Texas Cold Weather Discussion

[sdean]

I woulda left but I’m not a government official of Texas

Exactly what could Cruz had done if he would have stayed home? Granted it doesn’t look good.

 

[pirate ammo]

I love spray foam, it covers everything, fills all cracks. When you spray your attic, the backside of your roof,
it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This is about 6" in my shop, house is the same.

 

[FNSafari]

Exactly what could Cruz had done if he would have stayed home? Granted it doesn’t look good.

Politicians seem to live in their own world regardless of the side of the isle they stand on.

 

[SamGabara]

Day 7 with no water... wish I knew where the problem was. We are on city water, 8 miles out of town. We have two valve boxes above ground that did freeze solid, but we thawed them out carefully wish emergency candles, and insulated box covers this past monday.
i believe our waterlines to the house were just too shallow, 10” is my guess.
I have been running 24 hour operations keeping the water lines in the garage warm and ice free. Thankfully I keep enough propane and diesel fuel on hand to ne able to do this.
This shit ain't happening again! Already have a well digger scheduled. I have learned the hard way that no one will take care of my family other than me.

 

[Intheshop]

About 50 years ago;

When I first started in the family contractor/building business was watching these old scool plumbers working their magic on some really nice 1800's houses we used to hang out in. Like every craftsman back then,I had the luxury of watching,learning,and asking "smart" enough questions as to not pi$$ them off. Quite the opposite...... they knew I wanted to learn.

So am sitting there one day watching this plumber and the ? of frozen pipes N such came up. Now,do the math.... this would've been early '70's and the plumber was near retirement. So 1970 minus 50 years is the 20's. About when indoor plumbing was "cooking with gas" getting traction.

He said,water supply lines used to have a "code" that they all had to drain back to the source,because of freezing. I remember like it was yesterday...... "wait,what did you say"? He explains it again.

A few years later,built the house I'm sitting in right now.... yes,an 1810 Federal period,repro.... guess what,all the plumbing here drains back to one spot down in the basement to a floor drain,right next to the well pressure tank... WH... water filtration. You turn one valve closed,open the spigot next to it and then go all the way to upstairs bath and crack the faucet. Flush all 4 toilets,throw in a 1/2 C of antifreeze. And seeya.

ETA: there's also a valve at each floor to allow draining the system down to that level. So you can work on upstairs plumbing and not shut down below. And have used that feature several times.

 

[FNSafari]

Day 7 with no water... wish I knew where the problem was. We are on city water, 8 miles out of town. We have two valve boxes above ground that did freeze solid, but we thawed them out carefully wish emergency candles, and insulated box covers this past monday.
i believe our waterlines to the house were just too shallow, 10” is my guess.
I have been running 24 hour operations keeping the water lines in the garage warm and ice free. Thankfully I keep enough propane and diesel fuel on hand to ne able to do this.
This shit ain't happening again! Already have a well digger scheduled. I have learned the hard way that no one will take care of my family other than me.

And Sam, once you get a well I assume you have or will get a generator sized to be able to deliver 220v 30 amps that deep well pumps need unless you are going shallow and getting a 110 v jet pump in the house.

Finally, don't forget your emergency food supply, be it canned goods or the stuff made for hikers and trekkers from Mountain House and others. Store it in metal trash cans with lids in place to keep insects and vermin out.

Planning for an extended emergency isn't easy or cheap, but once done it gives you a great feeling of satisfaction.

 

[dfrosch]

Heres amistad. One of the bigger ones like falcon
View attachment 1235984

Just curious... with Amistad and Falcon being on the border, which way does the electricity go?

 

[Ken]

I am reading a book about the formation of Lea County in SE New Mexico and ran across this description of one of their Hard Times.
Sounds familiar--in 1918--look at the 2nd paragraph.

 

[Ken]

Here is the book cover.

 

[FNSafari]

I am reading a book about the formation of Lea County in SE New Mexico and ran across this description of one of their Hard Times.
Sounds familiar--in 1918--look at the 2nd paragraph.
View attachment 1236079

Yep, when we least expect it disaster or hard times strike.

 

[butchlambert]

Real glad to hear you're in pretty good shape. I talked to some people from the Lohn/San Angelo area the other day and they were all froze up. Houses and waterers for the cattle. I guess their lines are only 12" to 18" deep. They're hauling water out in tanks in the back of pickups for now.

I will be tuned in too. My kids are shooting their JO Qualifier tomorrow as well, but I'll be keeping an eye on the NCAA scores too.

Well, your Daughter is a World Class shooter already and your young Son is following in her big foot prints. Keep me updated on their progress this weekend.

 

[TZaun]

I'll drop you an e-mail tomorrow after they finish up.

 

[butchlambert]

I'll be anxiously awaiting.

 

[22turborimfire]

I'm a big believer in insulation . I choose to pay up front . This is my attic I have 2x12 rafters in there. And here is my crawl space foam sprayed over 2" foam board .

 

[338 dude]

I'm a big believer in insulation . I choose to pay up front . This is my attic I have 2x12 rafters in there. And here is my crawl space foam sprayed over 2" foam board .

Even though I got a deal on my insulation I agree with the same principle pay upfront as it is difficult to impossible to change it later and it will pay you back from then on out

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Just curious... with Amistad and Falcon being on the border, which way does the electricity go?

It goes to whoever has interest in the plant. I believe they both are partly owned by mexico but im not certain. Once the power goes to the substation outside it goes onto the market

 

[FNSafari]

Was reading this morning that some TX power customers, unbeknown to them were paying $9 a KwH in this crisis. Apparently they bought from retailers and that's what the retailer had to pay and just passed it on. Some power bills in the thousands???? Holy you know what!!

 

[jimmymac]

That is basically the same thing that kills the petrochemical plants. Without working instrumentation, interlocks kick in shuts the whole place down. Then the fun begins.

Heat tracing and insulation are your friends. In cold climates, the shit hits the fan at times with it in place. For critical infrastructure, like gas, oil and electricity it’s extremely short sighted to not have tracing and insulation in place. I don’t care if that heat trace circuit only turns on once every 5 years. With it in place, at least you are covered.

 

[Trashy]

holy cats gents be safe.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Heat tracing and insulation are your friends. In cold climates, the shit hits the fan at times with it in place. For critical infrastructure, like gas, oil and electricity it’s extremely short sighted to not have tracing and insulation in place. I don’t care if that heat trace circuit only turns on once every 5 years. With it in place, at least you are covered.

Imagine ripping the insulation off of miles of pipes, installing the heat tracing, then reinsulating every pipe not to mention the cost of the shutdown. It takes months to install on brand new pipes. Ive personally never seen a power plant with no heat tracing, even in texas, even in hotter climates like southern florida. Now ive seen plenty of heat tracing not work, and its a pretty large part of a plant’s budget doing maintenance on it, and some never get fixed.