serious cold front coming

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Texas plumbers are gonna be very busy once it warms back up. People posting here are the ones aware of the issues and are being proactive to prevent/minimize freeze damage. The other 99% of the population don't know and won't care until the thaw comes and damage becomes apparent. If you will need any plumbing hardware or supplies, better get em now.

 

[rusty1]

...I wish it would get up to 14 degrees here;...been 5-6 below here for a high today,..been like this for over 2 weeks,..gettin really old;...sposed to be in 20's this week, it'll feel like spring.

 

[Mike in Ohio]

This thread is kinda fascinating, The first thing I thought of was heat tape for the op. My second thought was "that is probably not that easily obtainable in the south."

We all seem to take our weather in stride whatever it is. Then berate others for not being prepared for weather that we are used to.

If you draw a line east to west across the country half way between the northern tip of Maine and the southern tip of Texas it runs just about across the center of Ohio. We get all 4 seasons, sometimes in the same week. But we rarely get the extremes of any season. You prepare for the worst of your norms, and hope the extremes don't last too long.

For you guys in Texas this week these with 100 watt incandescent bulb can concentrate a fair a mount of heat on a small area.

 

[65ranchero]

21F here in NE VT
Winter storm warning Monday night into Tuesday night 8-12"
It is warm in the house well insulated running off the oil HWBB giving the heat pump a rest in the cold weather

Also those who are panicking about heat just remember that the halogen 500 watt work lights put out some heat
And a garage will be warmer than the outside ambient. My 2 bay garage will be any where from 15 to 20+ degrees warmer that out side .
But I have to add that it is fully insulated but not heated.

 

[niget2002]

Yes. People farther north are laughing at us. We're not prepared for stuff like this. When it only happens every 30+ years, it's not really worth it.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[lonestardiver]

Yep, 9 degrees and windchill is -10.
And now the rolling blackouts have begun....

 

[Gummi Bear]

It’s 12* here in DFW

My big challenge is keeping the livestock water from freezing. I added a pump connected to a battery and solar charger. It’s helpful, but not 100% effective. No 120v anywhere nearby for a bucket heater

We’re going by every few hours to bust ice, and add some warm water To the trough.

I’ve got the house and cars taken care of.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[Showkey]

Yep, 9 degrees and windchill is -10.
And now the rolling blackouts have begun....

So if the grid can’t handle 1000’s of temporary heaters, heat pumps working overtime ...........how’s it going work when it’s gets cold and add few million electric vehicles.

Wake up call..........and no people are NOT going to not charge their cars for a week or two.

 

[lonestardiver]

Actually it appears to be a line down for the moment. 90 minutes no power. According to the Epcot app, demand will exceed capacity close to midnight. We will see what happens then.

 

[Los_Control]

Today I just heard my area is under a warning of a blackout. Many many homes use electricity for heat. The grid is just taxed out to the max, The Governor has asked for people to "**** it up buttercup" Turn your thermostats down a few degrees to help keep the grid on-line.
It would really **** for a lot of people if the electricity goes out.

I have gas heat & two heat sources, the front of house is a gas furnace ran with a thermostat .... I'm thinking if electricity is out, my gas furnace would not operate.
While the gas heater in my office heats the back 1/2 of house, needs no electricity ... a AA battery lights it. Again I am covered and not worried for wife & I.

The good news, for me. I consider this a slow moving storm I think the eye is over us now, Today is the worst day ... 17 when woke up at 6:00 am and went down to 6 from there ... now it is on the way up. Is currently 8, tomorrow predicted to be 24 for high, then 40 next day, then 27, then 50 and back into 60's. We are seeing the light at the end of tunnel.

I apologize for my last post. Now we are wondering if the power grid will hold up.
Is 8 degrees and the high for next 24 hours is 24. Will be a **** storm if the grid fails.
The area is just not prepared for this.

 

[scattermaster]

I"m in a wood house up on blocks. Exposed pipes underneath...
I turn off the water where it enters the house.
Open up everything wide open.
Then blow the pipes out with my air compressor.
I do it from my rear outside spigot and my shower with the head removed.

I get a lot of rust out with the water when I do that.
There probably is still standing water in the horizontal runs but maybe not enough to fill the pipe.
We've never had one break in a freeze since we started doing it that way.

 

[joes169]

I"m in a wood house up on blocks. Exposed pipes underneath...
I turn off the water where it enters the house.
Open up everything wide open.
Then blow the pipes out with my air compressor.
I do it from my rear outside spigot and my shower with the head removed.

I get a lot of rust out with the water when I do that.
There probably is still standing water in the horizontal runs but maybe not enough to fill the pipe.
We've never had one break in a freeze since we started doing it that way.

That stinks, so you'll go without running water for a few days?

I remember when we lost our well pump many years ago and what a pain it was w/o running water.

I'm wishing all of you down South the best, and hopefully your power stays on!

 

[lonestardiver]

Still no power. Portable propane heater, fireplace, and 2 Coleman lanterns.

 

[toyotadriver]

Wood stove running in the basement. It's 75* down there now. Main level is heated by rising heat from the wood stove and then the propane furnace. We have plenty of propane so the house is warm and life is good.

Cut up a tree outside today and then hand split and stacked the wood. It's not for this year....wood is still green and it needs a year to dry so the wood I cut today will be next year's wood. It was 5* outside while working. Pretty brisk but enjoyed the workout in rough conditions.

Also have been needing to defrost the deep freeze so took all the food outside. Ran the garage heater while the door was open until it started to melt. Cleaned it out and put the food back in. The food stayed frozen though!

 

[Los_Control]

It’s 12* here in DFW

My big challenge is keeping the livestock water from freezing. I added a pump connected to a battery and solar charger. It’s helpful, but not 100% effective. No 120v anywhere nearby for a bucket heater

We’re going by every few hours to bust ice, and add some warm water To the trough.

I’ve got the house and cars taken care of.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

When I was younger, I lived on a horse ranch in West VA mountains.
Taking care of the horses was #1 ... I remember -40, but we were prepared.
Keeping fresh water and dry hay was a big job.

 

[ambenz]

Still no power. Portable propane heater, fireplace, and 2 Coleman lanterns.

WOW! This sentence is an eye opener for a lot of us up north. It's something you do not deal with very often so when it happens, it's a dangerous issue. It would be the same for us if we ran out of natural gas service and our power went out too.

I would be putting all my oil lamps to use, running my 4 emergency electric heaters, running my 4400 watt generator and running out to fill up my gas cans IF I could find or even get to a gas station with power to pump gas...and we will NOT break the freeze for at least a week.

I feel your pain for all in the south dealing with this emergency! Keep your head about you. Don't do anything you will regret in the future and do your best to keep warm and safe.

 

[Jazz1]

-27C If we lost our natural gas for whatever reason my area would be screwed. Its the only reason I have a wood stove in my garage when I could easily run 100’ of gas line to garage.

 

[magicrat]

Here in San Antonio it 13 degrees and snowing like never before. It’s snowed here but it usually disappears quickly. This time we can build snowmen and snow castles in the morning!! Hope all u guys stay safe and warm. I know we don’t have to deal with the cold down here the way y’all do.

 

[niget2002]

Woke up to 6f this morning.

Noticed the garage dropped below freezing last night. Went to the garage to check the hot water heater (electric) to make sure the pipes going to/from it are not frozen. They're not.

They've started rolling blackouts in the area, but it seems to be mostly the areas closer to town. My friend in Murphy has had a couple of 10 minute blackouts. He's worried if one lasts too long the pipes on his pool might freeze.

Our pool has frozen over. I've never seen a pool freeze over my entire life. My pool pump is still running and you can see where the water is still flowing through the system.

The shop heater is still doing its job. You can see on my temp probe that the temp is dropping a lot faster in the shop between cycles, though.

I think this is the most snow I've seen in Texas. Kids are all outside playing. I'm watching the time and making them come in every 10 minutes or so. Kids are dressed in many layers. We don't have snow clothes/suits for them. I have snow bibs and a snow jacket from riding the motorcycle in colder temps.

Our house is all electric. We do have a fireplace. I'm saving the firewood for the event the power goes out. I have enough stacked up for a day or two.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CqVAX9jHGJdCWvou7

 

[bctexas]

About 15 miles north of Dallas. Sunny and 6 degrees outside. We got less than 3 inches of snow yesterday.

Power has been on and off on about a 35-45 minute cycle. Got the candles out before sunup. House is recently built and foam insulated so the place is staying warm. Haven't ventured into the shop, but with the plumbing drained and RV antifreeze in the traps and toilet it should be ok even if the power drops and the heat goes out. Internet connection down so doing this using my phone's hot spot.

Just talked to a buddy in the neighborhood we used to live in just north of Ft Worth. No power since about 4am. But he has a gas fireplace and a generator so they are doing ok. We have a portable propane heater for a real emergency, but I sure hope we don't have to use it.....

Good luck folks.....

 

[Jagmandave]

I have friends in Houston, they have sleet on the ground - people are NOT used to driving in those conditions.....it's a mess!

 

[tre873]

Woke up to no power and a frozen water line this morning. Built a fire and have to wait for electricity. It ***** being in a house that is all electric.

 

[protegeV]

About 15 miles north of Dallas. Sunny and 6 degrees outside. We got less than 3 inches of snow yesterday.

Power has been on and off on about a 35-45 minute cycle. Got the candles out before sunup. House is recently built and foam insulated so the place is staying warm. Haven't ventured into the shop, but with the plumbing drained and RV antifreeze in the traps and toilet it should be ok even if the power drops and the heat goes out. Internet connection down so doing this using my phone's hot spot.

Just talked to a buddy in the neighborhood we used to live in just north of Ft Worth. No power since about 4am. But he has a gas fireplace and a generator so they are doing ok. We have a portable propane heater for a real emergency, but I sure hope we don't have to use it.....

Good luck folks.....

Were 15miles south of ft worth. About 4-5" of snow with drifts up to a foot. No power issues but yeah it's colder than a witch's *** out there.

 

[pmiranda]

I really wish I had made it out to the shop to shut off the main a couple days ago. No heat whatsoever. I guess we'll find out how pex and spray foam do in a 3-day freeze. Luckily no plumbing in any outside walls. Everything is in the slab or inside a few inches of closed cell foam, except the toilet and sink. Probably can't safely get across town to check on it until late Thursday since nobody has heard of a snow plow here since we haven't had this much winter since the '40s.

 

[tez929rr]

I really wish I had made it out to the shop to shut off the main a couple days ago. No heat whatsoever. I guess we'll find out how pex and spray foam do in a 3-day freeze. Luckily no plumbing in any outside walls. Everything is in the slab or inside a few inches of closed cell foam, except the toilet and sink. Probably can't safely get across town to check on it until late Thursday since nobody has heard of a snow plow here since we haven't had this much winter since the '40s.

We have been lucky - the water storage tank is high enough that we can keep the faucets trickling even when the power goes out. We are on the downside of this thing now so the next bad part is when people start finding burst water lines and fittings. On the first day when it started sleeting Lola did not want to come out of the house. Sure was pretty, though. View media item 110349View media item 110350

 

[oldgoat]

We broker a record set in 1903 when we got down to -17 F. For the first I've been letting faucets drip and leave the cabinet doors open here where the faucets are on the outside wall. We are suppose to be starting rolling blackouts of half to an hour but people have reported 2 hr. Outages. Wonder what people on medical equipment do then.

 

[pmiranda]

TX is hurting this morning on energy. Wind turbines and nuclear plants frozen, low pressure in propane and natural gas supplies. Apparently the coal fired plants have their water loops frozen as well. Good thing the sun is shining, but not enough folks have PV panels to make up the loss. We're lucky our house is on the same grid as a nearby hospital so we haven't lost power yet but the rolling blackouts haven't been rolling too well and a couple people that work for me have been staying with friends since they haven't had electricity in a day and a half.

 

[Los_Control]

I lost electricity for 2 hours the other night, been lucky so far. I also have a Hospital close by and may be the reason ... also live in city limits.
Our water tanks have ran dry, the water wells have no electricity and can not pump. The whole county has no water.
So far the gas heating has held up, hard to say if electric has affected natural gas delivery ... have not heard anything.

I read that those without electric it can be a couple days before restored ... those with electric may still lose it.

Been taking care of a neighbor since Christmas eve, brought him home from the hospital. His house is all electric .... trying to talk him into coming stay with us. He wants to stay home as long as he can. I brought him two cases of water this morning, maybe today can talk him into moving over.

 

[bctexas]

Snow on the ground and 13 here - last night's low was 1. Rolling blackouts still occurring. Power for 30 to 60 minutes, the none for about the same. Cable, internet and phone down even when power is on. I'm doing this using my phone's hot spot. Woke up this morning to no flow of water from the "hot" faucets. The tankless heater is on the outside wall of the house. It is supposed to be self protected down to -35, but with the power outages and a low of 1, it or the pipes feeding it froze. I found that the pex feed and output lines that run through the water heater cabinet are not insulated. I warmed them with a heat gun, and a bit later whatever blockage there was cleared. Back to normal. Will leave the hot water drizzling tonight....

Power just came on after a 40 minute outage. I think I'll pour a beer.....

Hope you are all warm and safe.....

 

[Los_Control]

Power just came on after a 40 minute outage. I think I'll pour a beer.....

My beer in the shop froze

 

[PelicanPines]

Dang... I hope those without power get it back soon... Stay warm people... save your pets... save your barnyard animals... and by all means... SAVE YOUR SHOP BEER from freezing !!!

Being from NJ... beware stored paint... it does not react well to freezing.

 

[woodscaper]

A reminder, hot water pipes are the first to freeze, water is demineralized in the water heater.

 

[oldgoat]

So you should be having the hot water drip instead of the cold? Hadn't thought it made any difference, but what you said makes sense.

 

[Los_Control]

While hot water is the first to freeze. Just keeping the cold water dripping is usually enough.
If you need to drip both hot & cold, you have a big issue. Here in Texas just dripping cold was fine, was when the power went out and no longer could pump water it became a issue.

Just keep your cold water running, dripping.