On 2/24/20, after a couple of days of sun and high 30* temps (nights were in the high 20's), the snow blown pathways were almost clear of ice.
On 2/28, even with temps in the low 40's and a day of rain, it was so cloudy that there wasn't much progress of meltage. The calm winds did not help as the snow pack kept the ground temperature a lot colder than the air temp. However, the paths are mostly clear of ice (except an area on the north side of the house).
Since then the, air temps haven't gotten out of the 20's, so there hasn't been much progress.
As a testament to how warm February was, I only used 27 bags of pellets. Also most days were calm, so the house didn't lose its warmth as quickly. Previously the lowest usage was 41 for both 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 winters. Last winter 49 bags were used. I believe I heard the other day that this was not the warmest February, nor even in the top 5 for New Hampshire, but will have to wait for the official results.
I hadn't thought about your keeping records on your pellet use; but, it makes sense that you would. Well done! You do a lot of path clearance.
Posted by: Cop Car | March 01, 2020 at 10:10 AM
Need to keep the way to the propane tanks clear. Also clear a path from the front to both gates (in case of fire - with lots of fire breathers in the house, want the FD to be able to get in if ever needed). A path from the gate to the mulch pile (which the neighbor kids use to cut across between streets). And then the path way in back, and from the gate to that path are for water drainage.
Posted by: bogie | March 01, 2020 at 06:00 PM
As far as pellet usage tracking; the first couple of years I didn't track it - I started the winter of 2017/2018.
But, other people on a forum I frequent track it and I thought it was a good idea. That way I could understand how much I use, thus how much I need to have on hand. I don't get caught by a shortage if it is a tough season. Of course they had the fire sales of pellets (mild winter) spring of 2016, so I didn't care how much I used that winter since I was sitting on 11 tons.
Tracking also allows me to see approximately how much I spend per year to heat. I wish I HAD started tracking 2014/2015 (1st full season of heating with pellets) as that was a very cold and snowy winter. The basement wasn't fully insulated yet, the wall between the workshop and heater room hadn't been knocked out, and the floor was bare concrete. That would have helped me understand more the effects of all the changes.
Posted by: bogie | March 08, 2020 at 06:51 AM
That would have been an interesting comparison to have made - somewhat insulated vs not at all.
Posted by: Cop Car | March 08, 2020 at 11:36 AM