Bumpyroad
Virginia
Senior Member
Joined: 12/01/2005
View Profile
 Offline
|
pawatt wrote:There are 1000's of summer cabins in the area of MN that we are from. Nearly all totally shut them down for the winter. I have not heard of any problems.
We do leave our heat on as low as it goes but part of the reason is that we leave paint & some canned goods in the house. I do close off the registers in the bedrooms & the 2nd floor. As we are gone nearly 6 months I am now considering turning everything off too.
It would be nice to hear from a few more who have been shutting everything down for a few years to get a 1st hand report on any issues.
It would save us about $500. if we turned off the heat.
summer cabins are designed to do that. houses aren't/
bumpy
|
pawatt
Brainerd MN / Mission TX
Moderator
Joined: 01/19/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
Bumpyroad wrote:
summer cabins are designed to do that. houses aren't
bumpy
What is different about their design? most are just lake homes that are only used in the summer. No design difference whatsoever that I am aware of.
|
The Weekenders
Harvey, North Dakota
Senior Member
Joined: 12/10/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
I don't know about Minnesota but across the border in ND, it is well known if you leave a home unheated for the winter, you will have problems. As I mentioned earlier, issues with sheet rock, plaster peeling, and in some cases if a home is not heated for a few winters your floor will will start to warp. I have seen it many times here. JMO
Every meal is a feast, everyday is a parade and every paycheck is a fortune!
Winter is here, the misery begins
Rick & Sheila's RVing Album
Rick's Facebook
2004 Ford F350 6.0PSD
2008 Keystone Montana 3585SA
|
Don & Carolyn
North Branch, MN
Senior Member
Joined: 07/30/2002
View Profile
|
Regarding cabins in cold climates... We live in Minnesota and we searched for a cabin three years ago. MOST of the cabins that we looked at smelled moldy. I have a good sense of smell and I was surprised at the number of cabins with a moldy smell.
We finally gave up looking for a cabin or lake home and built a house... but not on a lake. The house is in a smaller town, so we have the same concerns as everyone else about how to leave the house. We are going to leave the heat on because we have lots of oak cabinets and hardwood floors. We don't want any damage in the wood.
Don & Carolyn
2006 Dodge 2500 diesel 6 speed
2009 Arctic Fox 27-5L
|
Dick_B
Palos Heights, IL USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/10/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
My parents completely shut down their summer home for the winter in northern Wisconsin; drained any necessary piping, of course.
Amazingly, when they returned in the spring the refrigerator and tv's started right up. They did this for more than 20 years.
We leave our heat on and have a gadget that calls our cell phone if the heat drops below a certain temperature. We would then have our son investigate the house and call the repair guys if necessary.
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2003 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two bikes (both Electric Schwinn's with motor assist)
|
|
|
dkilley
Delta, BC, Cdn-Now in Rincon de Guayabitos-Mexico
Full Member
Joined: 12/30/2004
View Profile
|
If you turn off your heat, make sure you put on some electrical heat tape at the water service entry location before your shut off valve. This will always be under pressure unless you shut it off at the street valve. Put plumbers anti-freeze in all drain traps as well.
2004-Newmar Scottsdale 3760 Motorhome, Workhorse powered with Alison Tranny.
|
Grizzly128
N. Dakota
Full Member
Joined: 01/05/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
First year snow birding last winter, leaving again the first of next week. Drained everything last year, rv antifreeze in all traps, washing machine, etc. Turned off elec and all heat. Gone from thanksgiving till the 22nd of May, no damage. 2 computers, 3 tv's, all my printers and scanners, no damage. I allowed everything to heat to room temperature for 24 hours and dry out any condensation that may have been present. Even the ink cartridges were unaffected. Water was turned off at the street.
|
dirtengineer
Alaska
Senior Member
Joined: 09/18/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
pawatt wrote:Bumpyroad wrote:
summer cabins are designed to do that. houses aren't
bumpy
What is different about their design? most are just lake homes that are only used in the summer. No design difference whatsoever that I am aware of.
There is a big difference in design between a cold and warm foundation anywhere where there is significant frost penetration. If you allow your foundation soils to freeze and you have frost susceptible soils, you can damage your foundation.
The difference in design will depend on soil types and depth of frost penetration. In general, the depth of the foundation or non-frost susceptible soils will go to the depth of freezing for a cold foundation.
I would always recommend that folks keep their heat on during the winter if they live in a cold climate. Also keep in mind that your water supply line can freeze if it isn't used regularly.
|
Motor City Swagman
Detroit, Michigan/Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 07/03/2001
View Profile
Offline
|
IMHO I would leave the thermostat set at 50 degrees, be safe rather than sorry. I would recommend buying a freeze alarm that will monitor home temperature and will call you on when there is a alarm condition and also let you call in and get a report. If you have a digital thermostat make sure you put in a fresh battery I have heard of people who have ended up with large heating bills because the thermostat
battery died and thermostat went to the default temperature of 72 degrees.
Motor City Swagman 2000 Bounder 36S
Ford V-10, Banks Power Pack w/ TC,
BrakeBuddy,Davis Tru Trac,Safe T Plus,Aventa II & Xplorer Sport Trac
|
starflyte1
Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 02/20/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
We always left the heat on when we were snowbirds. The freeze can cause the glue in furniture to crack and, if you have wallpaper, it is not supposed to be good for that either.
We still drained the pipes and turned off the water.
|
|
|
