8.25.2008

The first fun thing about full timing in Ohio over
the winter is staying warm and, not going broke
about it!

This season I was fortunate enough to come across a little wood burner which fit my little home just so perfectly as almost one might think it was constructed exactly for the application. The firewood is in such fantastic abundance here where I'm settled that I wonder if this is to be my winter base for some years to come and, in the warmer months, when most snowbirds are heading north I may find myself either heading south or, maybe, farther north.



At the start of the winter season I was not sure just how much wood I would actually burn and that, together with my friend's cottage wood burner whether I might need to bring a few more of the dead oaks down. Now, months into the season and maybe only a good fat month to go of wintry conditions, I was fairly sure what was already down was enough.




Then a wind storm came. An expert could not have dropped this sixty footer more perfectly! Narrowly missing my friends boat, the yard furniture, only nicking my outdoor fire grille, and comfortably dropping about fifteen feet from my friend's cottage, this ready-to-burn dead oak came down with barely a sound. The way it is laying smack dab in the middle of the fire pit has me planning on sawing it to both ends leaving that log right where I'm gonna burn it this spring.



By the way, notice the huge dark furry looking vine running the length of this sixty footer? That, is poison ivy. It is everywhere, here. And, seemingly quite useless. You can't even burn the stuff. The smoke from the ivy can be lethal if inhaled!



Back to the particular subject of this blog, and that is the second most fun thing about full timing in Ohio, which is keeping a supply of unfrozen water. With no utility supply, nor a well, I had devised a rain water collection system last summer which worked just great and, even better still, was cheap to build and free to replenish - one of those best things in life that are still free - rainwater.



The system is made from two large non-metallic garbage cans (new, of course) ; seventy five feet of water hose (which I already had from years of full timing - the safe potable type) ; two water filters - the first in line a simple screen type filter; the second in line a RV in line charcoal type of filter; a drop-in general purpose water pump; an outdoor type extension cord; chlorine bleach.



Simple and inexpensive setup, which, is great for me. The garbage cans collect water off of the roof via gutters and downspout. When the water is needed to fill up my RV's water tank I hook up the hoses to the water pump and in line filters, drop the pump into the garbage can, stick the other end of the hose into the RV water tank supply fitting, plug the pump in and in about fifteen minutes it is all done. For the sake of safety I dress up my supply of rain water with just a splash of chlorine bleach.



Over the years, I've just gotten into the habit of buying my drinking and cooking water. I suppose I could drink the rainwater with a bit of filtering refinement, but, for now the rainwater is for washing and toilet duty.



My concerns that all the water would be completely frozen this winter soon melted away. The garbage cans do not stay constantly frozen. With a little bit of rationing, the water available is just enough to make full timing in Ohio through the winter a reasonable sport. Maybe, at some future blog, I might get into the challenge of keeping the waste lines unfrozen.

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FULL TIMING IN OHIO

FULL TIMING IN OHIO