National Emergency declared in Texas
- Thread starter JustinTyme
- Start date
They definitely don't have the infrastructure to handle it, from road design to access to salt. That said. If you live there you know, or should know, this and plan/drive accordingly.
They are fantastic but the upfront costs are high. Very efficient systems. Was a viable option 15 yrs ago before fracking crashed the costs of oil and nat gas. Now not so sure unless the installation costs have come way down and/or fellow taxpayers help pay for it.
Of course, they need power to run so need back up generators for bad weather periods like this.
Worse, homes aren’t as well insulated, heating systems are undersized for extreme cold and not as efficient, and people don’t know proper precautions. Even staying home is fraught with problems.
losing power when it is single digits outside is going to screw over anybody in most situations short of if you have a large nat gas fireplace that can run without power or a wood burning stove or a back up generator.
I lived in Houston in 1989 when a record freeze (7 degrees at IAH) hit during Christmas, the insurance companies were overwhelmed with water damage claims caused by frozen pipes. I had some at my house, the insurance companies sent a contractor to do the work without even sending an adjuster to inspect. iirc.... there were over 20,000 claims in the Houston area.
People in Austin can't drive when it is 80 degrees and dry pavement. Throw some rain down and they get stupid. Add some ice and snow and they definitely become morans
I remember driving those Texas roads after or during rain, it might as well have been ice for as slick as they get.
Was planning on building a house in Port Matilda (off Buffalo Run on 5 acre lots) in 2000. Got plans all finalized and it had geothermal heating and cooling planned. 4 holes drilled. Three were for the thermal loop and the 4th was for a well. Decided that SC wasn't the perfect place to retire, so we turned that lot over into 50 acres of Texas farmland. Been a great place to go to on weekends raising the kids.
But geothermal certainly made sense to me. Ground water there was 66 degrees, so perfect to use it for chilling the air, and not bad to heat as well (small thermal bump to get the heat). A smaller cost to get the 3 holes drilled, since I had to do a well anyway. Makes sense, but wonder what the long term affects are for increasing the low ground temps a bit
Thank you for the feedback. My main concern is for the long heating season in Central PA. I hear that electric usage can be expensive October thru February.
Family who live in Manor got power back for a time this morning, but unfortunately for them pipes were already frozen.
Open the cabinet doors below sinks in non-inside walls that have pipes. Use the gas oven for heat but take care not to overheat and burn the house down.
I bought a ton of these things that cover outside faucets to keep them from freezing.
I would like some cattle pics.North suburb of Austin here. 7 degrees right now (prior cold that I remember was 17 in 2011). I spent the last few days building "heat" boxes for all of my outside faucets. They are all built into the slab so no way to turn them off without turn all water off. Also added heater tape to all my attic hot/cold water pipes. Have a portable heater in my well house shed to keep those pipes open. Outside gardens are toast. Did a big harvest two days ago of my lettuce, spinach and collard greens Cabbage is all froze, but it is staying there for now. We got 8 inches last night of beautiful powder. Drifting 2 feet against the north and east walls. Crazy. No shovel needed. Just used a rake and broom to move it away from the outside AC units and doors. Biggest problem is that we have 1/4 inch ice under all of that snow, even in the grass. Many tree limbs down. Rolling blackouts because of the high energy use.
My ranch is 35 miles east of me, and it took me 1 hour to make the trip yesterday to feed/water the animals. Usually a 30 minute trip. Not certain I can get there today, but the animals all have heated tanks and plenty of food and shelter from the north wind.
Second huge snowstorm of the year. And I moved away from PA to get away from this crap!!
They sell them all over the place, and have for years. It's just a hollow Styrofoam cover with a string to hold it to the spigot. I've used them before, they're ok. Just Google spigot cover. The best protection remains turning off the water to the spigot and then opening it to drain.
Tommy:Here you go, LSHF.
You can take a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head up a bull's ass, but wouldn't you rather take the butcher's word for it?
they have several at Home Depot. I think they are called "Everbuilt Hard Outdoor Faucet Cover
Everbilt Hard Outdoor Faucet Cover 1981
The Hard Faucet Cover is an easy way to protect outdoor faucets from freezing temperatures. Just place the loop around the faucet handle, stretch the cord by pulling away from the house. Slide the cord
www.homedepot.com
Amazon product ASIN B01251Q67W
Had to drive quite a bit yesterday and today - yesterday was a nightmare. All roads were skating rinks. I stayed on level ground and under 25. Anyone came near me, I pulled slowly off to let them pass. Today was 6 inches of dry powder and drifts. Way easier as long as you stated in the groove and didn’t get high centered.
I just have a Hyundai, but made it 10 miles to work to grab my stuff for remote work. Went 35-40, but could have gone faster - arranged to get some speed before inclines and prepared for downhills by lifting off the gas well in advance.
Unfortunately all is not well - heats been off since yesterday morning - went down to 52 in the house. Fireplace is cranked, but spending the night at Ex-wife’s. I had called HVAC guy 3 weeks ago because heat was a little slow to crank on, but then cancelled because it ended up going well and, given this is central Texas, winter was almost over. Thanks Justin Trudeau
I just have a Hyundai, but made it 10 miles to work to grab my stuff for remote work. Went 35-40, but could have gone faster - arranged to get some speed before inclines and prepared for downhills by lifting off the gas well in advance.
Unfortunately all is not well - heats been off since yesterday morning - went down to 52 in the house. Fireplace is cranked, but spending the night at Ex-wife’s. I had called HVAC guy 3 weeks ago because heat was a little slow to crank on, but then cancelled because it ended up going well and, given this is central Texas, winter was almost over. Thanks Justin Trudeau
Donkeys, goats and chickens. And 35 acres of hay. No cattle at this ranch.
Glad you are doing OK CMT. 4 wheel drive on that Hyundai? Yesterday's drive to the ranch was tense, to say the least. Many people driving the speed limit (crazy going that fast), but then had others doing 10mph with flashers on, in the left lane (old habits die hard). The house in RR is fine. No power outage. The city built a brand new fire station adjacent to my house, and they are immune from the blackouts. Another reason I love having the department there. Going to take a case of beer to them as thanks.
But, talked to my ranch neighbor out on the east side of Williamson County, and they have been without electricity since 8 am. So, my ranch is out and the heated water tanks certainly froze. But, he is coming through and heding there to take care of the stock. Man, how thankful am I to be blessed with great neighbors there!.
I saw only a few quasi-boneheads today. Just kept clear of them.
No 4 wheel drive but had my eyes peeled for any traps for the whole drive. I made first tracks on part of mopac, but the snow was really grippy. Also, used the access roads around the elevated stuff.
You want to be off the roads tonight as the wet stuff (from the sun and driving) freezes
Got plenty of deer on the property. Made chili yesterday with 1 lb vension, 1 lb ground beef, and 2 lb sirloin steak.
No wild hogs on the ranch yet, but they are within 10 miles. Open season on those bastards
More than 2 million Texans without power after winter storm
Millions of people are without power in Texas after frozen wind turbines caused blackouts in the state amid Winter Storm Uri.
Helicopter hog hunting in Texas, legal and year round. Good business. Best sausage I've had (some still in freezer) is half venison and half wild hog.I kill Bourne hogs
If your only options are electric, fuel oil, or propane then geothermal is the best bet. The install fee is high buy it will pay for itself in several,years. There should be data available from either installers or local power company. They can do an analysis of your home and give you projected savings.
Geo also includes hot water systems, run much quieter, last longer.
If you own large lot/acreage you could look into trenching instead of wells. The length of the trenches varies with tonnage required. But you could rent the equipment and do your own trenching......maybe even burying the lines if installed OKs that.
I know someone that installed the pipes at the bottom of a 25 foot deep spring fed pond. Same concept (still had to trench from the pond to the house)
This is really starting to get critical here in Dallas. Our power went out at 4am and by 2pm inside temp dropped to the high 40s. Power came on for about 3 hours but out again. My step daughter son in law and three little kids drove across town in horrible conditions to be here because their power will be out for a couple days. Here in Texas most people have gas fireplaces with fake logs. They look great but offer no real heating help. Temps will drop to close to zero tonight. We may have to fall back to our cars to run the engine and heater if power doesn’t come back. Thankfully so far cell service has not crashed. Oh ya, Saturday I was playing golf in 80 degrees weather in west palm beach
Drain all your waterlines immediately. Put anti freeze into the drains with traps. Gather everyone into the smallest room and close the doors or cover with blankets. If need be, make a tent in room and have beyond gather in it to keep warm. Take in neighbors too as the more, the more heat you will get.
Could heat water on the engine block of auto and then bring it inside. Same with a grille but do that outside
All the faucets are dripping which should help keep water flowing. The pool equipment will be trashed but it was old anyway. The struggle will be keeping a 9, 7, and 3 year old warm with blankets and whatever else we can find. Going to be a long night of power doesn't come back
like was said, pull a mattress into your room so all in one place. 40's is cold, but if your kids have on long underwear and sweatpants and long sleeve shirts and sweatshirt and all the blankets you have in the house, you should be OK for the night.
You got a tent? If so you can set it up in a room and 'go camping.' Not only will it be a lot of fun, it will contain a lot of the heat. Good luck.
Edit: even if you don't have a tent, a tent made from blankets works and is also a ton of fun.
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My sister, who lives in central Pa has a geo thermal heat pump. It works well and her electric bills are very reasonable. She says her auxiliary heat seldom kicks on, even in very cold temperatures. Her house is very well insulated with Anderson windows.
Stay safe. Just talked to a friend who didn’t have power for 14 hours. He has sleeping bags out for tonight. He’s going to run his gas oven and leave it open
I used to have one. Worked great. Always pumping from 50 something degrees for for heat or AC I built the house so had them trench for geo.
