Weather? I apologize to all Texans!

[FNSafari]

The turbine blades iced up. That destroys the aerodynamics so the blades no longer generate thrust and also causes huge weight imbalance. Solar plants were covered with ice and snow. Natural gas generators lost power as gas lines froze. It was the perfect storm!

Here in Texas, over the past 20 years the only additional generating capacity being built has been solar and wind, two types that don't have a huge financial risk and endless permit processes, largely due to market forces. No nuclear, gas or other power plants are even being considered that aren't "green" in nature.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of folks are moving to Texas every month, buying new housing when available and driving up prices of existing houses. Many a corn or cotton field in and around my town has been plowed up and house seeds planted, and every one of those newcomers want electricity just like everyone else. Yet none of our leaders has seriously considered a scenario like what just hit us, even though meteorologists have been warning about the capability of warm high pressure domes bumping the polar vortex off his orbit around the north pole. These events are relatively new and becoming more common with a warming planet. Yea, global warming is real, and this is how warm air drives cold air to areas that don't usually see arctic chills. Those who see this as a Political Party issue simply aren't aware of the facts. And while it's fun to place the blame on the face of their favorite enemy, the truth is capital just isn't available for old technology generation. This is plainly visible to anyone who pays attention to multiple ships sailing into Gulf State ports loaded with 200 ft long wind turbine blades stacked on the deck. Quite a sight to behold.

I'll be wiring my generator to my breaker panel once it warms a bit. Next time, I'll be more prepared.

just a FYI and you prolly know this, the generator has to go to a transfer switch, which then is wired into your distribution panel. To get genie power you have to throw the transfer switch which isolates genie power from entering the grid and zapping some poor, cold, wet and tired lineman.

 

[pirate ammo]

Alright Josh, time to break otu the shorts and T-shirt again, heat wave coming.

 

[rwj]

Alright Josh, time to break otu the shorts and T-shirt again, heat wave coming.

Yup... gonna be near 70 today in Fulshear... I’m packing the truck for the Wallis-Orchard range now!

 

[NateHaler]

just a FYI and you prolly know this, the generator has to go to a transfer switch, which then is wired into your distribution panel. To get genie power you have to throw the transfer switch which isolates genie power from entering the grid and zapping some poor, cold, wet and tired lineman.

And good luck, as we know all too well, getting an electrician to do this sort of work. I can't help but wonder if it's because they think the typical homeowner is too stupid/lazy to follow the protocol, or maybe the sparky is only interested in standby generator installs because they can easily charge $5k+ in labor for a job that takes less than 2 days for a licensed electrician and helper. (We had one guy come out, recommended by a friend who knew this sparky from church, and he quoted us $48k, of which the generator was $5k. By the way, church-going or not, that sparky is going to be REAL warm in the afterlife!)

Licensed electricians looking for work and expert in transfer switch installation? Come on down. Bring your rig and crew, stay in the RV park 4 miles from our place, and over this spring and summer you will make a small fortune. I figure, oh, about ten thousand customers in the Hill Country would line up for such work, and then it will get busy.

 

[pirate ammo]

Well son, you just may have to do it yourself.

Nate, that is the part that a lot of people don't understand and is why they will always be a slave to the
service companys.

 

[pirate ammo]

For 23 years my wife made fun of all my pipe and fittings that I've had, I don't think that will ever happen again.

 

[NateHaler]

Nate, that is the part that a lot of people don't understand and is why they will always be a slave to the
service companys.

Yeppers, that's a fact. What would happen if such people get a flat tire in an area with no cell phone signal? What if that happens at night and it's freezing? (For sure it's at least partly Donald Trump's fault... right?)

Speaking of 'Helpful Hints', when is the last time anybody on this Forum checked that their spare tire/wheel (if your vehicle has one; does it?) is in good shape, properly inflated, mechanism to unlatch it or get to it is operable, and tools to do the job are all there and ship-shape? And, do you know what to do? Practice run! It's empowering. A buzzword from the left that so often is BS, but in this case it's legit.

You need me to help figure this out for your situation? PM me. (And ask my wife how one time I enabled a couple dozen passengers to make their flight connections after a cruise by changing the flat tire on the bus that was taking us to the airport in Anchorage. Driver couldn't manage, but I did. True Story!!)

 

[NateHaler]

For 23 years my wife made fun of all my pipe and fittings that I've had, I don't think that will ever happen again.

You might be able to sell these now for as much as powder and primers!

 

[pirate ammo]

1 sch. 40 T and 1 coupling for 1K primers, that might work.

 

[butchlambert]

Cutting to the chase: How did the various sources of electricity in TX hold up as a percentage of their potential capacity? (Larger is better.)

View attachment 1236204

The labels are tiny (sorry) but the big winner is [drum roll] ... Nuclear.

I'm surprised coal didn't fare better. I would think there's a pile of coal sitting next to the generator, so why any disruption? Unlike natural gas, coal doesn't rely on a frozen pipeline to feed the generator. Maybe the coal is delivered "just in time" and they got caught with a low supply before transportation slowed. I need to dig deeper into this.

Finally, another graphic showing which sources kept TX from an unimaginable catastrophe:

View attachment 1236212
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Remember most of Texas coal generation plants are closed to make the Greenies happy.

 

[butchlambert]

GPalman, Yes, we put our studded tires on the day before needed. The roads seemed to be pretty much maintained when we lived in Alaska. My main bitch was after shoveling snow for an hour on our driveway and going in for an adult beverage, the Borough's snowplow put a nice wet 2' berm across our driveway entrance.

 

[joshb]

Alright Josh, time to break otu the shorts and T-shirt again, heat wave coming.

Yeah! I heard the fat lady sing, this morning! All the ice and snow is gone! !! A male Black Buck succumbed to the cold. I’m gonna go grab it and skin it out before it spoils. Then I’m going to put the house back in order, pull the auxiliary heaters and give the dog a bath. He stinks! Tomorrow, It’s to the neighbors to fix the pipes I patched. Then I’m hanging drywall!

 

[pirate ammo]

Phideoux decided to play in fountain the yesterday ice and all, didn't have a care in the world. My wife couldn't hold her back.

 

[farmerjohn]

Reminds me of a situation years ago when we moved out of our longtime home into another but still owned the original. Rented it to a Maine Game Warden. He left his Ford 150 PU parked in the yard. I went up to plow one day and had to move his truck. When I opened the door I was greeted with a sweet smell and a situation just like this but more so....from two 2-liter bottles of Coke he had left in the PU and they had frozen and gone off like a bomb. Geesh....a Maine Game Warden with no anticipation of danger?? He also spilled something on our rug and trashed that. He was, to say it mildly, common sense challenged!!

They must have hired him straight out of Arkansas.... John

 

[joshb]

1 sch. 40 T and 1 coupling for 1K primers, that might work.

I was in Home Depot, Friday afternoon. The plumbing isle was being stripped, supplies were already low and people were asking if any pipe and couplings were stored in “the back”.
This is the next hit we’re going to take. People are stuck with broken pipes and no way to fix them. If they can do it themselves, they can’t get supplies. If they’re waiting for a plumber, God help them!
Add the fact that the food store shelves are empty means that the next few weeks are going to be tough!!

 

[Oso]

I was in Home Depot, Friday afternoon. The plumbing isle was being stripped, supplies were already low and people were asking if any pipe and couplings were stored in “the back”.
This is the next hit we’re going to take. People are stuck with broken pipes and no way to fix them. If they can do it themselves, they can’t get supplies. If they’re waiting for a plumber, God help them!
Add the fact that the food store shelves are empty means that the next few weeks are going to be tough!!

I suspect it will be just like after Hurricane Ike hit Houston, which caused widespread damage to a large number of homes. There were no supplies for weeks/months and then it took months 4-6 months to get a contractor that could work on your house. My house was finally repaired 6 months later. No bueno.

If its just a burst pipe in the yard no big deal... home flooding is a nightmare.

 

[Brians356]

I hope this episode slows the migration of librules from Kalifornia to Texas. Problem is more will just choose ID, AZ, or UT instead.
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[Oso]

Just saw a funny term "Snovid Survivor"....

 

[joshb]

I hope this episode slows the migration of librules from Kalifornia to Texas. Problem is more will just choose ID, AZ, or UT instead.
-

Now there’s a happy thought!

 

[Olde Man]

With the cold gone, the media, aka the "Chicken Littles", are now spewing about every exceedingly-rare instance they can find/create to emphasize tragedy and blame Republicans and the business (aka private) sector. Kids dying of hypothermia? If true, have these parents not heard of blankets?

The media creates crisis, revels in tragedy, and celebrates misery. In our neighborhood, we all called each other or walked over to see how everybody was holding up. We shared water, food, heaters, and power. Not because we had to, but because that's what decent people do. In comparison, the Post Office did not deliver mail for a week. (So much for their creed*.)

The media and leftists want you to believe that decent people are rare, that you can only trust an overwhelmingly huge government to take care of you and remove the burden of personal responsibility (i.e. using your brain) from your atrophied shoulders atop which your atrophied brain sits. It is pathetic. Nobody owes you anything. If you borrow, then pay it back, as you agreed when you borrowed.

Want socialism? Move to N. Korea, China, Venezuela, and Cuba. Bastions of liberty and achievement.

* Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. (Maybe the definition of "swift" has become "whenever they feel like it, if ever".)

I sure wouldn't suggest that Texas connect to the national grid so Texas could supply power to another state or region in need or that the other grids could supply Texas with power should they be in need again. Texas had no diversity outside of it own grid and got caught. If I was in Texas I don't think that they should accept any financial help from the "socialist commie leftist" government either. God help the media for publicising your plight should they encourage someone to help you. Really you should probably be mailing your social security checks back also. Truly I do get that your proud of your independence and ability to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.