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How to Protect a Home When Away in Winter?
kidMike writes "I have just accepted a new job in another state, requiring me to relocate. I'm going to keep my house in New England. As I watch the winter storm problems and electrical outages across the country, how do Slashdotters protect their houses (or cabins) when they are away in the winter? Is there a device that will call me if the temp in the house drops below a certain level? How about a broken pipe flooding the house? How can I keep advised of problems happening hundreds of miles away? (There will still be broadband at the house.)"
I know its not technical and nor does it have a wow factor or allow you to log into a web based control and monitoring page in the "interweb", but how about asking a friend / neighbour to keep an eye on it for you? That way if something goes wrong they may be able to help you sort out any problems without you coming back, plus they are more flexible, able to deal with the weather, any break-ins, any mail that doesn't get misdirected or anything else for that matter.
Obviously the issue here, and it a big one, is Trust.
Not sure if this would help http://www.liquidbreaker.com/ but it has an internet connection, allows you to monitor the water from afar, as well as monitor temperature of water pipes
Making sure you really know where the low point of the plumbing is.
As a followup, pour antifreeze into drains so that the traps don't freeze.
You need HomeSaver See http://www.qsystemsengineering.com/ Dr. Null
Contacting the county extension agent is a great suggestion! In most, if not all states, there are county agents affiliated with the state's main agricultural college. Usually there is a home agent and a farm agent. There may be a marine agent in coastal areas. They have pamphlets on all sorts of things, and access to the latest doctrine on how to do things from controlling bugs, to preserving food, to who knows what. The best part of it is that it is almost all free.
Interesting - most furnaces require an electric blower to move air through the ducts and won't fire, if the power fails. The BlueFlame models are vent free - no chimney and no blower. They have protection against oxygen depletion. However, they won't work in really cold areas, where oxygen depletion is guaranteed to happen.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
OK, let me get this straight. A Stephen King novel... is better than a Stanley Kubrick movie starring Jack Nicholson pretty close to his prime. I find that hard to believe. I'll have to check it out some time. If it was better than finally seeing what Jack was typing, seeing REDRUM in the mirror, seeing that bolt open, and a generally bright setting made horrifying, then that book must be pretty good.
I have freaks! I did something right...
I spent a night in the hospital once when I was a kid because of a gas heater in the bathroom. It used up all the oxygen while I as taking a bath and I passed out.
This may be a silly question, but coming from an Australian climate where the weather doesn't go to really extreme 'extremes', why is it important to keep the temperature above a certain point? And why would an abandoned house need electricity in an outage?