Maybe this was too obvious for me to think of, because when I read it, I thought, "WOW! What a clever idea!"

I am currently reading Tom Brown's Field Guide to City and Suburban Survival (1984). His suggestion for safe indoor heat without danger of carbon monoxide or oxygen depletion:

He says even if you can't build a fire indoors, you can build one outdoors and bring the heat in. Build a roaring fire outdoors and drop several large rocks, bricks or chunks of concrete into it until they are very hot. Then carefully shovel them into a large stainless steel or other non-coated cooking pot (don't use aluminum, galvanized or painted containers).

Carry the pot indoors, maybe running a broom stick through the handle and having a person at each end. Place the bucket on a noncombustible, insulating platform, like an oven pan or oven rack supported by bricks. He says a 2-gallon bucket of hot rocks will heat an average sized room for hours.

Sue

Interesting. I wouldn;t discount it but, speaking only about heating an avg size room for hours, I'd either have to try it or see if you or someone else does and reports back. My suspicion is it might take the chill out of the room if the outside temperature were just a little chilly, but on a cold, cold night? hmmmmm better than nothing at all.

We heat our home with nothing but a woodburning stove....a nice one, I'll grant. but still just a fanless woodburner. So, without a lot of detail, I'd be highly suspect of the claim that a 2 gal bucket of rocks would do more than take the chill off, and then only as long as you were sitting right by it. This is not to undermine the general idea of bringing the heat in though.

I think that this goes under the "I have to see it to believe it" heading. Having said that this could be very useful if you are in a small camper or some other confined space. I would caution about "cracking and exploding rocks" in an open fire.

Are you in a position to try this?

I live in a high-density housing area, and roaring fires - even in emergencies - would be a problem. Getting combustibles would be a problem. And while I trust myself, I see no reason for strangers to trust my ability to keep from burning down the neighborhood; and I'm scared at the thought of a neighbor building a roaring fire.

Too many rocks explode when heated. I doubt that concrete or bricks would, but I'm stuck on where I'd come up with them. (Frankly, rocks would be a problem, too.) And I'd still be concerned about concrete and bricks popping out of my pan.

And like another poster, I have no hope that hot rocks would heat a room. I've lived in houses where the only heat was from a wood burning stove (with a connection to a flue), and it takes a lot of wood and a lot of work to heat the room the stove is in. (This is in Texas, where overnight lows are the low to mid 20s - not especially cold.)

I'd want to try that before I had to depend on it - and I'm not in a position where it's possible to try it.

I agree about the rocks. However the general principle is sound. A few thoughts I've had on this are:

A) heat ceramic bricks (maybe purpose built) and transport THEM indoors.

B) heat cast iron and bring it indoors.

C) Heat hot water and use the power of convection to circulate it with impromptu piping throughout your house (possibly a more long term solution)

D) Heat water in a big cast iron dutch oven and bring it inside.

There's also the good old 'mr buddy' heater which has an automatic low oxygen shutoff switch. I plan on purchasing one as soon as I have a free 85 dollars.

I have a carbon monoxide detector in my townhouse and recommend everyone get one if possible.

In that respect my plan in an emergency is I have about 3 days worth of spare propane. I will bring the propane stove indoors and run it in spurts while having a window(s?) cracked. At least until I can get a mr. buddy.

If that fails, I'll build a mini wood stove out of some old steel cans, a barrier material to avoid fires (such as brick) and some steel ducting from the home supply store to ferry out the fumes.

More than likely though I'll drive the 30 miles to my sister's house and bum in with her since she has a real wood stove <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'd guess the other way. Bricks and concrete are more porous than most stone, so they would be more likely to absorb water and thus crack or explode. Just a guess.

Probably a much safer (and more effective) route is the old heated water bottle in your sleeping bag trick.

-john

I'll have to try it and report. I'll also heat up some smaller rocks and see if it really boils water like I've read.

Also, rereading that section of the book, he says they should be "red hot". I don't think I've ever seen a red-hot rock.

Half the people around here say all the rocks here are glacial. The other half say it's old river rock. I guess I'd better find some dry bricks...

Sue

"...I guess I'd better find some dry bricks..."

I'd suggest that you find some dry FIRE BRICKS, not your old everyday bricks...

Sorry, I did mean fire bricks. Slip of the fingers. I have to buy some new fire brick liners for the wood stove, so I'll just collect the broken ones and heat 'em up.

But thanks for the warning. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Ya gotta watch those finger slips, no telling what might happen. Let us know how this little project works (altho I fear that it will take waaaayyyy too much wood to really be effective)...