The Campfire Trail: December 28 - DIY Homestead

December 28, 2022

Day 453 of the Adventure

As many of you know, Shelley and I were on business (family business) to Las Vegas Nevada, this past week. It all happened while a sub-zero cold front passed through SW Missouri. Prior to leaving, the extended forecast kept dropping lower and lower for the projected cold on Thursday, December 22. It did make to seven below zero here and moderated only slightly over the next few days. Of course, we were spared the experience ourselves, as the temperatures stayed between upper 40's at night to mid to upper 60's during the day. We were not spared the worry of how the cabin would do in the cold back home. Our planning included things like making sure the outdoor water lines were buried well below the frost line. Indoors, the plumbing was planned as well as we could to insure that everything indoors was protected by the cabin warmth. The concern involved our back up heat source in our absence. Wood heat is our primary source with a pair of electric base boards as a back up. We had very little time to test their effectiveness in extreme temperatures as we had not yet experienced anything much colder than mid-teens. The electric did not keep things comfortable during that level of cold with wind. We hoped it would at least keep the cabin above freezing on the inside. As a precaution, we turned the water supply off to the cabin so if there was a freeze and break, it would at least not flood everything with pressurized water.

We returned to find that the weather had warmed back to the mid 50's for daytime highs and the cabin seemed to have suffered no ill effects from the cold. I really do prefer to be on site when tempting the newly installed water lines for their first encounter with frigid temps. This time that was not possible. Thank goodness, all turned out well, and we have now experienced a deep enough freeze to have given our systems a true test of their abilities. The bonus, even though I worried about it nearly the whole time we were gone......... I got to enjoy sunny and warm weather while our cabin was busy fighting off the cold!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.” ― Sinclair Lewis

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