OldMt Woman – I can relate to your experience losing electrical power (and heat) in winter! I was living on my elderly mother’s farm in February 2010 during the blizzard that came to be called “Snowmageddon”. The old wood-frame farm house was not well insulated and did not have any working fireplace or wood stove. The house lost power early in the blizzard, so we were without heat, water (the well pump ran on electricity), and lights for about 3 days until the road and long driveway could be plowed out enough for a repair crew to get in to restore the electrical power. The temperature dropped to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (not the sub-zero temperature you experienced, but pretty darn cold!). I had two “Big Buddy” propane heaters by Mr. Heater that used small propane canisters. I closed off the door to the master bedroom (which had an adjoining bathroom), cracked open a bedroom window a little, and set up one of the “Big Buddy” heaters in that bedroom on a sturdy, low table. My mother and I hunkered down in there. I kept one Big Buddy heater going all the time that we weren’t sleeping. While one Big Buddy heater was operating, the other one was set in an adjacent room to cool off until needed again. (Perhaps that was an unnecessary precaution but I was reluctant to put fresh propane canisters directly into a heater that was still hot from being used with the prior canisters). Even though those propane heaters are supposed to be safe to use indoors, as an extra precaution, I set up a battery-operated Carbon monoxide detector in the master bedroom also. While it was running, the Big Buddy heater kept that room at a comfortable temperature. If there had been another adult with me capable of staying awake while I slept, I could have kept the Big Buddy heater(s) running 24 hours a day (alternating one with the other). As it was, I was worried about running a heater (which, after all, has a flame) while both my mother and I were asleep. So, the bedroom got quite cold at night. We went to bed fully clothed and piled on lots of extra blankets (wish we had had sleeping bags!). It took about a hour each morning for the bedroom to heat up again after I re-started the Big Buddy heater. Still, I feel those Big Buddy propane heaters literally saved our lives! I had a Coleman Camp stove, which I used to cook with out on the snow-covered front porch, and a couple of battery and hand-crank radios, which I used to stay informed about the blizzard and the efforts to restore power. The water, canned goods, hot cocoa mix and batteries I had stockpiled came in very handy too, as you can imagine. If we had had more Big Buddy heaters and propane canisters, I could have kept the living room and kitchen warm also – but at least we were able to stay safe and warm in the master bedroom 🙂 So, bottom line, I think Big Buddy heaters could be useful for your situation also.
