27.11.2023 See that fire!

 ~o~

 Monday 27th 34F/1C. Overcast. Up at 6.30. Room at 60F/15C. Greenhouse at 38F/3C. Balcony room 41F. I have two thermometers reading the greenhouse temperatures. The sensor outside the living room is reading much higher than that outside the kitchen. The latter is only heated to 55F. While the living room sometime reaches 70F//21C. This suggests the 9" solid brick wall is conducting more heat away than from the cooler kitchen. 

 Both outside sensors are placed near floor level behind the logs for solar shade. The gaps between and behind the logs should be enabling free air movement. I have just moved the kitchen wall sensor to a more exposed place behind the logs and it now reads 41F instead of 37F. I shall continue to monitor the greenhouse readings for agreement. 

 The living room is only at 60F this morning. So the indoor temperatures are presently much closer than during the day. However, heat loss can be considered as time related. How long does it take for the heat to cross a barrier? Whether it being poorly conducting or insulating. 

 7.45. I have lit the stove. Thank goodness for reliable kindling which actually burns! Still far too dark for a walk.

 10.00 Still overcast. Morning coffee after returning from a walk to the lanes. I had to force myself to keep going to my usual turning point. My morning walks have been getting shorter and shorter.  I saw several small groups of pretty bullfinches and a brown bird of prey. Which was being threatened by a noisy crow. The back field flooding looked worse. Only because the thin snow was still sitting on the icy surfaces. The room has only risen to 64F/18C so far. The light NE wind may not be helping. By increasing draughts and removing more heat from the roof insulation and wall surfaces.

 11.30 I felt so depressed and tired that I went back to bed for half an hour. The continuous heavy overcast was making me unhappy. I woke to bright sunshine and immediately sprang into action. Starting with reloading the log rack in the room. Last year's logs are already gone. With only a few thin sticks left for encouraging the fire when the stove is reluctant to burn. Or was, when the kindling was worthless.

 At this point I really ought to buy more logs. To fill the space now made available. Moving the existing logs to the empty space would be double handling. When I could be using a wheelbarrow to bring new logs straight to the space under the kitchen window. Amounting to perhaps 1/3 of the area of the south facing wall. As there is no need for easy access I could double or triple stack in depth. This would provide a reserve of medium dry logs for next time. Instead of starting from scratch with damp logs once the previous load is used up. Fetching logs in sunny weather is a waste of useful outdoor time in winter.

 Then I had another idea. I could make tall racks to go between the living room windows. This would greatly increase the potential height of stacked logs. While providing modest insulation using the logs. Then it occurred to me that I  could insulate behind the log racks. The problem is that this is the wall least in need of insulation. It is already protected by the greenhouse and enjoys the most sunshine. So I'll keep the rack idea in mind and do something more pressing. Than sitting on the computer making up more daft ideas.

13.00 35F/2C. Lunch. I have removed lots of stuff from indoors and the greenhouse. Which has been waiting to go to the sheds. Even went up to check the observatory for the first time in months. I need to shop. 

15.00 31F/-1C. I had another nap instead. Then cleaned the glass door of the stove while it was cool. Now relit. It is amazing how the glass completely disappears when it is clean. Quite magical. Like an open fire but safely and efficiently enclosed. Open fires lose most of their heat up the chimney. I used ceramic hotplate cleaner and microfibre cloth on the glass.

The sun is now sinking behind the neighbour's barn roof.  I have found a block of white, expanded polythene packaging and bored a small hole opposite a larger one. The block is hanging midway up the kitchen window. Hopefully the sensor will now read the air temperature out there without being affected by the sun or local heating of surfaces. 

 The small, white, naked sensor absorbed heat when the sun was out. Making my readings too high and irrelevant. The insulating block should reject solar warmth white still exposing the sensor to the air. I may need to enlarge the ventilation hole to allow more air to reach the sensor. The small hole just grips the fine flex leading to the sensor. So I can hang the block from the lead. Which is simply hooked over a window hinge.

 If the sun didn't shine on the sensor it would read correctly. This is why my outside thermometer sensor has hung freely under the northern eaves for years. The sun can't reach it at any time of year. Nor does the sun hit the northern roof slope in summer. Grazing incidence perhaps, around mid day, but not enough to warm the air a couple of feet below the roof surface. Another potential problem is radiation to the night sky. Which would/might make a naked sensor read low.

 19.00 27F/-3C. Dinner was poached eggs on toast and is already over. Along with a small glass of milk. There was never any reason to eat so late as I have been. So I decided to start dinner at 18.00 instead of 19.00 or later. I have been repeatedly dozing off during the day. Which must be because of my disturbed sleep patterns. Hopefully an earlier dinner will help to reduce that problem.

~o~