Texas deep freeze carnage thread

[phdhorn 6,224]

Cross Post in 3 weather threads

Update:  Gave 1 case away to neighbors who lost water.  Don't much like the husband (lol) but in these times e'rrybody needs help.
With the case I'm giving to our Surly friend tomorrow that leaves me with 2 cases (48 bottles).

Thx.
 

[Schulz2.0 28,761]

23 hours ago, Chopper said:

From what I've read this week about the TX and CA energy grids, both states have neglected maintenance and redundancy of their grids to the extent that both states are an anomaly among the rest of the US.  

Much of the price difference probably comes down to this: CA doesn't produce much natural gas, has 1 coal-powered plant whereas Texas gets about 20% of its energy from coal, and Texas has many more oil refineries putting out about 3x the quantity as in CA. Proximity to a refinery is a huge cost-saver. Also CA has significant air pollution and earthquake regulations applying to those refineries, which Texas does not have. Thus the difference in what energy costs.

Refineries have nothing to do with the electrical grid other than they're huge consumers of electricity. Refineries need a constant supply of electricity or they go into upsets. Also, coal pretty much sucks. No one in the US is going to be adding coal plants for multiple reasons.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Schulz2.0

[Guest Lobo]

3 minutes ago, Schulz2.0 said:

Refineries have nothing to do with the electrical grid other than they're huge consumers of electricity. Refineries need a constant supply of electricity or they go into upsets. Also, coal pretty much sucks. No one in the US is going to be adding coal plants for multiple reasons.

Dude, coal is totally coming back.  You don't even know, bro.  We got hats and merch and all kinda shit. 

[Anastasis 23,390]

Hey guys. How much fun is 2021 hail season going to be?

[SimonBolivar 10,910]

2 hours ago, phdhorn said:

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.

I'm appreciating all of Miss Debbie's baked goods this week. Don't care about junk right now.

[Heisenberg 162]

I saw this today at the Indian Springs/The Woodlands HEB - a truck and trailer loaded with 11 brand new rental outhouses.  Because certain effete types are too good to piss in empty Ozarka water bottles and shit in a trashbag-lined 5 gallon bucket like I do.

I think I'm going to start a competing business called "Big Dick Playah's Rentah Shittah".

BigDickPlayah was my username on texags but I got permabanned after just two posts.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Heisenberg

[The Dog 43,784]

Imagine going to shut off the water and finding this...

[Anastasis 23,390]

Just read our neighborhoods Facebook page for the first time. I can’t even. There are old ladies worrying about the neighborhood houses blowing up cause they refilled the propane tank. 

[Anastasis 23,390]

1 minute ago, The Dog said:

Imagine going to shut off the water and finding this...

Nope. 

[Biff Tannen 45,491]

7 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Imagine going to shut off the water and finding this...

Snake-cicle.  

[Guest Lobo]

8 minutes ago, The Dog said:

Imagine going to shut off the water and finding this...

Who is it? 

"Plumber."  

Who is it really?

"Plumber ma'am."  

Wait, no...you're that water valve snake, aren't you?!?

"No ma'am, just a pet lizard." 

Oh, I'm not falling for this.  

"Candygram."  

[drt 637]

I just recaulked the tubs, so I’m sure the water will get turned on any minute now. 

[XYZ 2,154]

1 hour ago, The Dog said:

Imagine going to shut off the water and finding this...

Shit. Tomorrow I have to pull the cover out to open the valve. This is going to suck.

[gsoda3 3,234]

my wife just found out it was her college friend's kids who died in that fire in sugarland.  2 girls and a boy.  my wife's friend is still in the ICU. there's a gofundme for them set up. 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

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.

Where are you? We have a list of TWH we are replacing in Dallas.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

If people are in need of PHVAC in Dallas area I can do my best. We are swamped but I have more availability on the HVAC side than I do the P side.
I’m not gouging like others. Standard rates.

[The Dog 43,784]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

Snake-cicle.  

it was alive. not my house but if it were I'd let it flood.

[burntorangebongos 10,681]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

Hey guys. How much fun is 2021 hail season going to be?

Wut? Fuck me, I can't take anymore severe weather events this year. I'm am done. Maybe I should just sell the house and get out from under this burden.

[Chapo 104]

Sprinkler valve busted, how was I suppose to drain the valve area when the drain is above it?

[BrazilHorn 6,576]

23 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Where are you? We have a list of TWH we are replacing in Dallas.

I’m in Austin. Come on down! I’ll ply you with some choice Bourbon and Franklins (if they’re open). 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

I’m in Austin. Come on down! I’ll ply you with some choice Bourbon and Franklins (if they’re open). 

I know plenty of PHVAC owners there. Let me see if I can connect you.

[SimonBolivar 10,910]

Our apartment has 4 units and ours was the only one without significant water damage including one that had a ceiling cave in. No idea when water will be restored to the building.  We're month to month as we're searching for a house now and this sucks, but it really sucks for the tenets of the other 3 units who were told they can't break their lease because of it.

Edited February 20, 2021 by SimonBolivar

[Jimbaround 973]

Sprinkler valve busted, how was I suppose to drain the valve area when the drain is above it?

Exact same thing happened to ours. I imagine it can’t be that difficult to fix.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

Apt complex on Dallas. 50 of the 200 units impacted. They had the p traps for each unit outside with heaters. That’s great until you have no power.

[BrazilHorn 6,576]

22 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

I know plenty of PHVAC owners there. Let me see if I can connect you.

That’d be awesome. Thanks man. 

[CHIEF 5,067]

Fuck. All of the reclamation companies are about two weeks out in our area. We cleaned, ripped out all of the carpet, vacuumed all the water, and put furniture on wooden blocks in three houses today. Our crew has grown to about 20 volunteers and can get a house "livable" in about an hour and a half. It's local residents, and a couple of church groups that are doing it. Really proud of CHIEF Jr., he has been the biggest organizer, first on the job, and pulls the most weight of us all. He is a machine, carries multiple 200+ lb. bundles of waterlogged carpet, and carpet pads out the door by himself. Now, if I could just get him to throw his ramen noodle cup into the trash.

CHIEF

[TwiceHorn 31,240]

34 minutes ago, Chapo said:

Sprinkler valve busted, how was I suppose to drain the valve area when the drain is above it?

Yeah, that's your backflow preventer.  To drain, turn off the cutoff below.  Turn the two valves to 45 degrees, and turn the screws on those ball checks to 45 also.  Water will spray out the ball checks until it's empty.

For future reference.

[Gatorubet 30,083]

Pulled off the faucet covers from outdoor spigots and water ran for awhile before lack of pressure reduced the stream to nothing. 
 
I noticed a white plastic insert rod sticking out of the middle of the faucet. What is that for?

Albino arctic pipe snek. Danger noodle!!!

[utexas8 1,433]

Is it worth it to file a claim for the food that got ruined in the fridge? Or just let it be. Didn’t want rates to go up just for food.

[4th_and_18 687]

Is it worth it to file a claim for the food that got ruined in the fridge? Or just let it be. Didn’t want rates to go up just for food.

I always thought that was similar to a chip in the windshield. Part of the coverage and doesn’t really affect your rates.

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

Not worth it. Less than your deductible more than likely.

[FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2,630]

Well was thankfully able get a plumber and basically redo the downstairs piping.   Its crazy how many hairline cracks appeared when things thawed out. I went from one leak to like 20 as soon as they turned the water back on (thankfully i was able to turn it off the moment i saw the first leak, so no water damage). 
 

now i just have a one leak left in the laundry room the master shower’s drain (how the fuck did that happen?!?). What sucks is that they cant make it back for another two weeks.  
 

Apparently what happened to me is very common, the plumbers go in thinking its a simple job only to realize shortly its an all day shit show pushing back their entire schedule. 

[Chapo 104]

40 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yeah, that's your backflow preventer.  To drain, turn off the cutoff below.  Turn the two valves to 45 degrees, and turn the screws on those ball checks to 45 also.  Water will spray out the ball checks until it's empty.

For future reference.

I did all of that, but the cutoff valve (in off position) at the bottom is what was broken. 

[Cornfusion 250]

We had rolling blackouts here in Nebraska.  The state actually produced more energy than it produced by somewhere around 30% but couldn't make up for the losses in the Southwest Power Pool.  Nebraska Public Power District even started up an inactive power plant that hadn't run since 2012. 

I had to jump a vehicle or two last Sunday, but I cringe at the thought of all those frozen and or broken pipes you guys have.  Keep an eye out for mold in the spring if a pipe burst inside.

Tomorrow we should flirt with temperatures above freezing.  Got down to -29 at its lowest, but that might have been the high in North Dakota that same day.  Somebody always has it worse...

[TXSG8R 3,360]

1 hour ago, Chapo said:

Sprinkler valve busted, how was I suppose to drain the valve area when the drain is above it?

This is why I put unions on both of the PVC pipes going into my Backflow. When I shut down my sprinklers for the winter I just pop the entire thing off and put it in the workshop. I stuff a clean towel into the open ends coming out of the ground to keep critters and bugs out of the lines and give it room to expand if things really got cold. I figured unions with caps could freeze and crack. 

According to the Backflow inspector I use you’re supposed to replace like with like, no mixing and matching parts between manufacturers. Seems like it’s bullshit, but he didn’t hustle me for money or anything and still signed the paperwork after I replaced both ball valves on mine a few years ago with stuff from HD. 
 

 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,723]

Well was thankfully able get a plumber and basically redo the downstairs piping.   Its crazy how many hairline cracks appeared when things thawed out. I went from one leak to like 20 as soon as they turned the water back on (thankfully i was able to turn it off the moment i saw the first leak, so no water damage). 
 
now i just have a one leak left in the laundry room the master shower’s drain (how the fuck did that happen?!?). What sucks is that they cant make it back for another two weeks.  
 
Apparently what happened to me is very common, the plumbers go in thinking its a simple job only to realize shortly its an all day shit show pushing back their entire schedule. 

Very much so. Set a neighbor up and my guys were 8 hours late. Showed up at almost 8 to realize it was a dishwasher issue.

[TXSG8R 3,360]

41 minutes ago, Chapo said:

I did all of that, but the cutoff valve (in off position) at the bottom is what was broken. 

You have to leave those screws open so the water can expand.

[RPM 26,208]

OK, here's where I jinx everything. I got through this unfuckingscathed. I had a few brief power outages (think it was a 3hr and a couple of 5 minute spurts). I know it got to at least -9° and probably a few lower. I bought 1 extra 1500w space heater to supplement the furnace at the far end of the house. It never dropped below 62° inside. I have a 4-5 year old electric milkhouse heater in my wellhouse. I haven't opened the door in a year. Apparently, everything is still working because I've had no leaks. I have 1 outdoor faucet outside the wellhouse. It's a 3/4" pvc line inside a 6" pvc pipe filled with fiberglass insulation and a wine bottle koozie over the spout. That is covered with a 5 gal bucket.

I also commuted 100 miles a day to work with a front wheel drive car.

Looks like my Boy Scout and Coast Guard training paid off. Be prepared, always ready.

Now all I have to worry about is the antifreeze in my tractors and equipment...

Edited February 20, 2021 by RPM

[Wulaw Horn 18,968]

22 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Saw a news article about pipes bursting.  Said the most common was water heater lines in attic.

My attic is insulated and warm and my hot water is flowing, so I guess I'm alright in that department.  

May be something worth confirming for folks, though.

Pretty sure this happened to me. We aren’t sure yet though as my daughter overflowed a sink upstairs dripping water through the night so it could also be that fingers crossed as it the difference between $0.00 or a lot of dollars, plus difference between water and no water. 

[CooterBrown 17,901]

Got up early to put a brisket on the BGE and it was completely frozen shut. Didn’t want to risk cracking the ceramic prying it open so I guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

[Bert Orange 1,115]

6 hours ago, TXSG8R said:

You have to leave those screws open so the water can expand.

Sadly this is correct

[Hpara759 1,777]

18 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Got up early to put a brisket on the BGE and it was completely frozen shut. Didn’t want to risk cracking the ceramic prying it open so I guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

Propane torch?....hair dryer?

[Okie State 3,788]

Sprinkler valve busted, how was I suppose to drain the valve area when the drain is above it?

Don't think you can unless you have a separate supply shut-off to your system between the street and your PVB. Mine is cracked in the same spot from when I bought the house and it still works with the valve open or closed. I think when you close that valve it traps a small amount of water inside the ball which can freeze and crack. I assume you had that whole top area wrapped, right?

I'm adding an underground shut-off to mine this spring and will finally replace the cracked valve.

[Okie State 3,788]

This is why I put unions on both of the PVC pipes going into my Backflow. When I shut down my sprinklers for the winter I just pop the entire thing off and put it in the workshop. I stuff a clean towel into the open ends coming out of the ground to keep critters and bugs out of the lines and give it room to expand if things really got cold. I figured unions with caps could freeze and crack. 
According to the Backflow inspector I use you’re supposed to replace like with like, no mixing and matching parts between manufacturers. Seems like it’s bullshit, but he didn’t hustle me for money or anything and still signed the paperwork after I replaced both ball valves on mine a few years ago with stuff from HD. 
 
 

This is a great fucking idea man. Inspector didn't give you any shit about it? What kind of unions did you use?

[Hpara759 1,777]

water tower in Pampa

[CooterBrown 17,901]

Propane torch?....hair dryer?

Thought about the torch but I wasn’t sure how the ceramic would react from being frozen solid to be heated up very quickly. I’m sure it would’ve been fine but not something I wanted to deal with at 5:30am.

[deadshank 24,651]

13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

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.

Unless you have a full spray foam insulated house, a warm attic during winter is a really bad thing.  
 

The top side of the ceiling should be insulated to keep heat in the living area and keep the cold out.  
 

If you insulate your attic to keep it “warm” then you would have to insulate the bottom of the roof deck and keep the heat in the attic space.  
 

Hot / warm  attics in winter cause moisture problems which renders insulation ineffective and compounds your heating problems.  
 

Insulate your pipes to keep heat in them and cold out of them.  
 

If, on cold mornings, you have frost on your entire roof and your neighbor doesn’t then you are doing it right and your neighbor isn’t.  

Edited February 20, 2021 by deadshank

[TXSG8R 3,360]

36 minutes ago, Okie State said:

 

 

This is a great fucking idea man. Inspector didn't give you any shit about it? What kind of unions did you use?

 

No, he has never said anything about them. I used regular PVC slip unions. Like these

[Okie State 3,788]

No, he has never said anything about them. I used regular PVC slip unions. Like these

Awesome. Definitely doing this.

[Jiggy-Z 3,432]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

Got up early to put a brisket on the BGE and it was completely frozen shut. Didn’t want to risk cracking the ceramic prying it open so I guess it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

You should open it, get a fire going, and shut it, that should help open it up.