Best Of

Not sure if any brands are exempt from random tripping.

Sq D Qo has usually been considered the top of the line for years even used on commercial jobs FWIW. Don't know how their GFCI/AFCI breakers are holding up. Will try and find out.

My catalytic stove was more trouble than it was worth. It required constant attendance. New stove with secondary burn is much better. A leaky old house does not need a fresh air intake.

@LS123, we have a category for this on the forum called Biomass.

The Alliance for Green Heat's website is an excellent resource for information about wood and pellet stoves. I enjoy their monthly email newsletter too.

If the well pump is submersible just turn off the switch. There should be a check valve inside the house, put a drain between the check valve and the well and open it and let the pipe drain back into the well.

If it's a shallow well pump, you have to drain it. There will be a drain plug on the well body. Take the plug out and put in a boiler drain so you can drain it with a quarter turn. You also want a drain between the check valve and the well. This pump will require priming when it's time to turn the water back on, you want a boiler drain on a priming spot so you can prime it without tools. To prime, put a funnel on a short piece of garden hose with a hose clamp, then attach to the priming spot and pour prime water into the funnel. Before draining the pipes fill a plastic gallon jug 3/4 full of water and leave it beside the pump. With an air cushion it should be able to freeze without bursting.

All the boiler drains should have caps so accidentally flooding the basement is a two-step process.

I like the heat pump idea , I would also add some electric strip heating for a back up ..

The two propane heaters , shut them down and use as a back up …

Use a compressor and blow down out the water line and use RV winterizer for traps , toilets and washing machines in the winter months …. The well not sure , thinking heat tape ..

You don't have to drain the steam boiler. Basements rarely freeze — at least in older houses. It will just fire up when the power comes back.

And yes, if you have wifi, you can arrive to a warm house. If you have wifi… if you have wifi…

City and suburban folk live in a different universe, I think.

My point was if you have a heat pump or a propane furnace, all you need is a WiFi thermostat and you can arrive to a warm house. If you drain a steam boiler someone has to go there and fill it before it can be turned on.

Steam does have its points. I've restarted two pipe steam systems from cold, down to about 10 F temperature in the house, though just barely at freezeing in the basement. It's a bit tricky… but doable.

And… in ordinary situations, where the system hasn't been turned off, a steam system will just turn itself back on after a power failure. You don't have to do a thing.

More propane heaters and a wood stove. Without reliable electric power it will freeze with any other option.