What emergency heater might explode and disfigure or kill your character? What could cause your character to be dying and believe ghosts were doing it? Why did the 911 operator believe I prank-called them? Find out on this episode.
You can find full episode notes and links to find more information on each topic at my website: https://alleyhart.com/
What emergency heater might explode and disfigure or kill your character? What could cause your character to be dying and believe ghosts were doing it? Why did the 911 operator believe I prank-called them? Find out on this episode.
You can find full episode notes and links to find more information on each topic at my website: https://alleyhart.com/
What home emergency heater might explode and disfigure or kill your character? What could cause your character to be dying and believe ghosts were doing it? Why did the 911 operator believe I was playing a prank call on them? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural With Alley, the fiction writers inspiration station for rural life and lifestyles from historical to post-apocalyptic, helping you bring your rule stories to life. I'm Alley, and this is episode number 56, Non-Electric Home Heating. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong. Now, let's get into this. There are many ways to heat the home, and before we get into what your character can do, let's go over what your character should not do. Most likely because it will kill them, and as writers, we want to know how to off these disrespectful little snot heads. I mean, characters, they have to go. First, never use a propane or kerosene heater in the home that is not rated for indoor use. To be rated for indoor use means they are not giving off dangerous levels of carbon monoxide as long as they are functioning properly. However, outdoor heaters are in well ventilated areas, and they can and do give off carbon monoxide that can easily reach deadly levels if they are brought indoors where there is little to no ventilation. While on the subject of carbon monoxide poisoning, let's go over the signs and symptoms. Some basic signs and symptoms are headaches, nausea, weakness, drowsiness, confusion, blurred vision, dizziness, convulsions, loss of vision or shortness of breath. The smaller the person or creature, the faster they show signs. This means animals and children are often the first to show signs and symptoms. But as writers, we want the weird and crazy symptoms. Other known signs and symptoms include feeling zaps of energy, sensing a strange presence in the home, hearing or seeing thing, seeing ghosts or other hallucinations or sensations often associated with a haunted house. Other things can be sudden personality changes, memory changes, bright lights, tunnels of lights, or things associated with alien abductions. This one could be fun to write. Next on the list are the dangers of terracotta pots with tea candles. Normally used for heating a single room. I know you have seen this one all over Pinterest and Instagram. While this will technically heat a room, it comes with a serious and potentially disfiguring or even deadly risk. I can't tell you how many fire departments I have seen begging people not to do this. Basically, when water gets into it, there is a risk of explosion. Keep in mind that terracotta has been used as a way to slowly self water gardens for centuries because it is great at pulling water through the pot, something I might use as an emergency if I had no other choice, but it is definitely a risky one. Other risk that would be likely in an apocalypse or during apocalypse is burning the 55 gallon metal barrel inside the home. While this can be made into a wood stove, I am talking about having it on the floor in an upright position with no lid. If the floor is not concrete, it will likely light the floor on fire. If the floor is concrete, as more things are thrown into the barrel, the ashes are known to fly out of the barrel and into the air. This could catch the ceiling or anything flammable in the room on fire. Fun story, when I was around nine or ten, my dad was burning trash, when the wind picked up. It carried a piece of ash over the home and lit the whole field on the other side of the house on fire. My dad told me to call 911. I did. They asked where's the fire? I said in the field and they asked where's the field? And I said at my dad's house. Then they asked where my dad's house was. I told them the name of the town. They asked where in the town and I told them at the curve on the long dirt road. Would you believe my stepmother had to come and let them know that this was not a prank call? Yeah, my dad duct taped the address to his house on the phone after that! Two other things with burning inside. First, without ventilation, there will be smoke everywhere. Trash smoke is not the most amazing smell. And second, we are back to concerns about carbon monoxide building up to lethal levels. Now let's go over a few things that can be safely used inside the home. First up is the indoor rated propane and natural gas stoves. These both work pretty much the same as they burn the propane and natural gas. As a very young child we used natural gas and as an adult I have used propane. I didn't notice difference in the heat of them, but that's just my experience. A quick Google search tells me that propane burns hotter than natural gas. Either way, while they are rated for indoors, if possible, your character will want a carbon monoxide alarm in the home just in case. We had one and it went off about twice every winter. When it went off, we cleaned the heater and the line to the pilot light and we were all good to go. That doesn't mean that that will be the same in all cases because it could mean it stopped working properly and is letting off carbon monoxide. If possible, your character should call the fire department to check, but in an apocalypse that might not be possible. Next are regenerating sources, these would include solar and wind. There are many types. In most cases there will be batteries that they recharge. However others warm air in the pipes on the top of the home and it is sent through the home to warm it. Personally don't grasp how that one works as heat rises, not falls. I also know that it's not enough to "warm" in the colder climates. There is another one where water is heated at the top of the home and is pumped through pipes in the floor to heat the home. The heat travels up from the floor so the idea is that the floor will heat the home. That also does not work in extremely cold climates, but sounds interesting and would be great for not having to worry about babies crawling on the floor. Another type is an outside generator. This will power heaters in the home and can include gasoline, diesel, propane and natural gas. Solar and wind could technically be used, but personally if you're charging batteries, why wouldn't you just use them in the home and not on a generator? Generators would be harder to fuel in an apocalypse as gasoline, diesel, propane and natural gas will become harder to find if not disappear altogether. Next up we need to talk about the pellet stove. I had originally assumed that it was something that didn't need electricity, but I was wrong. There are very few that do not require electricity, so if your character has one, they will have to pair it with solar or wind or a generator. I will leave links to learn more on my website along with links for some of the others that we talk about. Next up are two that really fall into the same category, the fireplace and the wood stove. Both burn wood and are great ways to warm the home. The plus side is that as long as there is room on top of a wood stove, you can cook with both of them. The biggest downside is that once or twice a year the wind will blow just right and send the smoke back down the chimney filling the house. We always call this being smoked out, never fun, but you do get through it. One thing to watch out for with wood stoves is temperature. What I mean by this is if your character burns something like a hedge log, it burns extremely hot. So hot that it can make your wood stove glow red and is a fire risk. Never throw water on a hot wood stove, it can cause it to explode. There is also the outside wood burning furnace. This is basically the same as a central heating, except it is heating with wood. It can use a fan that runs off the temperature inside of the furnace rather than electricity. One thing most people like about this is that they can burn more than just wood in it. If an apocalypse happens. I'm not sure I recommend it, but if I have to fight zombies off to load it, I wouldn't care too much. Lastly is one used from ancient times and will likely be used in an apocalypse. A fire pit in the middle of the home. This has been used by the Native Americans and teepees and longhouses along with other tribes and cultures. I distinctly remember reading a book about making air tunnels in the dirt to bring in the fresh air for the fire so that the smoke will travel up with a hole in the middle of the hut better. I still don't remember what book I read it in. Fun fact, the first gas heater was invented in 1881. Now for everyone's favorite part. What could possibly go wrong? Well, let me tell you. Before we get into the best part, if you enjoy this podcast, I hope you will take a minute to follow, rate, and review on your favorite podcasting platform. If you're listening on YouTube, subscribe and hit the like button. Don't forget to share with a friend. And now for everyone's favorite part.
Likely to go wrong:your character brings a propane heater that was not rated for indoor use into the home. Soon the home fills with carbon monoxide. This could be deadly.
Also likely to go wrong:your character is using a propane heater and they burn more propane than they expected and their tank runs dry. It could be days before the propane can be delivered.
Possible to go wrong:your character is using an outdoor wood furnace to heat the home, and they didn't add enough wood for the night. During the night, the fire goes out and the house gets very cold.
Also possible to go wrong:your character didn't know the pellet stove requires electricity. When the power goes out, they lose their source of heat. your character uses a fire in the middle of their hut during the apocalypse, but they don't know how to keep the rain out of the hole in the roof to let the smoke out. When the rain or snow comes, it puts their fire out.
Unlikely to go wrong:your character uses an outdoor wood burning furnace during the apocalypse. When they run out of wood, they start throwing in anything that they didn't need, including plastic. This makes their home smell like blurring plastic, and any zombies with smell will know where they are. your character is using a fireplace to heat their home during a windy day and the wind blows just right, forcing the smoke back down the chimney and their home soon fills with smoke.
Also unlikely to go wrong:your character is using solar to heat their home. However, there is bad weather that lasts for days or weeks. That means they can't recharge their power and they soon run out and have no heating source. Improbable, but still technically
in the realm of possibilities:your character is suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and believes they are being haunted by ghosts. If they are lucky, they will become scared and leave, saving their life. If not, this could be deadly. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character adds part of a hedgepost into their wood stove. The fire gets hot and the wood stove starts to glow red hot. In an attempt to cool it down, your character pours water over the stove, this causes the stove to explode. This not only destroys the heating source, but could be deadly. Also improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character is using a terracotta pot and tea candles to warm their home during the apocalypse. However, condensation gathers on the inside of the pot and it explodes, sending shards of terracotta and boiling wax into their face. This could disfigure or even kill them. Thanks for listening. You can find this episode show notes and helpful links. To learn more on my website, alleyhart.com. That's alleyhart.com. Subscribe and follow for more episodes. Connect by dropping me a comment on my YouTube videos. A new episode comes out every Monday. Until then, happy wordsmithing.