A venting toilet that doesn’t stink. Why didn’t they think of this years ago?

It seems simple enough. Instead of (or as well as) having an exhaust fan in your ceiling, the dual purpose fan pulls exhaust directly from the bowl. It also pull humidity out of the bathroom.

As if that wasn’t enough to get anyone whose sh*t stinks on board, the Ventex is also a water saving system.

Starts at $519 for the complete system. Think about how much you’ll be saving on matches, candles and deodorizers.

Via Bobby V

The post Introducing The Odorless Toilet appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

About 5 years ago when we still owned the Kingston house, we made an attempt at making the heating system more energy efficient. Not such a difficult task considering the home had electric baseboard heating.

We had a lovely stone fireplace in the living room and a wood burning stove in the basement that we used regularly as weekenders. Once we moved up there full time, chopping wood got old fast and we noticed a constant draft from the flue.

We decided to install a freestanding stove in the fireplace. This would take care of the draft problem because the system uses closed ducts inside the chimney. We researched wood pellets, corn and gas. We ended up with gas. Duh!

Our decision was based on a few factors. One, our electric went out frequently in the woods. The pellet and corn stoves require electric to run the feed and circulation blower. Although gas stoves require electric for the blower, it isn’t necessary at all times.

Secondly, with pellets or corn, we would’ve had to stay on top of things. The pellets don’t magically jump into the stove by themselves. We went through alot of logs with the wood stove and constantly had to feed it. We worried that might be the case with the pellets and if we were at work or away on vacation, we would have to rely too heavily on the electric baseboards as backup (to keep the pets toasty when we’re gone).

If you aren’t lazy bastards like us, obviously pellet or corn stoves are the way to go. They are a clean, sustainable source of heat. Some models burn both pellets and corn if you cannot make a decision. And, guess what? If you run out of kitty litter….what do you think Feline Pine is?

Hearth Forum
Fireplace Lowdown
How To Choose a Pellet Stove
Alternative Heating Info
Ask the Builder

The post Alternative Heat Sources appeared first on reclaimedhome.com.

Trust me on this one. You’re never prepared for the day your boiler breaks down. It will be the coldest day of winter and you’ll be freezing your arse off. You’re going to put in ANY boiler the heating contractor can get you ASAP.

Do your research! Bookmark this page. Compare boilers now so you know which one you may want to go with when that dreadful day comes. Because unless you have a new boiler, it will come, my friend. Oh, it will come. And you’ll be sorry if you don’t heed my advice.

If you don’t have a plumber or heating contractor, get in touch with a few and ask which products they recommend. Ask friends for referrals. We needed to replace our boilers immediately in two separate homes. We were stuck looking in the yellow pages both times. We were lucky that the contractors were good, but we had to go with the boilers that were available on each occasion.

AFUE=Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The ratio of heat output of the furnace or boiler compared to the total energy consumed by a furnace or boiler. The higher the number the better. Basically, something with a 90%+ AFUE rating would be energy efficient. There are other factors to consider when choosing a boiler. Please read the linked articles, as it gets too technical to cover everything.

Energy Star
Government Consumer Guide
ACEEE Consumer Guide
Keyspan offers rebates up to $800!
Thomasnet lets you compare boiler manufacturers.

Related: Energy Incentives

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