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2020-21 Winter weather; bring it on

Parliament

By Parliament
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SubliminalHorn
SubliminalHorn

Power back on. 109 hours. I almost want to cry a little 

Machinator
Machinator
BradInATX
BradInATX

I've actually been turning my heat up a degree every time a new Surly member loses power on this thread. It's a nice balmy 94 in here.

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Dr Fear

Dr Fear 1290

Posted
Posted

Where are we with letting exterior faucets drip?  I got one I had installed a few years back, pipe runs underground from the house out to the side of an heated exterior garage and then the pipe goes up out of the ground about two feet.  I already have the exposed pipe wrapped with the foam stuff, and have been using a standard cover with towels so it fits flush against the garage.  Up in Fort Worth.  I think the ones on the house should be good with covers and letting the inside sinks drip.

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

Posted
Posted

I have an old, indoor 55” Sharp flat panel tv mounted on my patio.  It’s a total bitch to get on or off the cheap mount, but it’s survived cold weather before but not like this.  It’s got a cover.  
 

Do I need to go whole hog and take the damn thing down for a week?  Can I just leave it on, when it’s super cold overnight so it stays warm?

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Grabbed some heat tape. It’s going fast.

Heat Tape?  Is that anything like Hot Ice?  

Homercles---I'd take the TV down.  This long of a sustained freeze (2.5 days) with moderate moisture.  It's enough to crack your screen.  One night at 25 degrees with a cover on it would be one thing, but this is likely 3 overnights below 20.  If you don't wan to deal with that.  It'd wrap it in something moisture proof or wicking first.   Then the cover you mentioned.  Then a thick blanket and duct tape the seam and each corner.  

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

Do not do what my neighbor asked me if he should do this morning......do not put anti-freeze in your sprinkler system.  Some modern systems do have automatic valves and insulated backflow.  How old is your system?  Mine is old enough, I gotta drain it manually (we went through the steps upthread).  Because of the dramatic change in our soil from the north end of the yard to the southern end is such that part of the system is just a few inches below the soil and thus, much more vulnerable.  I'm not worried the southern end which is much more insulated by the muddy earth. 

My other worry is the exterior exposed pipe draw from the waterline in the back garage wall down into the start of the system.  I double-wrapped it this morning with foam insulation but I'm deliberating figuring out a way to heat the interior wall as well because a crack there is not only a couple feet of cheap sprinkler piping, but also a chunk of garage wall.  Wife is honestly considering my current proposal---me in the back of the garage with a space heater, making sure nothing catches on fire, for a couple hours each day with a bottle of brandy or bourbon.  

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted
Just now, Ghost of LL said:

I gotta tell you--I'm really concerned about all those homeless people whom we bitch about pitching their tents around town.  They don't have insulated sleeping bags to deal with this shit, and I'm afraid a lot of them are going to freeze.

I posted about that in the council/fitlump thread.  I'm not hearing/reading anything from council about marshaling resources to get those people in somewhere proper for the next few days.  But nope, all they wanna talk about is that fucking Candlewood Suites.  Plus, serious dilemma---it's gonna be slick as shit during this long freeze as well.  Some RWD pickup or Tahoe takes an access road turn wrong and hops a curb---that's a dozen people who camp just feet off the road in serious danger of getting hit.  But yeah, the spread out camps all across the city.  Even if we could get them a heated space to spend the next few days---how do you get them all to those venues?  It's a fucking crime that Adler hasn't said shit about it so far.  I'm sure they'll slap together some half-ass effort for photo-ops on Saturday, but there should already be a clearly dictated plan in place and already in action.

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Nueces River Rat

Nueces River Rat 5799

Posted
Posted (edited)
31 minutes ago, ZB'Tejas said:

I recently ran my sprinklers this weekend... do I need to try and winterize my system? Are Austin irrigation systems even equipped with that?

 

Backflow insulator

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LKNTWSJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3S8LQP2744D0H&psc=1

Edited by Nueces River Rat
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MNLonghornFUKM

MNLonghornFUKM 8985

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Posted
I recently ran my sprinklers this weekend... do I need to try and winterize my system? Are Austin irrigation systems even equipped with that?

I would guess no.. the cold snap won’t be long enough to freeze the ground to where the lines are.


When they winterize my system in the fall, they just blow out all of the zones one by one with I assume some pressurized air. I doubt it’s any different than yours.

Better call just to be sure
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Homercles

Homercles 10206

Posted
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I can find my back flow but not the shutoff.  Thought I did but turned off water to my whole house...I have a slew of smaller covers but none appear to be the larger valve with the drain.  

 

Can I just drain the system from the back flow valve?  It’s at a low point.  

Or do I need to find the main valves for each segment and drain there?
 

 

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

There's an arrow on the backflow preventer that shows which way the water flows. Turn off the valve upstream, in other words where the water comes from. Then open the two test cocks with a flat head screwdriver and let the water drain. Then wrap it up.

I’ll go check again but the back flow is like 5’ from my water meter with no boxes in between.   It forms a triangle with the house shutoff valve, the back flow and the meter.  So not sure if there’s a valve between backflow and water main.  

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 107009

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Lobo said:

I posted about that in the council/fitlump thread.  I'm not hearing/reading anything from council about marshaling resources to get those people in somewhere proper for the next few days.  But nope, all they wanna talk about is that fucking Candlewood Suites.  Plus, serious dilemma---it's gonna be slick as shit during this long freeze as well.  Some RWD pickup or Tahoe takes an access road turn wrong and hops a curb---that's a dozen people who camp just feet off the road in serious danger of getting hit.  But yeah, the spread out camps all across the city.  Even if we could get them a heated space to spend the next few days---how do you get them all to those venues?  It's a fucking crime that Adler hasn't said shit about it so far.  I'm sure they'll slap together some half-ass effort for photo-ops on Saturday, but there should already be a clearly dictated plan in place and already in action.

A fair number of churches have "freeze night" shelters, and I'm expecting they will ALL be activated.  But, as our homeless population has dispersed, I don't know if they'll be able to get to the resources.  I expect we're going to have a few people die of exposure, and others die due to the fires they'll burn to try to stay warm.

We're just not equipped for this shit.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 53581

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

We have those too.  I'm not sure what's done differently with our plumbing, but it doesn't seem to be a concern of anyone, and I've never thought twice about ours.  However they're set up here, they aren't causing frozen pipes.

Mine have an air inlet so that when the valve is closed, the water recedes back into the plumbing that is protected in the house or the crawl space. Doubt it’s much more expensive than regular, but I guess much of the south feels they are unnecessary so they just don’t bother. 
 

texans, I have seen and/or heard of pool noodles being repurposed as insulated pipe wrap so keep that in mind as an option. Super cheap, easy to cut to size, preformed to fit nicely. 
 

eta:  anyone building a home might think about using these for occasions such as this coming week. 
 

So your actual valve where the water stops is at the other end of the pipe, inside the insulation. When you shut the water off, the entire assembly drains and the water is nowhere near the outside temps. 

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 107009

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Mine have an air inlet so that when the valve is closed, the water recedes back into the plumbing that is protected in the house or the crawl space. Doubt it’s much more expensive than regular, but I guess much of the south feels they are unnecessary so they just don’t bother. 
 

texans, I have seen and/or heard of pool noodles being repurposed as insulated pipe wrap so keep that in mind as an option. Super cheap, easy to cut to size, preformed to fit nicely. 

The hardware stores actually have a healthy supply of similar material already cut for insulation....but yeah, noodles will also do the trick.

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15453

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30 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

There's an arrow on the backflow preventer that shows which way the water flows. Turn off the valve upstream, in other words where the water comes from. Then open the two test cocks with a flat head screwdriver and let the water drain. Then wrap it up.

Two test cocks??  Sounds like Sputh Austin’s mom’s pre-breakfast 

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6225

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Posted

Bit of an update:

1) Winter Weather Advisory for most areas N and W of us, although it makes it into WillieCo, Burnet, Gillespie, and Kerr.  This basically doesn't mean a winter storm, but just the potential for freezing stuff, mostly rain that could freeze in areas that go below the freezing mark overnight.  However, ATX and points S and E should stay just above freezing due to the cloud cover.  N and W, more likely.  Careful driving tomorrow a.m.  Most rain will continue light today, but should get a little heavier overnight before tailing off. Not a big rain event though.  

2) Series of reinforcing fronts will drop in between now and Sat. afternoon.  Temps won't climb much, but they won't sink much.  No daytime freezing, nighttime will see freezes, but not severe.  Overnight temps each night gradually work down from about 31° city to 27° city by Sat overnight, take off 5-6 degrees in outer N, W areas.   This is cold weather, but not the heart of the polar stuff.  Despite all of this, we'll still be in "managable" but cold weather - daytimes in the mid-30's or more, nighttimes at or not too far below freezing.  I can live with that.  Could be a tiny bit of rain with a disturbance moving thru, don't see any driving problems right now.  More if that changes.

3) Polar air arrives Sunday afternoon.  As I wrote a few posts above, a few of these fronts swing by and keep us cold.  But the last front will go by Sat. evening, then through the day Sunday it'll start to get cold.  Real cold.  That's the polar air.  Lows overnight into Monday mid-teens - or lower for ATX.  Single digits 50 m. N or W.  

4) Snowstorm Monday to boot.  Yep, it's gonna snow about 4-5 inches - again - Monday.  Temps won't make it to 20° for most of us.  If you ever had a cabin fever day, this is going to be it.  Snow is gonna stick everywhere and driving in our road resource-poor city is gonna suck, on the secondary streets especially.  Driving on secondary streets is going to be a challenge.  If you live on hills or uneven terrain, don't drive.  No really.  Don't.  We will be flirting with all time lows - ever - in Austin.  Could we hit 0° overnight Monday?  Possible, esp. in Willie or W. Travis and beyond.  I think the recorded ever-lowest is 2° in 1949.  It's possible, maybe a bit less than 50/50, we'll hit that.  Gonna be a real riot on Monday.

5) Kinda good news - and kinda bad news.   First, the bad news.  Looks like Tuesday is gonna be colder than forecast, so the freeze will easily last from some time on Sunday afternoon through well into Wed morning or later.  That's about 60ish hours.  More if you live N or W.  The good news is that this is the vortex air, but we're on Just The Tip in Austin, so it'll start warming from the W/SW Wed.  Not gonna be tropical but > freezing.  So the air won't last nearly as long with us as say the middle of the U.S. or even up more into N. Texas, where they might have 4-5 days w/o > 32°.  I guess I can live with it.  After that, S-L-O-W warming trend into the 50's by next Sat.  But will freeze at night all next week.

So, 3 days until Coldmageddon, 2 1/2 days of it, then slowly getting towards habitability again about this time next week.  More if stuff changes.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 107009

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

So cancel my Monday tee time?

Just use an orange ball.

 

Also, we tried to go play Morris Williams back in the big freeze of 89.  We figured we'd have the place to ourselves.  Bundled up in our hunting jumpsuits, looked ridiculous, but were ready to OWN that fucking course.  Got there, no crowd -- winning!  Tried to check in.  Doors locked.  Groundskeeper came out to tell us "greens are frozen, we're closed, go the hell home."

So, we just drank beer at home.

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Steel Shank

Steel Shank 9559

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17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Just use an orange ball.

 

Also, we tried to go play Morris Williams back in the big freeze of 89.  We figured we'd have the place to ourselves.  Bundled up in our hunting jumpsuits, looked ridiculous, but were ready to OWN that fucking course.  Got there, no crowd -- winning!  Tried to check in.  Doors locked.  Groundskeeper came out to tell us "greens are frozen, we're closed, go the hell home."

So, we just drank beer at home.

Got kicked out of Enchanted Rock one time about ten minutes after arriving. 

So, we just drank beer at home.

 

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Guest Lobo

Guest Lobo

Posted
Posted

I'm a little disturbed at how much Texans know about hunting in the cold but freeze-prepping a sprinkler system is just baffling ;)   I kid. 

One more pro-tip...if you have a tankless water heater with a circulating pump.  Remember to turn that thing on with more frequency during this freeze.  I was so busy giving other tips that I totally spaced on that until I got home tonight. We have the two upstairs bathrooms at some bare minimum amount, like 30 minutes a day just to keep it in working shape.  But I need to set for multiple cycles each day for 1-2 hours at a time.  

Also, if you park your car/truck outside...you're probably gonna need to consider anti-freeze.  or at least start it once or twice overnight.  

And whatever you do, if your windshield freezes over on Sunday or Monday.......the absolute best course of action is to pour piping hot water on the glass directly.  ;) 

 

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ShaggyBevo RIP

ShaggyBevo RIP 3873

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Ok, so....pipe protection.  We haven't had a prolonged freeze like this in 25 years -- as long as I've owned a home in Austin.

We've always been successful just wrapping our pipes for the few times it dips into the teens overnight.  I've got a piece of foam pipe wrap on each outdoor faucet.  Then, wrapped in terry cloth towels.  Then, a soft insulated pipe cover.  THEN, a hard, foam and plastic pipe cover.

And I'm concerned that won't be enough.  I'm thinking of using a small cardboard box to build a wind shelter around each of them, and then occasionally, running a small space heater to blow into that shelter for an hour or so, to thoroughly warm the pipe up.

Or....is this going to be bad enough that we should just say fuck it, and drip the faucets?

Just leave water dripping at a steady rate.

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 53581

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, miguelito said:

I just heard about the Freeze Miser.  You screw it into your outdoor faucet and turn the water on.  Something inside the device contracts enough to allow water to trickle out when temps get low enough.

 

https://www.freezemiser.com/

 

 

Yes we’re all familiar with the concepts of cold shrinkage and leakage. 

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ShaggyBevo RIP

ShaggyBevo RIP 3873

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, ZB'Tejas said:

I recently ran my sprinklers this weekend... do I need to try and winterize my system? Are Austin irrigation systems even equipped with that?

If you have an air compressor blow out the lines for peace of mind. But sprinkler winterization isn't that necessary.  You aren't facing weeks in a row below freezing for the cold to get that far under the top soil.

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ShaggyBevo RIP

ShaggyBevo RIP 3873

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

So... do you guys not put pipes inside of structures?  I've been to Texas a bunch of times, but never paid any attention to home construction.

We almost never have water pipes freeze.  Basically, you have to have the heat go out in your house, or the frost to reach some historic levels.  We bought our house in '12, and twice we've had to trickle the faucets because the frost got deep enough to threaten the service lines running off the municipal water.

Frostline is practically nonexistent so waterlines are a foot deep at most. 

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