Using the gas cooker to heat the house...

I'm in dire straits, financially, having just spent every penny I own on a house, and I am unable to work, due to a long-term illness. The house has no central heating. However, it does have a gas supply. I'm wondering how I can keep the house warm (cheaply) during the coming winter. If I install a gas cooker, I imagine this would produce enough heat to warm the house to some extent. This would be heck of a lot cheaper than installing central heating, and I think it would be more efficient, because all of the heat produced will be going into the house, (rather than some going out through the flue, as in the case of gas central heating). But would doing this present a health danger, due to the carbon monoxide and other poisonous gasses going into the house's breathable air space? I know that free- standing calor gas heaters are commonplace, and perfectly legal, so perhaps using a gas cooker to do the same thing is basically no different. What do you think?

Thanks...

Al

Reply to
AL_z
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I have come down to a very nice warm kitchen several times when the girlfriend has left the oven on (door closed). I am not sure that I could heat all the house up using just the cooker though.

How old is your house? Is there a fireplace you could use for this coming winter for extra heat?

Cheers

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Isn't this to do with the burner size being low enough that the natural air changes can cope? Central heating boiler nowadays doesn't impinge on inside atmosphere as the balanced flue seals it from the living space.

Anyway I have a fried who does just as you suggest but keeps a dehumidifier in the room to counter extra condensation. I never visit him in winter.

AJH

Reply to
andrew

It does work. But... You've got a naked flame that things can fall onto You've got no protection against the flame blowing out and consequent major explosion No protection against accumulated muck causing a mixture change and producing CO It burns up lots of oxygen, and you've got no monitoring or protection of that either.

Wall mounted gas heaters that simply dumped the exhaust into the interior air were once in use, and still are in some places. But yes, there are some safety issues that make them no longer fitted.

If you're brassic you might look at burning wood scraps. You can get those free as pallets from various places, or as offcuts from timber sellers. If you must spend money on heat I'd also loook seriously at diverting some of it to insulation, it can make a big difference and pay back fast. Free insulation also pays back fast.

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Reply to
Tabby

I have 2 thermostatic controlled electric heaters and a portable oil filled heater, if you are local to TF3 you are more than welcome to them.

Reply to
Nitro®

The obvious first thing would be to check the loft insulation because that is as cheap as chips to put right and can make a huge difference.

Have you considered balanced flue gas convector heaters? Just one in the hall would be much better and safer than using a cooker.

j
Reply to
Djornsk

If the OP uses a gas oven it'll have a flame failure device so, assuming no large turkey etc is left in the oven, is there a real risk of things falling on the naked flame or from it blowing out?

The CO risk can be mitigated by a CO detector (~£15) beside the bed.

But it does work best if the kitchen is under the bedroom.

Another good investment, if not already owned, would be an all night underblanket.

Reply to
Robin

ISTR some leaflet from Nanny saying this was unsafe.

I have found that a fan heater pointed at where I'm sitting is cheaper than central heating or a gas fire. But it does feel like an Arctic expedition when you move elsewhere, so unsuitable if you're not a couch potato or there's more than one of you.

Chris

Reply to
chrisj.doran

I think this continual insulate-insulate-insulate story is being overdone now. It's the pat response from any government minister when confronted with the "global warming" question.

The fact is, you could insulate until the cows come home but in a severe winter you're still going to need heating. Maybe a straw bale thickness of straw around the entire house (external walls) might be effective, but you can fill the loft with insulation and still be freezing your bits off with the heat escaping through the windows and walls. This constant plea for more insulation is, IMO, just a ploy to provide more business for the insulation suppliers!

MM

Reply to
MM

That probably qualifies you for a Warm Front grant that will get the house draftproofed and insulated. In some circumstances you can also get central heating installed.

Yes you can use the gas cooker for heating but it's unlikely to be very efficient. Kitchens are not usually the best insulated rooms in the house. I've been in the same boat as you on occasions, I found that an electric fan helped circulate the warm air that would otherwise pool in the kitchen ceiling.

The house has

The low efficiency offsets the savings from using cheaper fuel. I never thought I'd say this but have you considered electric storage heaters?

Reply to
Bernard Peek

Quantify "huge". I just think this insulation malarkey is considerably exaggerated, like the "global warming" theory. Supposing it costs £100 to heat a house for 2 months with minimum loft insulation (120mm), how much cheaper would it be with 240mm? I'll be if anyone did proper tests they'd establish minimal difference. Heat disappears in numerous ways, not least through walls and windows, plus people leaving doors open, cat flaps, kitchen and bathroom extractor fans. We're sold this story that all you need to do is show your house a large roll of insulation and it'll rear back in fright.

MM

Reply to
MM

For a person on some benefits you can get free CH fitted. I forget the links but you can try

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Reply to
dennis

Its not that hard to do the numbers, you soon see that with the right insulation design its usually a no-brainer.

NT

Reply to
Tabby

Sadly, no you can not because of the amount of water vapour produced :-)

#1 - You will probably qualify for free loft insulation. Despite what some say, it DOES make a big difference in that less heat is required AND you do not get the same cold air plunging down from the ceiling (particularly the hall). It does matter that the installers do it right (I have just drilled the upstairs ceiling in 6 places and I am met by a howling gale in my mouth).

#2 - If you have chimney's do you have a working gas fire? If so, you can heat a house off 1 radiant gas fire, many people right through to their 90s do. It is not as cheap to run as GCH but it gives you radiant warmth.

#3 - You may qualify for GCH or E7 Storage heaters under ?StayWarm? Yes, they also install E7 heating which is low capital and relatively low running cost - if you have both Loft AND Cavity Wall Insulation (assuming you have a cavity wall).

Heat only the areas you need to. #1 - Heat the living area to 19oC minimum, ideal is more like 21oC. #2 - Heat the bedrooms to about 12oC minimum, ideal is about 14oC. #3 - If you see black mould anywhere you need to a) increase heating or b) increase ventilation (and increase heating a little). #4 - Wear more clothing (look around now in the charity shops or Ebay for "Fleece" sweatshirts and ideally jog pants which you can slip over normal clothing. #5 - Use a high TOG duvet #6 - If single glazed, open the window on the upstairs bedroom for

30min every morning. That will clear the water (mop up the rest) and get fresh air into the house. #7 - Draught excluder is cheap and effective, letterbox brush, door floor-level brush, windows & doors.

Alternative. You can get Gas Wall Heaters for about =A3190-250. This would be ideal if you do not have a chimney in the living room. They are 90% efficient, they draw in cold air from *outside* and so do not create a howling draught through the house like a roaring gas fire with class-1 chimney, they are reliable and no CO or oxygen depletion risk. They are great as a standalone backup solution which at 1.5-2kW output is quite capable of heating a house (48kW in a day without drawing in freezing cold air to do it).

Do not try to heat a house by a gas oven. If you need an oven cheaply beware buying second hand without knowing how to check things work (especially for gas). However do not try to heat a house by it.

A colleague lived in the box-room of his house last winter having had to put up so much money due to the "credit crunch" for a business which was still operating fine, just high leverage (plant hire company, "UK & Dubai PLC stopped building"). He glued 50mm celotex to the walls for a neat foil-coloured wallpaper effect, added felt on top of carpet underlay as it rockets the TOG rating, the loft insulation was ok, cost very little to heat it over the winter. Heat from a laptop was welcome, crunching the numbers so the business is now booming (in business you often do not have to do more than survive your competitors, because you get their business when they fail).

Reply to
js.b1

Quite unscientific I agree, but where there is no insulation to start with I've found the benefits to be gratifyingly obvious both in terms of the house feeling warmer and having longer periods when the heating can be off altogether. With our present house there was a big difference after I installed double glazing upstairs, and a noticable difference after re-insulating the loft to current spec although admittedly the previous material had not been put in correctly, particularly in the spaces below the flat roofs. I understand it is possible for people to get grants towards home insulation, and the OP may find he qualifies if that is the case.

j
Reply to
Djornsk

Half of what was going through the roof as before. An older house might not even have 120 mm in the loft. It probably free for someone on benefits so it is a nobrainer.

There are lots of heat sources in a house, TV, lights, people, etc. If your insulation is good enough you won't need any extra heating.

Reply to
dennis

Well you will not be cold with all the hot air you spout.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Technically correct, but a long way from practical

NT

Reply to
Tabby

This doesn't apply to singletons. The warmth they produce is minimal. In fact, for many the warmest place is in bed.

MM

Reply to
MM

How WAS the Fringe this year?

MM

Reply to
MM

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