December 14, 2008 02:17PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
It snowed lightly late last night then warmed enough to melt the inch or so that was on the ground. then the temp plunged to around -8ºC and it froze into ice. A little more powdery snow fell and has blown around with the 40 to 60kmh winds.
right now the sun is shining, the wind is howling and the temp is sitting just below -4ºC with a wind chill much lower than that. Wish I had some rhum for a nice hot drink or five I fully expect the iX to have a dead battery even though I have a solar charger plugged in...doesn't to much good when the widow is covered with ice and frozen snow |
December 14, 2008 03:25PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
December 14, 2008 04:57PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
December 14, 2008 04:57PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
I tried to scoop some up and put it in an e-mail but it's frozen solid to the car The sun has just set and the temps have dropped about 5 deg in the last half hour. The house is starting to make cracking noises like it does when it get's cold quickly. You can have it all as far as I'm concerned :? |
December 14, 2008 05:00PM
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December 14, 2008 06:26PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
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December 14, 2008 06:32PM
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Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
December 15, 2008 04:36AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 280 : NW of Boston, MA |
At least you are still at home! It's been 3.5 days and we're still without power at my place. Our friend has been very gracious and is letting us stay at his place, but it's really tough with a toddler out of her element, especially when the house isn't set up for a baby. They still don't know when we'll get power back. We're getting a bit tired of it. Cab 1990 325i(s) 2004 325XiT |
December 15, 2008 07:57AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Hopefully the plumbing doesn't freeze up in your house...that is always my biggest worry when power goes out and the sub zero temps persist. It's nice that you have friends generous enough to have you come live with them in such an emergency B) Hopefully power will be restored soon and you can all go back to your familiar surroundings |
December 15, 2008 08:06AM
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Posts: 584 : Vermont, USA |
December 15, 2008 08:16AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
I've never been without a woodstove and a nice pile of wood by the porch, comes in handy when all the modern stuff fails. Hope you get out of danger soon Cab, those ice storms can be wicked |
December 15, 2008 08:22AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
I have a brick wood burning fireplace but can't really use it because it doesn't draw properly and simply fills the house with smoke |
December 15, 2008 10:30AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 280 : NW of Boston, MA |
I did shut off the water valve where it comes into the house, and I left a couple of faucets open, so if the water does start to freeze, it can expand up the pipes and (hopefully) not burst them. It was 41F inside the house yesterday, and the basement was warmer. I'm hoping the pipes don't burst. If it takes a little while for them to warm up and thaw after we get back in, that's not a big deal, as long as they don't blow up! We're hoping for the next couple of days, but we're not filled with confidence. There has been no word from the utilities, and there are still so many trees and downed telephone poles that often they can't even get to the wires. And, to top it all off, we're supposed to get another storm this week with potentially more freezing rain. Yuck. Here's a link to some pictures of the damage. Hmm, that link took me to a slightly different slide show earlier this morning. The one I saw included a few shots of a street about a 1/2 mile from my house. Oh well, that still shows some nasty stuff that we're dealing with here. Cab 1990 325i(s) 2004 325XiT |
December 15, 2008 12:01PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
Cab, Shutting off the water is one thing but you should have drained the system. If pipes start busting its ugly bro, and expensive. You also have to think about the heating system; it has water in it too.
There should be a low point in the fresh water system to drain it from. Guys that live in the upper east coast like us have to have all these emergency plans in order so things don't go too wrong! Ice storms, now those I could live without Best wishes to you and all the Cabets |
December 15, 2008 12:06PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Those pictures remind me of the first winter we had here in this house 20 years ago. There was a huge freezing rain storm that did the same kind of damage as seen in those photos. We were without power for almost 72 hours but we stayed in the house and tried to use the fireplace. It worked ok except for the bad draft that allowed most of the smoke to escape into the house. It did provide enough heat to keep the pipes from freezing and we left the upstairs faucets dribbling too. Our grocery store, which is a couple of blocks away, was running on an emergency generator so we ate deli that whole time. I'll put in a few choice words with the weather gods and tell them to nix the freezing rain for your area |
December 15, 2008 12:22PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Good thinking. I can drain my system from the hot water tank as the drain is the lowest outlet in the house. Trouble is, it drains into the crawl space id I don't attach a garden hose and redirect it out doors |
December 15, 2008 01:08PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 280 : NW of Boston, MA |
I've heard mention of draining it, but I didn't have a chance to look at where a drain point might be. There isn't water in my heating system (that I know of) although of course the (cold) hot water heater is full. I'm sure that has a drain on it. It'd be a lot of trips up the bulkhead stairs with a bucket. It's probably worth doing, especially since we have some cold weather headed this way. If only I didn't have two finals this week... Ugh. If this storm could have just waited one more week, the aftermath would have been a lot less inconvenient. Cab 1990 325i(s) 2004 325XiT |
December 15, 2008 02:18PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
So you have hot air heat? Yes, the water heater does have a drain and there should be some low point on the main plubing you can drain. If things turn colder Cab don't be afraid to have a little water on the floor or in the basement, its a lot better than replacing it, and the pipes. Even if you drain things some it will help and things might not burst. It looks like we have more weather coming our way Cab, look for that low point and drain the pipes! Best Regards Cab |
December 15, 2008 06:10PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 797 : Ottawa |
Remember to flush all the toilets so the tanks are empty. Porcelain will crack if the water in the toilet tank freezes.
And pour a little antifreeze into every drain that has an elbow trap which holds water, i.e. kitchen sink, toilets, bathtub, etc. You don't actually want to drain the water out of the elbows, because you'll get sewer smells coming up the drains. There is a special environmentally-friendly antifreeze available, not Prestone, made for Recreational Vehicles and cottages etc. You can probably get that at Walmart or any automotive supply store. |