

There are many methods involving many fuels when it comes to selecting the source of cabin heat other than the traditional fireplace. The most common is. of course, the "space heater," from the simple old-fashioned "Franklin" and the "pot-bellied" stove to the modern, jacketed, enamel painted space heater. The one most prac­tical for you will be determined primarily by the fuel available, and the amount you wish to pay.

Fuel availability usually means: Is there a road that makes it possible for a coal, gas. or oil truck to make the deliveries to my cabin? Most cabins are served by passable roads, although some may be too far removed from coal, gas or oil facilities to make the use of these fuels practical. In such cases, either wood or electricity would have to serve.

Let's discuss the coal or wood-burning space heater first. This type, as you can see by the illustrations, is still on the market in various sizes to fit the needs of any cabin, priced from as low as twelve dollars up to a hundred. The more cubic feet of space you have in your cabin, the more the right heater will cost.

Consult the chart above for the right sized heater. Heaters like this burn any kind of wood, coal or coke, and also you’ll probably get by with less money both in initial cost and fuel, than with any other type. Of course, this applies only where wood or coal or both is available. Another feature to be remembered is the fact that this type can be used for cooking as well as heating purposes.

The big advantage of a wood or coal burning space heater is that you can sup­plement one fuel with the other. For in­stance, let's say you have built your cabin on a wooded tract, and had to cut down a few trees to make room. Or, suppose you built your cabin from logs. Either way. you 11 have all the branches and the re­mains of the logs right in your yard, so you might as well saw these up into fire­place or heater lengths. After cutting this wood into the proper lengths, stack in a dry place if possible. This can be a lean-to shed.

Kimberly-Clark Insulating   the   cabin   while   it  is  being  built  is  a worthwhile investment in summer, winter comfort.	Zonolite If you don't want to insulate the entire cabin, at least insulate the attic space as illustrated above.

Cannon stove is least expensive (about S20) space heater.  Costs  little  to operate—burns coal, wood.	Franklin   stove   burns   wood.   coal.   Fit   it   in   fire­place, use as space heater, cookstove. Cost . . S25..

Jacketed  wood or coal-burning  space  heater has enamel   finish   obtainable   in   almost   any   color.	Oil burning cooker-heater takes up less than two square feet but will heat two rooms. Cost . . $27.

Portable  kerosene  heater  is  about  two  feet  high. Will heat small room or take chill from large room	Big oil-burning space heater is circulating air type with draft and heal controls. Will heat large cabin.

Unvented gas heaters may be set inside fireplace or elsewhere. They bum natural, mixed. L-P gas. Large vented gas heater will heat large cabin. If you hare children, it's safer than unvented type.

Most kinds of wood require from three to six months of seasoning, for the best possible burning and healing results. Whiteoak. hickory and locust are the best woods for fuel purposes, as they have more resins. Beech, ash, and maple are the next best. Some kinds of wood, like spruce, will pop, throwing out sparks. Naturally, a fireplace screen is desirable regardless of the type wood used, but you definitely need one should you be burning spruce logs.

Here is a fairly good way of determin­ing the cost of heating your cabin with wood, as related to coal. Pound for pound, the heat content of wood is about half that of most coal. So, if it costs you twenty dollars to get a ton of coal to your cabin, you are paying a penny a pound. Therefore, for every two hundred pounds of wood you chop or saw, you are saving yourself one dollar. The cheaper method can be deter­mined by the price of coal in your locality, and the availability of wood.

There are oil-burning space heaters of many sizes and makes, and they burn either kerosene or No. 1 fuel oil. some using the heavier weight oil. You may prefer install­ing the type that has the fuel container right on the back part of the heater, or perhaps you would rather install a larger tank outside the cabin and run the fuel lines to the heater from there. It would depend on how much during the heating season you plan to occupy the cabin. For instance, provided you used the cabin on weekends only, you could secure a couple of cans and take enough fuel with you to last each visit. Just keep the cans on hand until you are ready for the trip to the cabin. Then, en route, stop at a filling sta­tion and have the cans filled.

Winter air conditioning furnace occupies little space.   It   may   be   housed   with   water   heater. Natl. Warm Air Heating and Air Conditioning Assn.

There are oil stoves that serve for both cooking and heating, as shown in the pho­tograph. Note the picture showing how one unit is designed to do both jobs. If you have determined that oil will be your fuel, you can save money with a unit like this.

Some of the larger oil-burning space heaters are equipped with a circulating fan inside the jacket, and are known as the circulating heaters. This type does very well in the bigger cabins, especially those having more than one room. The fan forces the warmed air farther from the heater, and into all nooks and corners. The ad­vantage of this type unit is that you get the heated air distributed farther and more evenly.

The size of your cabin will determine the size heating unit you'll need, whether it's a space heater, floor furnace or regular furnace. Get the advice of your heating or fuel dealer before actually selecting the unit.

Gas or electric fireplaces complete with "logs" may be ordered pre-assembled. Cost. . about $100. Ready built Products

Be sure that it is approved by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. For further in­formation with regard to L-P gas and its use. write to: L-P Gas Information Serv­ice, 11 South LaSalle Street. Chicago 3, I11.

You can heat your cabin entirely or par­tially with electricity, if current is availa­ble in your locality. Note the pictures of the electric wall or floor furnaces. These are easy to install, simple to operate, and entirely quiet in operation, since they have no moving parts. Electric heating units are on the market in various sizes and models. A very good method of using these is to have one in each room, in addition to hav­ing the conventional fireplace. The electric wall heater that fits into a recess in the wall is especially adaptable to the bath­room.

Again, the cost of electricity at the cabin site, as compared with the cost of other fuels, should determine whether or not it would be advisable for you to heat your cabin this way. The best advantages of heating with electricity are: It does away with your fuel transportation and storage problems; you have quick heat when you want it; it's clean; and you can leave some of the units turned on during your ex­tended absence from the cabin during the extremely cold months. The latter is to prevent freezing of the water system, etc.

Floor   furnace   costs   little   to   install   since   it   is automatically   fired.   Available   in   different   sizes. Set of andirons and electric "log" fits in regular fireplace opening, gives appearance of open fire

Gas is an excellent fuel that can be used to great advantage in the heating of a small cabin. This is true, of course, only if a source of supply is available. Fuel gases are primarily three types: Natural, manufactured, and L-P (Lique­fied Petroleum) gases. The first two must be piped direct from the source to the cabin or home, while L-P gas is stored in con­tainers outside the building. Fuel lines are run from these containers to the heat­ing unit inside the structure much in the same manner as with fuel oil.

Up to here we have discussed cabin heating mostly in terms of doing the job in the most practical and economical way. For most cabins, particularly the smaller ones, this means the fireplace or the space heater, or both. Now, let's suppose you are building a larger cabin, maybe even for year-round occupation. In this case, you may be prepared to install a more expen­sive central heating system.

The floor furnace is about the least ex­pensive form of central heat that is com­pletely automatic. This is with the excep­tion of the larger space heaters that have fuel lines running from outside storage tanks, with thermostatic controls.

For the basementless cabin, there are several "Hi-Boy" or "Tallboy" forced warm air furnaces on the market that can be installed in a closet or hallway.

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