The Ice Storm....

Me. said:
Frozen pipes. When we bought our house here in NC, I was surprised to see it has water pipes that are run inside outside walls of the house.

I know Southerners don’t like when Yanks say “that’s not the way we do it back home”, but I’ve never owned a house before that had pipes run in exterior walls. Seems like it’s just asking for trouble when the temperature drops.


Another thing I find curious.... why do folks get so panicky about losing heat for a day or two? Sure, it might get uncomfortable, but just put on a coat. It doesn’t get windy or rainy or snowy inside, it just gets cold. Worst case, inside temp = outside temp. If you can dress to go outside in 10*, you can dress to stay inside in 10*.

Aside from frozen pipes, there is only discomfort, but no danger.

Of course it’s different for people with special health concerns, but overall, it’s just a couple days of being cold. What’s the big deal?
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This happened to me in a house in KY. I think I has owned the house or less than month when the pipe froze. I replaced it with plex and insulated it. In general the houses and the people in the south are not built for extreme cold. LMAO
 
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BBD280 said:
Something tells me that this is why you'll have an install scheduled shortly. It's definitely the angle I'd take. 😂😂
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I just threw down that pair of aces while she was putting on her war paint in front of the mirror at 7AM this morning. She said, “How much was it again, $10,000?” without grimacing. Which basically means, she blinked.
 
elmostump said:
Glad to have the portable unit but tired of cords and flipping breakers, Plus I ain’t getting any younger.
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We'll probably move that way at some point as well. Not just for the inconvenience of having to deal with all the moving pieces, but because the wife can't deal with it. If I'm somehow gone/dead/sick/whatever she has no idea how to even start the generator much less deal with the wiring and transfer switch. I'm sure she could learn, but could she remember having not done it in a while and not having the mechanical/electrical knowledge to figure it out on the fly?
 
oetkb said:
I just threw down that pair of aces while she was putting on her war paint in front of the mirror at 7AM this morning. She said, “How much was it again, $10,000?” without grimacing. Which basically means, she blinked.
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Wait till she whips out her pair of Aces! "Well honey, if you sell that motorcycle you can get whatever generator you want".
 
SPST said:
Wait till she whips out her pair of Aces! "Well honey, if you sell that motorcycle you can get whatever generator you want".
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That is playing dirty pool.
 
Nothing but rain here in the foothills. I am sure I will still lose power. Always do.
 
wvsig said:
Nothing but rain here in the foothills. I am sure I will still lose power. Always do.
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In the time I've lived out this way... We only lost power once for about 4 hours.
 
Slacker said:
At least I don't need to worry about the duct tape failing due to the rain. That was a real concern. The dealership offered to spot weld the doors shut, they said it was a Southern seasons type update.
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The ice can help you slide across the hood when you're in a hurry to get to the other side when Roscoe is chasing you.
 
amnesia said:
In the time I've lived out this way... We only lost power once for about 4 hours.
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We are in bad area for it. The transmission line that comes into my sub is crappy. I am not sure why but it often goes out. Most of the time it is back on within a few hours.
 
Me. said:
Another thing I find curious.... why do folks get so panicky about losing heat for a day or two? Sure, it might get uncomfortable, but just put on a coat. It doesn’t get windy or rainy or snowy inside, it just gets cold. Worst case, inside temp = outside temp. If you can dress to go outside in 10*, you can dress to stay inside in 10*.

Aside from frozen pipes, there is only discomfort, but no danger.

Of course it’s different for people with special health concerns, but overall, it’s just a couple days of being cold. What’s the big deal?
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I think there's quite a difference between going outside in sub-zero weather knowing that you can go back inside to ready-warmth when you choose vs. enforced low activity in the cold and dark and the frustration that one might not have a heating option. Sure, I've got a down parka, caps, hoodies, gloves and snow mittens etc., but I look with, what, trepidation rather than "panic" at 48-72 hrs. of freezing temperature exposure. And, btw, I've endured Duluth MN; Rapid City, SD; and upstate New England (the latter for about ten years) so I'm not a Floridian.

Or, I'm just a wuss; or getting older (or missing the fact that you were being facetious).
 
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wvsig said:
We are in bad area for it. The transmission line that comes into my sub is crappy. I am not sure why but it often goes out. Most of the time it is back on within a few hours.
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Gotcha - Our power from the road is all underground but the last time it was out was because a transformer blew a little ways down the street.
 
oetkb said:
I told the wife that I will be making the case again for a whole house generator, that is, when there is inventory of generators again after the flood of orders if this ice really materializes anywhere in the southeast. She vetoed it two years ago. Who knows why. I had the quotes, perfunctory approval from the HOA, the whole shebang, and yet 10 days without power during a hot September when she was preggers a lifetime ago, and 10 days without heat when the boys were little, and it’s like she has amnesia.

We are going to be grandparents in a month, Lord willing, and the grown kids don’t live far from us. I’d like for there to be one place with heat in winter and a/c in summer if we are without again. Including the fact that I’m no longer a spring chicken and don’t care to deal with all the makeshift preps and stress when the power goes out at 2AM.
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Do like Biden, executive order, bingo, approved.
 
I've got a 20kw automatic "whole house" LP-fueled Kohler that we put in six or so years ago. I've got a neighbor with the same setup. We have no complaints. The Kohler sales and service dealer is much closer here than the Generac dealer and the Kohler is cheaper. I think six years ago the whole shebang cost me right at $7,000 turn-key.

My barn has a 5.5kw Honda that runs on LP or gasoline with a manual transfer switch that feeds a sub-panel that runs a 5hp air compressor, a large-ish bay door, a refrigerator, a freezer, and about a third of the lights. I plan to add a LP heater with a fan. My generators honestly don't get too much use. The 2002 ice storm has been the only major outage-event I can remember since Hugo. I'm lucky to be on the same 3 phase distribution lines as a large dairy farm close-by that gets a pretty high "back on" priority.
 
GreatGazoo said:
I think there's quite a difference between going outside in sub-zero weather knowing that you can go back inside to ready-warmth when you choose vs. enforced low activity in the cold and dark and the frustration that one might not have a heating option. Sure, I've got a down parka, caps, hoodies, gloves and snow mittens etc., but I look with, what, trepidation rather than "panic" at 48-72 hrs. of freezing temperature exposure. And, btw, I've endured Duluth MN; Rapid City, SD; and upstate New England (the latter for about ten years) so I'm not a Floridian.

Or, I'm just a wuss; or getting older (or missing the fact that you were being facetious).
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And the one thing everybody forgets. When the power goes out, we’ve no idea whether it’s going to be out for minutes, hours, or days. My power blinked just a few minutes ago, then I heard the unmistakeable sound of a transformer shorting or blowing a half mile away when those sound waves made it to me. Who knows why, because there’s no ice here. Fortunately the power is still on, but for those who did the whole Hugo, Fran, Floyd, Matthew (and ice storm of 2002) joyride know what I’m talking about.
 
Jayne said:
We'll probably move that way at some point as well. Not just for the inconvenience of having to deal with all the moving pieces, but because the wife can't deal with it. If I'm somehow gone/dead/sick/whatever she has no idea how to even start the generator much less deal with the wiring and transfer switch. I'm sure she could learn, but could she remember having not done it in a while and not having the mechanical/electrical knowledge to figure it out on the fly?
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....annnnnddddd those are the other two aces I’m playing.
 
SPST said:
Wait till she whips out her pair of Aces! "Well honey, if you sell that motorcycle you can get whatever generator you want".
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It’s not so much of a negotiation about the money as it is having her decide it’s her idea and it’s "for the children”, then it won’t matter how much it costs.
 
What gets me is when turned on channel three this morning they just played it off no mention of hey folks looks like we got it wrong .
You've caused a lot of people worry and inconvenience how about a mea culpa.
 
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oetkb said:
And the one thing everybody forgets. When the power goes out, we’ve no idea whether it’s going to be out for minutes, hours, or days. My power blinked just a few minutes ago, then I heard the unmistakeable sound of a transformer shorting or blowing a half mile away when those sound waves made it to me. Who knows why, because there’s no ice here. Fortunately the power is still on, but for those who did the whole Hugo, Fran, Floyd, Matthew (and ice storm of 2002) joyride know what I’m talking about.
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I concur: I hoped that I'd conveyed that sense of uncertainly, but glad you emphasized it. As a kid, we were in Biloxi for the Camille show. Of course, it was mostly an adventure at that age, but there was a lot of uncertainly about how long it would take to resume basic services (I seem to recall most vividly the ice lines).
 
Damn. Cold enough here to freeze my balls.
cd8e8e52bdfebccf3bc61a94a6a3f35d.jpg


Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
From our WRAL friends:

Numerous WRAL viewers reported strong storms Thursday morning, but WRAL Elizabeth Gardner said severe weather is not expected.

::blinks::
 
richardlc said:
Yes! Dark Souls references have gone mainstream! Best video game ever!
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Ha! I include a line from Siegward of Caterina as my "class motto" on the syllabus.

My stepson bought DSIII for me by way of my first console/video game (the, "oh, you've played D&D all these years, you'll love this ... buy an Xbox"). I think he was looking for some payback. ::beatup::
 
S4f said:
What gets me is when turned on channel three this morning they just played it off no mention of hey folks looks like we got it wrong .
You've caused a lot of people worry and inconvenience how about a mea culpa.
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Indeed. It was Ch 3's Monday 6:00pm forecast that made me go "hmm... better check the guage on my propane tank..." Well, at least most people now have provisions and fuel topped-up for the impending zombie apocalypse. :p ...Speaking of which... let's not forget there are thousands of troops standing in a freezing rain right now in DC for exactly zero articulated reason.
 
Aardvark said:
Indeed. It was Ch 3's Monday 6:00pm forecast that made me go "hmm... better check the guage on my propane tank..." Well, at least most people now have provisions and fuel topped-up for the impending zombie apocalypse. :p ...Speaking of which... let's not forget there are thousands of troops standing in a freezing rain right now in DC for exactly zero articulated reason.
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At least they are in DC instead of Afghanistan!
 
Me. said:
Frozen pipes. When we bought our house here in NC, I was surprised to see it has water pipes that are run inside outside walls of the house.

I know Southerners don’t like when Yanks say “that’s not the way we do it back home”, but I’ve never owned a house before that had pipes run in exterior walls. Seems like it’s just asking for trouble when the temperature drops.


Another thing I find curious.... why do folks get so panicky about losing heat for a day or two? Sure, it might get uncomfortable, but just put on a coat. It doesn’t get windy or rainy or snowy inside, it just gets cold. Worst case, inside temp = outside temp. If you can dress to go outside in 10*, you can dress to stay inside in 10*.

Aside from frozen pipes, there is only discomfort, but no danger.

Of course it’s different for people with special health concerns, but overall, it’s just a couple days of being cold. What’s the big deal?
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You can attribute that to northern contractors who came here to start a business. They began the building of homes on a slab and cutting cost anywhere the code allowed. The mass operation builders will not do much past the allowed code. Southern contractors still believe in basements and crawl spaces.

I do work for two New York flippers. They both will not put bath exhaust fans in if there is a window that opens. Less work for me and when they sell it the people don’t even notice.
 
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Side story.

When the '02 storm hit, the band I was in was doing 6 nights I'm a row at O'Hare's in the Holiday Inn Woodlawn in Charlotte. We got there fine. Storm hit not long after.

Suddenly we were trapped in an 80s era hotel for 6 days. Literally we were able to walk to a couple of joints in the area for food but that was about it.

We played to about 4 people per night until Saturday (the last night).

I may have been just about the most miserable week of my life. The band was considered "the help". So we couldn't just hang out in the restaurant, gym, etc.

There was a Duncan Doughnuts right in front of the place. They had breakfast sandwiches. I would buy two... one for breakfast and one for lunch. And, of course, we got doughnuts out of sheer boredom. I didn't eat doughnuts for the longest time. It was so frozen that going across the street to BW3 was treacherous.

I've never been so out of my mind bored in life. By the third day I was "mall walking" the hotel just for exercise. Yes, THAT bored.
 
two fingers said:
Side story.

When the '02 storm hit, the band I was in was doing 6 nights I'm a row at O'Hare's in the Holiday Inn Woodlawn in Charlotte. We got there fine. Storm hit not long after.

Suddenly we were trapped in an 80s era hotel for 6 days. Literally we were able to walk to a couple of joints in the area for food but that was about it.

We played to about 4 people per night until Saturday (the last night).

I may have been just about the most miserable week of my life. The band was considered "the help". So we couldn't just hang out in the restaurant, gym, etc.

There was a Duncan Doughnuts right in front of the place. They had breakfast sandwiches. I would buy two... one for breakfast and one for lunch. And, of course, we got doughnuts out of sheer boredom. I didn't eat doughnuts for the longest time. It was so frozen that going across the street to BW3 was treacherous.

I've never been so out of my mind bored in life. By the third day I was "mall walking" the hotel just for exercise. Yes, THAT bored.
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I was there ... took a picture: word was that management was p****d that you guys ran off without paying the bar tab. :p

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