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Texas deep freeze carnage thread

immamac

By immamac
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31240

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, CHIEF said:

Homeland Security, and 60 years worth of presidents have deemed agriculture a critical Infrastructure for the US, and a matter of National Security. We are the "bread basket" of the World. If money were to become worthless, food is the main barter item that the US has in abundance. I also hate the idea of subsidies, but you can't let good cropland go fallow, and become overgrown, it would take too long to make it productive in a national emergency. It is a necessary evil.

CHIEF

I'm not really poking at agriculture, more just Sid Miller.

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CHIEF
CHIEF

I am beat. My friend Chris, that I get my oysters and crawfish from, came home to a flooded yard, and water coming out from around exterior doors. Two story house built in the late 80's. He put the wo

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Eastwood

Eastwood 4394

Posted
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3 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Father of the year award for me. I didn’t know he could climb ladders yet. 
 

0CE30FF4-630F-482D-A8FF-310DF27F5040.thumb.jpeg.0bfd137a115cb0fc9027ea82074adfa1.jpeg

F2913103-E949-4B9C-B779-CA22156BF863.thumb.jpeg.e20932c9497082584b0327bf7bb6de64.jpeg

Don't worry, it will happen a lot more than you think. I had my 3 year old out front with me. I was sweeping the garage, she was playing in the drive way. I turn around to sweep a corner for less than 30 seconds, look up, and she's gone. She had already made it around the corner and to the mailbox. That was a heart stopping moment. Once they are mobile, they are deceptively fast.

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Telegraph_it

Telegraph_it 3353

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

Don't worry, it will happen a lot more than you think. I had my 3 year old out front with me. I was sweeping the garage, she was playing in the drive way. I turn around to sweep a corner for less than 30 seconds, look up, and she's gone. She had already made it around the corner and to the mailbox. That was a heart stopping moment. Once they are mobile, they are deceptively fast.

So true. The little man is almost two and he would just keep walking to who knows where if I did not run up and catch him

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Goredho

Goredho 17341

Posted
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1 hour ago, BradInATX said:

My MIL and SIL are threatening to come over this weekend with three children (an adolescent and two toddlers). I have no idea what I'd feed them. We're just pantry raiding right now eating random stuff. I have a pork butt in the freezer and some charcoal but no bread sides or fixings. Has anyone gone out for groceries? Is it just a complete shit show? If I could just round up tortillas, cheese, bread, and a couple cans of beans I'd probably be good. The Meximarts and Dollar General served me well early on in Covidworld, so might try those.

Alex Jones licks his lips and says, "Come on over, neighbor!  We've got plenty to eat."

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BradInATX

BradInATX 9208

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Posted (edited)

Bread, , milk, eggs not even once. Store was decently stocked in the middle aisles. Meat in low supply but seemed available. Produce somewhat torn apart, no bananas or potatos. 

My pork butt sandwiches are going on those premade frozen dough ball rolls you buy in the freezer section. Shrug. 

Edited by BradInATX
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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13049

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18 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

 

My pork butt sandwiches are going on those premade frozen dough ball rolls you buy in the freezer section. Shrug. 

Rhodes brand? Those aren't bad in a pinch. I used to make them twice a week along with frozen bread loaves when I didn't have time for fresh (no machine) and the kids gobbled them up. My oldest wouldn't wait for the bread to cool and would collapse the loaf slicing it after school.

Your guests should be thankful!

 

 

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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1551

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Gatorubet said:


Question: Any issues with natural gas output during this? IOW, would a standby gen be just a decoration that does not work due to decreased gas flow? I assume you would hook it up to a big ass propane tank.

I'm on propane.  You always run the risk of no fuel or low pressure.  Especially when reliant on NG as opposed to your own propane tank.

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The Royal We

The Royal We 3065

Posted
Posted

After being without electricity for the last ~48 hrs, our power came back on a little before noon today out here at lake Nac.  God bless Deep East Texas Electric Coop.  They were out here working in our area early this morning and made it on to our road around 11 or so.  I saw them go up and down the road checking the lines and then we came back up pretty soon after that.  I was unaware, but they posted an update earlier and said that only 1% of their service area was on the ERCOT system.  Our service was fine with rolling blackouts until the freezing rain started coming down Wednesday morning.  After that it flickered a bunch like it does in high wind or snow and then went out for good.

I shut off our water at the house and at the street on Wednesday night before going to bed.  I let things warm up for a bit after the power came back on today, opened up pretty much every fixture in the house, and started to pressure back up at the street. We have wheel valves in the box for our side so I could open them gradually and see a hose bib flowing.  We walked all over the house listening for leaks and shut off fixtures after confirming both hot and cold worked.  No problems that we could see and a quick walk through the attic didn't turn up any issues.

I'm feeling pretty lucky but will still be on alert for a few days to make sure no slow-burn plumbing gremlins decide to show up.

Thanks to everyone for sharing ideas and status updates on these threads.  It really made it much easier thinking through all of this BS together.  I was team drip inside/wrap outside until we lost power and then was team shut off at the street and hunker down.

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Anastasis

Anastasis 23390

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Even if water heater is in garage?  I'm an idiot with this shit.

I'm up there looking for any leaks as the snow and ice melt in the areas there has been accumulation. A few folks in our neighborhood have had roof leaks due to iced over gutters and other shit. 

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Skipper

Skipper 6100

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Posted

I've got all my outdoor spigots running.  All interior flowing as well.  So as of now no known issues.   I'm contemplating converting to "team drip" outside tonight.   I don't think it's supposed to get that cold in Dallas but don't really want to roll dice with outdoor freezing up again.  For those that dripped outside did you just wrap the metal piping/faucet with a towel and let drip?

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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Posted
38 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Even if water heater is in garage?  I'm an idiot with this shit.

WH should be good.  If you're getting normal burner (i.e. if they come on) that's a good sign.  Your electronics are sensing a water temp.  If not, uh, maybe.

Water heaters rarely completely freeze up, but the lines can.  So I'd open a hot water tap, see if you have hot and pressure, and if not. well then post here and I can suggest Step 2.

Shit in my garage didn't freeze, even with the worst of it. Walls from inside radiate heat (even during the power outage).  But not everyone has the same results.

Crossing our fingers, amirite?

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TexArcher

TexArcher 37506

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Posted (edited)

Just got back from HEB at 2222/620.  They lost power for a while and haven't gotten a truck, so no dairy, frozen, or meats.  No bakery or deli meals.  Very little produce.  They did have some canned beans and other veggies, canned tuna, peanut butter, jelly, trail mix, pasta and sauces, and some bagels and loaves of bread left.  

Edited by TexArcher
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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52336

Posted
Posted (edited)

I will shop up here for things and ship them down. Non perishable only obviously, and pre-pay only.  Surge pricing is in effect at this time due to things. 
pricing is 500% of normal. (So a box of Mac n cheese will be $250). But hey I’ll do free shipping on orders over a thousand dollars!

Edited by Pato del Muerto
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Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen 5307

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Good news?  Plumber fixed all the broken lines, damage is probably in the four digits instead of 5.  

 

Bad news?  Water district cannot keep up with demand, meaning pressure keeps dropping to near zero (I suspect panic filling of tubs and showering/dishwashing) so I may  need to shut the main disconnect off and drain my lines again.  I am not going to have another break even though it's only going to 25 tonight.

 

Meanwhile we are all starting to smell pretty bad.  No water for 3 days now.

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B00M

B00M 6280

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Posted (edited)

 

35 minutes ago, Skipper said:

I've got all my outdoor spigots running.  All interior flowing as well.  So as of now no known issues.   I'm contemplating converting to "team drip" outside tonight.   I don't think it's supposed to get that cold in Dallas but don't really want to roll dice with outdoor freezing up again.  For those that dripped outside did you just wrap the metal piping/faucet with a towel and let drip?

I tore the foam gasket on the bottom-middle of my styrofoam covers to give the water an easy exit. The covers still serve to reduce heat transfer by blocking the wind and since heat rises they should be storing a pocket of slightly warmer air. I checked them every morning and had no issues with water freezing in the covers and blocking the exit.

Edited by B00M
Flow rate was somewhere between very rapid drip and minimal steady stream
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Hefeweizen

Hefeweizen 5307

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42 minutes ago, LebongJames said:

Anybody in Travis County WD 10? They claim they have been up since midnight but we have not seen a drop of water.

Yes I am in WCID 10 and we've been talking to Carla (the GM).  It's demand by the customers, not main line breaks.  Probably a combination of panic and breaks inside houses.  There are some unoccupied homes where people left town.

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Your Mom

Your Mom 4791

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Posted

If you guys are in dire straits for water here's an option... My neighbor got a hotel room for the night near the Austin airport.  They confirmed they have water.  He's filling up water containers for several neighbors when they head up there for hot showers later.  It still needs to be boiled, but it's something.  

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Mrs Whiggins

Mrs Whiggins 13049

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52 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Good news?  Plumber fixed all the broken lines, damage is probably in the four digits instead of 5.  

 

Bad news?  Water district cannot keep up with demand, meaning pressure keeps dropping to near zero (I suspect panic filling of tubs and showering/dishwashing) so I may  need to shut the main disconnect off and drain my lines again.  I am not going to have another break even though it's only going to 25 tonight.

 

Meanwhile we are all starting to smell pretty bad.  No water for 3 days now.

Ouch, will cross fingers everything holds.

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Judge Roybeanbag

Judge Roybeanbag 11802

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3 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Bread, , milk, eggs not even once. Store was decently stocked in the middle aisles. Meat in low supply but seemed available. Produce somewhat torn apart, no bananas or potatos. 

My pork butt sandwiches are going on those premade frozen dough ball rolls you buy in the freezer section. Shrug. 

They didn’t have tortillas either?  Pulled pork makes great tacos.

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 89396

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, used2b said:

Team No Drip and Wrapped here.

What do I do now? Unwrap and wait? Do I need to apply any heat? I have 2 bibs - one north facing and one south.

Interior plumbing has held up so far.

I unwrapped this afternoon, and took the towels wrapped around it, and washcloths I had stuffed inside the foam cover, and ran them through the dryer (they had gotten damp from the rain/sleet the other night, and from a window above one that was sweating).   Have the little bin/box thing that I had shoved up against the side of the house around the faucets airing out in the sun as well.

I lost water pressure yesterday morning (2am-ish) and when I unwrapped today and opened the faucet, a little water came out.  The pipe/faucet has a slight downward incline, so not surprised there was a little water in there.  It bugged me that it was in there during last night's freeze, but then again, given how thoroughly wrapped that faucet had been, and that the outside temp was in the 30s,  had it actually frozen within the pipe, it would have still been frozen.

Plus, I made it through the two nights this week when it got down to 10 or below, and I had running water then, and if I was going to have problems within that faucet, I should have already had them (would have been obvious - I would have had water all over the kitchen).

I'm not saying you won't have problems, it's just that those two nights this week where it was 10 or below put one helluva strain on everything - everybody I know with busted pipes had them as a result of one of those two nights, and/or due to power outages and/or relating to their house infrastructure (pier and beam, pipes running along exterior walls, etc.).

This has really recalibrated my thoughts on what varying levels of freezes in Austin are.   Mid-20s don't bother me - I have complete confidence in my wrapping abilities.  

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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Posted

Cross Posting in the 3 weather/damage related threads:

I got a bunch of water (96 16 oz. bottles) from a guy who's going around today donating them to people.  Was going to give it to my neighbors, they're on a MUD that lost water this a.m. due to a main rupture, but they got it back this afternoon.  I clearly don't want most of it (save maybe 5-6 bottles for wife/me).

I'd like to start with the Surlys here and say if anyone needs some, let me know and I can meet or deliver some to you.  If not I'll give it to Bee Cave to use, all of those guys are on another water system and they're like Austin and much of Texas - no water(?).

I can get it out to you tomorrow, all the roads are now dry.  Travel not an issue more or less.  Thanks.

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BrazilHorn

BrazilHorn 6576

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Posted

I think my tankless hot water heater has bit the dust. Good news is I have water in the house, my whole home filtration system had one filter crack (small one) but the tankless is kaput.

Have calls into multiple plumbers but they are swamped. Can only imagine what the charge for a new one is going to be.

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:
42 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:
They didn’t have tortillas either?  Pulled pork makes great tacos.

Nope. There were some gluten free ones in frozen but I'm not paying five bucks for eight tortillas. This is America.

LOL, in light of HEB now resembling a North Korean supermarket, I stocked up at the local market.. bought some junky food (and jerky, not too junky) and it cost me like $51.  At HEB or whatever I'd probably pay $25.  

Whatcha gonna do?  That's okay, I'll take what I can get.

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Somnio

Somnio 751

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Posted
27 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

probably mentioned but a lot of the breweries here are giving out potable water.  i know pinthouse, st elmo and meanwhile are.

I filled my 5 gallon jug at St. Elmo today.  Also picked up some of their beers while there.  Just be prepared for a wait. I was in line for about 1.5 hours.  Not how I wanted to spend my early afternoon, but am thankful to St. Elmo. 

It's something else the city isn't distributing clean water to it's citizens somehow, and instead it is good samaritans ensuring Austinites have access to the most basic of necessities.

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Bigpoppapump

Bigpoppapump 529

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Posted
4 minutes ago, Somnio said:

I filled my 5 gallon jug at St. Elmo today.  Also picked up some of their beers while there.  Just be prepared for a wait. I was in line for about 1.5 hours.  Not how I wanted to spend my early afternoon, but am thankful to St. Elmo. 

It's something else the city isn't distributing clean water to it's citizens somehow, and instead it is good samaritans ensuring Austinites have access to the most basic of necessities.

Breweries have a very unique way to boil mass amounts of water quickly.  The city did purchase like a million dollars of waterbottles or some shit from out of state that will be given out when they arrive. Fully endorse supporting local breweries and agree they have stepped up again.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31240

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Skipper said:

I've got all my outdoor spigots running.  All interior flowing as well.  So as of now no known issues.   I'm contemplating converting to "team drip" outside tonight.   I don't think it's supposed to get that cold in Dallas but don't really want to roll dice with outdoor freezing up again.  For those that dripped outside did you just wrap the metal piping/faucet with a towel and let drip?

Just let it drip a thin stream.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31240

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

Even if water heater is in garage?  I'm an idiot with this shit.

It's not particular to water heater.  Many homes, especially with slabs, have some pipes/plumbing in the attic and the attic may be poorly insulated.  If it's warm up there, probably don't need to worry much.  But at least stand there and listen for something running, dripping, splashing or spraying before a ceiling starts dripping or collapsing.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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