I forgot about mine, the one time it wouldn't light it turned out there was some dirt in the end of the little pilot and it wasn't burning enought to heat the thermocouple. I found that out of course after spending the $79 on the thermocouple and then noticed the flame wasn't even hitting it. The fix was poking a paper clip in the end of the pilot to clean it out.

Our new house has a 1995 model furnace with no pilot light so it has less to fail. The house is the same size but going from the old 70's style furnace with a polit to a newer 90's style we use about 1/2 the gas.

Be careful. Even in Florida, I've seen more than a couple house fires from people using candles as heat. Kids or pets and candles don't mix well.

I had a wood stove installed this summer. a very large stove, brand new installation including pipe on exterior wall of house cost us $5,700. I live in NH. earlier this year we had an ice storm and lost power for a week. The wood stove was a godsend. made things verly simple an its well on the way to paying for itself.

With the make and model of your furnace, you may be able to download a manual with some troubleshooting info.

If you have a BBQ, you might be able to heat up some bricks hot enough (OUTDOORS) to put into a metal bucket to heat a small room in your house. Set the bucket on some bricks. Have some kind of tongs or shovel to move them from the stove to the bucket. If your BBQ has a cover, use it.

Make sure you have a regular non-electronic telephone with a cord (cheap at thrift shops). If you do need to go somewhere if the power is out, it's best to call around first, to find out of friends are home (and have power or heat) or if there are shelters available.

Pull the mattresses off the beds and put them in a corner of one room, building a small shelter with them as the building blocks. Have a blanket hanging over the opening.

Stove dealers often take decent stoves in trade, and sell them as used. Check around. Not only will you need stove pipe, but you'll probably need some kind of brick foundation and surround for it.

Sue

If it was 18*F outside and your furnace went out and your house got cold then there are other problems to worry about too. Insulation, seals around the windows, seals around the doors, leaky ducting in the attic or under the house or in the walls, leaks around the power outlets on the walls, leaks around exposed beams, leaks around the entrance to the attic, leaks around the water lines under the sinks (shower, toilet). Do you have blinds for every windows? What about curtains on top of the blinds?

In a properly sealed house if your furnace was working and say 68*-71* inside you should have been able to go all night and not notice much of a temp drop.

Double up the insulation in the attic, if you have insulation between the 2x4s or 2x6s put some going crosswise and double it up.

DO NOT block off dormer vents, or whirlibirds you need air flow in your attic, and you need it under your house too... need to breath so it does not sweat.

If you have a sliding glass door or other large windowd doors make sure they are covered. If you don't have dual pain or very very old dual pain this could be why too.

There's some ideas

ToddW,

Insulation is a major issue, and I'm aware of it.

Before we moved in, this house was primarily used as a summer beach house, and was rarely occupied when it got cold out. I've managed to seal up most of the leaks where you could actually feel the wind blowing through the house, but there are still cold spots I need to deal with. One major cold spot leads me to believe there's a leak behind the kitchen cabinets, which I am not looking forward to dealing with.

Thanks for the tip. I was pretty amazed by how fast it was getting cold inside.

Definitely sounds like that is a more pressing need than the furnace.

In the short term, however, many of the suggestions above should prove useful if something happens.

Think warm, close, snuggled thoughts...

Spray polyurethane foam insulation (by the can) can sure help seal a house up. All you need is one little hole to access the deadspace behind the cabinet and you can fill the whole void.

Plan your use wisely. Once you start the can use it all as it will not keep. Also make sure to use low expansion foam around doors and windows. The regular stuff can actually move the jambs and block door/window operation. Yes, this was an expensive lesson in the past.

Dang Desperado, you took all the fun away...now he won't get to see what a pregnant wall looks like.