2020-21 Winter weather; bring it on

[Stella Link 534]

2020-21 Winter weather; bring it on

So, @Parliament....you started this thread.  Are you F'*@#-ing happy now??

 

[Red Five 40,846]

I've got an HEB curbside pickup at 11:00 about three miles away. SW Austin. Yay or nay?

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

So, I said it was dry in central Dallas, and it is.  I just went over to nbcdfw and they have a live cam of 360 at Abram and it looks like a bit of a shit show.

Checked google maps and most of the southwest of Dallas is yellow.

[MissingInAction 25,018]

[Homercles 10,205]

33 minutes ago, Homercles said:

A store near me has a 1,250 watt ceiling mounted heater fan in stock...would that make even a dent in a 3-car garage if I propped it up against something and blew against the wall that has the plumbing in it?

Anyone got any input on this?  It won’t really heat up the garage much but I’m thinking it could help that wall.  It’s $80

[Guest Lobo]

Trees & Pipes.

Thoughts & Prayers.  

[Message Board User 12,395]

Just now, Homercles said:

Anyone got any input on this?  It won’t really heat up the garage much but I’m thinking it could help that wall.  It’s $80

I have a 1500 watt space heater that I've put in my garage to warm up the wall where our outside spigot is located and it seemed to have done a good job yesterday - it was frozen but ran after the space heater was turned on.

It obviously won't warm the garage but I figure I will run that thing for about 30 minutes 2 or 3 times per day for the next 5 days it will (hopefully) do the trick for that one area.

[Homercles 10,205]

39 minutes ago, Homercles said:

A store near me has a 1,250 watt ceiling mounted heater fan in stock...would that make even a dent in a 3-car garage if I propped it up against something and blew against the wall that has the plumbing in it?

DP

Edited February 13, 2021 by Homercles

[Eastwood 4,394]

45 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

How are road conditions to the south? We can get to Franklin on surface streets for a pickup....but how is 1-35 to San Antonio?

 

41 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

We're dry in the north part of Bexar County, but we didn't get back over freezing this morning like we were supposed to and there is a patch of freezing drizzle coming up from the south, which is earlier than forecasted. If you get down here, you might not get back to Austin without a struggle.

I went outside to check on things and there's already freezing drizzle at my house, which is about 8 - 12 hours ahead of schedule. Honestly, I know you just spent a boat load on BBQ, but you might end up spending a lot more than that if you try to make that trip.

[Chet Steadman 940]

26 minutes ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Ever get your power back?

Yep, late last night. 

Coincidentally, it was within about an hour after signing Adler up for Cat Facts. 

[crimsonlonghorn 2,306]

13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

One of my spigots was dripping before this all started.  There's a cool ice stalagmite under it.  It drips like once every 10-20 seconds.  It doesn't leak, per se, but the knob/handle is sticky.  I cranked it shut and wrapped it up, even though it's frost-free.

Wait... Don't you just mean, an "icicle"?

[Homercles 10,205]

8 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

I have a 1500 watt space heater that I've put in my garage to warm up the wall where our outside spigot is located and it seemed to have done a good job yesterday - it was frozen but ran after the space heater was turned on.

It obviously won't warm the garage but I figure I will run that thing for about 30 minutes 2 or 3 times per day for the next 5 days it will (hopefully) do the trick for that one area.

I would need to buy a cheap extension cord, chop off the leads and wire nut it in.  I’m on the fence because I’d also have to prop it up against something.  Starting to get into serious redneck engineering here.  

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

So i busted a pipe trying to insulate the pipes in my crawlspace.  
at least im early in the plumbers waitlist.  Go me?

[crimsonlonghorn 2,306]

 

2 hours ago, Deej said:

HEB is making a killing. Did curbside at Rundberg HEB this morning and the guy said they had people from over an hour away picking up because they had the only available slots. First time I haven't been the only car at curbside at that location. 

My regular place in Aliana (Richmond) was booked up yesterday so I went to a different HEB that actually had free slots. HOLY SHIT it was a goddam clusterfuck. Literally 26 spaces and every one was occupied and a line of cars just stopped waiting for someone to back out. 

The curbside at my regular store is on the side and not in the middle of the main parking lot. At this other place the curbbside spaces are right in the middle of the parking lot, so the wait to get into curbside was backing up traffic in the entire parking lot. 

But... so glad I got my groceries yesterday instead of today. I bet today is 100x worse. 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by crimsonlonghorn

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Yep, late last night. 
Coincidentally, it was within about an hour after signing Adler up for Cat Facts. 

Just 2,186 facts left

[Wanker Bob 379]

2 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Holy shit, these wind gusts on Monday are going to be the end to many tree limbs.

And the Lord thy God said:

Oh you Texas bitches didn't want to quarantine from my plague? Hold my fuckin' beer...

[Wanker Bob 379]

2 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Wanker Bob

[Armybrat 40,824]

Got out a while ago to trim off some iced up low hanging branches to take a bit of excess weight off so when the blizzard hits tomorrow night maybe less will break down. 
Had to quit and come inside, because huffing & blowing too hard. Actually had to take a nitro pill to recover.

 

[ztejas 43,412]

54 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

The city of Austin website says  to drip outside faucets at 5 drips per minute.  WTF?  They are crazy.  

If people start taking advice from the CoA we may well get to 5 figure death tolls.

[ztejas 43,412]

26 minutes ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

Wait... Don't you just mean, an "icicle"?

He means it's freezing up from the ground. An icicle would be hanging.

[Bevo&Pevo 5,121]

2 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

3 hours ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

vTexas Temperature Map - Air Sports Net (usairnet.com)
quick way to check area temps.  
Any of you guys think to buy charcoal (for cooking not warming the haus) or camp stove fuel?  If ya' lose power at least you eat some thing warm.  In a pinch taping(several layers) a nickel over both terminals of a 9v battery will warm it up.  I've never done that with a new one, but used "dead" ones with success for hunting/fishing trips for a pocket warmer.
I'd also recommend that if you decide to try to get out to the local hardware store to pick up insulation add to the basket some items to make temp repairs for when the that comes.  PVC glue, caps, plugs, PEX connectors, cutters things to stop a leak or fix as you find it.
 

Tell me more about this nickel 9v setup. How long does it last with a new battery? Sounds like it could be a good solution for keeping an outdoor spigot warm if you wrap it in a towel but will it catch on fire?

Rig one up and carry it around in your pocket for awhile use your best discretion.  They won't last forever, but it may work just long enough. I've never had one catch fire, but there is always a first time.   

[miguelito 11,255]

53 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I've got an HEB curbside pickup at 11:00 about three miles away. SW Austin. Yay or nay?

Bring an extra taun taun.

[Guest Lobo]

They make a delicious grilled taun taun at my local HEB.  Little lime and cilantro.  Smells like ass but I sure miss 'em. 

[C-Man 27,195]

The best weapon you can have is a 1,500 watt hair dryer. 

I scored the last 2 pieces of insulation at Home DePoors.  Felt like the last guy on the ark in the worst movie ever made, 2012.

Also, I haven't checked my (very wrapped) hose bibs since I wrapped them yesterday, but not too worried.  28°-30° won't freeze them too far in.  I plan to do a series of 2-3 rewraps between now and Tuesday.  That hair dryer's going to get more use than it has the past 15 years.

Wife reports HEB shopping at Bee Cave is typical mass hysteria right now.  I'm sure it's like that everywhere.  People shooting people over cheese, others walking over them, kicking them out of the way to get to the bacon.
 
 

The hair dryer worked like a charm on my outside faucet. Once thawed, I filled the pool up to the brim and then re-wrapped that MF'er. My FIL jerry-rigged this contraption (it's lined with old koozies) and we put it on there, then wrapped it up in a beach towel and duck taped the shit out of it. My FIL, a bad ass BTW, wanted to know if we should get a patent on it.

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

47 minutes ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

Wait... Don't you just mean, an "icicle"?

It built from the ground up.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Lobo said:

They make a delicious grilled taun taun at my local HEB.  Little lime and cilantro.  Smells like ass but I sure miss 'em. 

Then you get the morons who want it well done... ends up being something even a sarlacc would throw back.

Edited February 13, 2021 by slorch

[TwiceHorn 31,440]

44 minutes ago, Xian said:

So i busted a pipe trying to insulate the pipes in my crawlspace.  
at least im early in the plumbers waitlist.  Go me?

How did that happen?  Really old pipe?

[C-Man 27,195]

32 minutes ago, ztejas said:

The city of Austin website says  to drip outside faucets at 5 drips per minute.  WTF?  They are crazy.  

Edited February 13, 2021 by C-Man

[Homercles 10,205]

FYI RR Home Depot has 1500W electric space heaters for $40:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lasko-Compact-9-2-in-1500-Watt-Electric-Ceramic-Space-Heater-with-Automatic-Overheat-Protection-754200/100669067

 

i picked up one from Pflugerville and they were sold out before I got there to pickup my online order.  Cashier said ‘oh you’re one of the lucky ones’.  

[UTexasFight 9,429]

1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

The city of Austin website says  to drip outside faucets at 5 drips per minute.  WTF?  They are crazy.  

Let me guess. That same webpage is plastered with plumber ads?

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

13 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

How did that happen?  Really old pipe?

House was repiped in the 2000s.  a stupid pvc joint failed that leads to my outside faucet.  Looks like glue didnt stick?  No idea. Im now going to have the plumber check other joints. Worried the people fucked up the installation.   The green makes me think there Was a slow leak overtime. But ive never seen any water 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Xian

[MissingInAction 25,018]

I bet covid cases drop like a rock nation wide from this shit due to everyone hunkering down.

[BrickHorn 18,217]

1 minute ago, UTexasFight said:

Let me guess. That same webpage is plastered with plumber ads?

So what is the best advice? Insulate them instead? Or run a trickle through them?

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

1 hour ago, Homercles said:

I would need to buy a cheap extension cord, chop off the leads and wire nut it in.  I’m on the fence because I’d also have to prop it up against something.  Starting to get into serious redneck engineering here.  

A lot of those ceiling mounted garage heaters are 220 instead of 110 to put off good heat. Make sure the one you are looking at is 110 unless you have 220 available.  And if they are made to hear a room, they probably put out some serious btu and I’d be hesitant to point them right at drywall vs open air. 

[washparkhorn 9,939]

26 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Got out a while ago to trim off some iced up low hanging branches to take a bit of excess weight off so when the blizzard hits tomorrow night maybe less will break down. 
Had to quit and come inside, because huffing & blowing too hard. Actually had to take a nitro pill to recover.

 

Take it easy AB. 

[csb] - back in Denver several years ago, I had a great older neighbor across the street. Feisty old son of a bitch, but just a good guy to shoot the shit with.

When the heavy snow would set in, he would clear his and his neighbors' walks on his side of our street and I would do the same on my side of the street. It was a bit of a tradition, until one day . . . 

Son of a bitch fell while clearing sidewalks. I found him 20 minutes after the fall, let his wife know, got him a blanket and waited with him. While waiting for the ambulance, he said that was it for him clearing sidewalks - that he didn't want to die freezing to death in the cold. He hired a snow service and my "Snow Storms with Morrie" (his name was Chuck) came to an end. /csb

TLDR: Some things are not worth it. Be safe.

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

4 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

I bet covid cases drop like a rock nation wide from this shit due to everyone hunkering down.

You mean people don’t actually HAVE to go out and do shit?

[crimsonlonghorn 2,306]

16 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

It built from the ground up.

Yeah, rereading now. "T=tight to the ceiling." Not M. 

My bad. 

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,652]

Dumb question. Im about to just raise the white flag and turn off the water/drain monday night (when we wilL get our coldest).  Can i keep my modern gas water heater on/filled without issue?  

[Somnio 751]

3 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

Holy shit, these wind gusts on Monday are going to be the end to many tree limbs.

Widespread 30+ mph gusts when trees are covered in ice and/or snow will cause power outages on a frightening scale. 

[troph 24,781]

Question at our house - turn off the main and open the spigots and empty the water lines ? 
 

houses under our purview right now - Travis country / foundation 90s home - all are covered with styrofoam insulators.  Zilker remodel - pier and beam dripping the spigots. 
 

What should we do besides thoughts and prayers?

[VelvetFreeze 114]

13 minutes ago, MissingInAction said:

I bet covid cases drop like a rock nation wide from this shit due to everyone hunkering down.

That and the fact that the WHO and CDC cut the sensitivity of the PCR tests in half.  

[washparkhorn 9,939]

4 minutes ago, troph said:

What should we do besides thoughts and prayers?

Would you like to play a game?

But seriously, I am surprised how many Austin homes are failing.

______________________

Anyone happy with their builder and the work done to prepare these homes for cold temperatures? 

[clapclapclap 9,000]

1 hour ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

But... so glad I got my groceries yesterday instead of today. I bet today is 100x worse. 

Surprisingly no, in my corner of DFW.  Kroger bakery was going full blast and the bins were still about 2/3rd's full of most types.  The sneaky bastards raised Gatorade prices from $1 to 1.25, though.   Even though there were 2 selfish sloth sows with full carts in the self-checkout lines, all 18 machines were open so I only waited in line about 30 seconds.

No issues on the roads yet, either.  All the ice patches along the side gutters (from the scumbag businesses that failed to shut off their sprinklers) had a nice layer of sand on them.  But we aren't Dallas, and never considered defunding any police or road budgets....

Apparently there's no major threat to the Northeast US this afternoon, as The (occasional) Weather Channel has already switched to those crappy BFEgypt Trucker shows.  Screw you, flyover country!

And for those keeping score at home, here's a map of the wind chills for the coldest outbreak in US recorded history.  See how you compare this week:

http://www.mikesmithenterprisesblog.com/2021/02/winter-storm-and-cold-wave-update-730pm.html

 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by clapclapclap

[washparkhorn 9,939]

For those of you shutting off your water, are you also winterizing your pipes when you do it?

[ztejas 43,412]

Fuck off with the covid shit you goobers. 

[Surly Bevo 24,908]

Well Santa Anna fucked around and found out....guess we can also

On February 12 they crossed the Rio Grande.^{[40][Note 7]} Temperatures in Texas reached record lows, and by February 13 an estimated 15–16 inches (38–41 cm) of snow had fallen. Hypothermia, dysentery, and Comanche raiding parties took a heavy toll on the Mexican soldiers.^[41]

[Wanker Bob 379]

35 minutes ago, Homercles said:

FYI RR Home Depot has 1500W electric space heaters for $40:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lasko-Compact-9-2-in-1500-Watt-Electric-Ceramic-Space-Heater-with-Automatic-Overheat-Protection-754200/100669067

 

i picked up one from Pflugerville and they were sold out before I got there to pickup my online order.  Cashier said ‘oh you’re one of the lucky ones’.  

Thanks for that link, I didn't think I'd be able to find a little heater but checked the Plano location off 75 and they had a pallet full of them by the front door. 

[burntorangebongos 10,710]

So one of my outside spigot is frozen as I rewrapped it and tried it and no go. The rest were working. I have a leaky one so that one I'm dripping and the others are fine. 

Anything I can do about the frozen one other than rewrapping it and keeping it dry? When will I learn if it is broken? should I call a plumber for Wednesday or wait until I learn that it burst for sure? 

[Brisketexan 105,079]

So one of my outside spigot is frozen as I rewrapped it and tried it and no go. The rest were working. I have a leaky one so that one I'm dripping and the others are fine. 
Anything I can do about the frozen one other than rewrapping it and keeping it dry? When will I learn if it is broken? should I call a plumber for Wednesday or wait until I learn that it burst for sure? 

Hit it with a hair dryer on high for 10 mins or so. That will often warm it up enough to thaw. Let it run, then dry it off and wrap it again.

[ztejas 43,412]

13 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

Well Santa Anna fucked around and found out....guess we can also

On February 12 they crossed the Rio Grande.^{[40][Note 7]} Temperatures in Texas reached record lows, and by February 13 an estimated 15–16 inches (38–41 cm) of snow had fallen. Hypothermia, dysentery, and Comanche raiding parties took a heavy toll on the Mexican soldiers.^[41]

Napoleon should have sent the Comanches into Russia.