Groundhog Day Blizzard
 

The Chicken Little weathermen are certainly hyping this one.

Around here, they're calling for maybe 1/2" of ice and maybe 15" of snow, not to mention high winds and -0 temps.

I actually went out and bought some gas for the generator.

Hope they're wrong.

Chas

I hope so too. I had to break out the generator for the last one. Actually, that was the first time I've used it since Hurricane Isabel.

At any rate, it never hurts to be prepared. Have you ever run the Hi Fi rig off of the generator, Chas?

Dave

More snow on the way?


Do me a favor. Would ya'll huff, puff and blow it any direction besides the south? I hear the Canadians won't mind as they are real used to it. :D

Naw, never used it for anything besides running saws and compressors.

And I've never measured the line voltage fluctuation so I'm not familiar with how much drop/surge you get when a load comes on line. I'm a little hesitant to use it on the hi-fi rig or a computer, just run the fridge, freezer, and the HVAC...once I install a pigtail. If I want tunes, I'll use the YB-400.

I figure I'll run it for a couple of hours, then shut it down for awhile. Besides, it's 8,000 watts and a real gas hog. Hope I don't have to use it at all.

Chas

Yeah, I just ran the fridge, one of those little oil radiator type heaters, a lamp and my Tivoli Model One off of it. I was nervous about running any sensitive (Expensive) electronics off of it. It's a nice little generator though...5,800 watt, I believe. Ran it for about three hours and used less than a 1/4 of that 5 gallon tank. Not too bad, I don't think.............

Dave

That should handle a good 45 amps @ 120 VAC. Fair sized portable.

Last ice storm we had I brought my Teac R-1 in from the porch. Kind of like a Tivoli PAL I think, has a built in battery. Has a pretty good sound, better than the Grundig.

Also have a Cambridge Soundworks 730?, it really kicks it out for a clock radio. Actually, it's pretty damned impressive.

Chas

It was getting so that I could not start the recoil start 6000 watt unit so it is sitting in the barn with only 72 hours on the 11 HP Honda.

Got an electric start 8000 watt Northern Tool unit with a 13 HP Honda. During the five days we were without power after hurricane Isabel with extension cords all over the place and a jury rig to the water pump, I installed a manual transfer switch. This new generator has enough balls that I might look for a new transfer switch so I can add the HW tank.
Waveform is clean enough that I can run the computer with no problems. Hell, when you see the waveform from the local flicker and flash the generator is prolly better.

They make a transfer switch which kills the service at the meter and feeds the entire service panel in your house. An 8K generator will probably run your heat pump.

As far as running it along with you HW at the same time, that might be a little much. But there's no reason you couldn't flip breakers and run different things at different times.

I'm using a B&S 16 HP commercial motor, plenty of power but God awful noisy. I would imagine that Honda mill pretty much purrs like a kitten in a cream can.

That said, I hope neither of us have to listen to one.

Chas

Same forecast for here with 24-30 inches snow pack already on the ground.

If we have the snow predicted it will be the most ever recoded in a season her in southern NY.

Was that under full load? All I know about generators is the more you load them the harder they have to work, so they use more fuel.

Only ran the items listed, refridgerator, one lamp, one space heater and a radio. I doubt that was full load.

Dave

I'm guessing you were using about 2,000 watts with everything running...1,500 for the space heater by itself. Think a fridge uses around 200 running.

Plenty of reserve capacity.

Cahs

The heater is the big thing. When it kicks on the generator tugs down a bit.
But, it was 18 degrees that day. I, at least, wanted to keep the bedroom warm.

Dave

I don't think they make them any bigger than 1,500 in 120V. After that they go to 240V.

They're energy hogs any way you look at them. I get a kick out of people around here that buy the Black Hat version which is nothing but a 1,500 electric heater in a fancy plywood box, then tell me how much money they're saving. With a 95+ Pulse NG furnace sitting idle in their basement.

One of those electrics are going to cost you app $4 per day @ $.11 per KW. I figure it cost me $2.60 per day to run my 92+ NG furnace last month, and it kept the whole house plenty warm.

Chas

I am rather amazed at the big Trane 1400 we have, it was 15 degrees outside yet I measured liquid freon coming in at 111 degrees.

I just got a note from my daughter in Milwaukee. She works as a Biomedical Engineering intern at the VA hospital and is expected to report to work on time tomorrow. She may need to camp out at the hospital tonight. Check this forecast:

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect from 3 PM this
afternoon to 3 PM CST Tuesday. A blizzard watch remains in effect
from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon.

* Timing... lake effect snow potential and system snows increase
this afternoon into tonight. Lake effect potential continues
Tuesday... with another stronger low arriving later Tuesday
through at least early Wednesday afternoon.

* Snow accumulations... 4 to 7 inches of accumulation this
afternoon into Tuesday. Additional 15 to 17 inches Tuesday
night into Wednesday with storm totals around 2 feet in some
areas.

* Winds... northeast winds 25 to 35 mph Tuesday night gradually
shift north Wednesday. Gusts of 40 to 60 mph with highest
winds in open areas and near Lake Michigan.

* Impacts... reduced visibilities to 1/4 mile or less at times
due to snow and blowing snow... resulting in treacherous travel
conditions. Worst conditions Tuesday night into Wednesday when
near zero whiteout conditions and drifts of 5 to 10 feet
possible. Potential for paralyzing blizzard.

we are looking at 23" at ohare and lots of lake snow. waves up tp 14" shoreline flooding we are about 1000" from the beach.

im buying a ham and bottom round lots of veggies and taters. we have pancake fixins and fresh pumpkin bread. im thinking its time for PJs and cleaning some records.

no doubt the mayoral canidates will say some more stupid shit so ill be here too i guess.

Hang in there guys.

That sounds like heaven!

As long as I have my laptop, I can work, so I jump at every opportunity to tele-commute. (I went shopping for a new "auxillary office" yesterday, as the one I'm sitting in is breaking down) They're talking abut a foot plus or minus a few inches here today.

We drove to Oklahoma Saturday. I watched the temperature climb from the upper 30's when we left to 76 degrees when we reached the Tulsa area. Turns out that was a record high. Now they're expecting over 10". Will Rogers is credited with the line that "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, just wait a minute." Fortunately, it stayed above freezing for much of the drizzle yesterday, so we had an uneventful drive home.

Regards,

D-ray

Don, I realize that you're a natural born Okie, but you are incorrect on the saying by your favorite son.

Mark Twain, a Missourian, is credited with saying, "If you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait an an hour, and it will change."

What Will Rogers said was, "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait an hour, they's a bus leaving for Texas."

I lived in Tulsie Town for a brief period and know of what I speak.

Chas

The first wave of ice missed us, south of Akron. Still got fair snow, enough that I got stuck in the drive this am! :grr:

Second wave of ice hits this evening, all areas. Happy happy joy joy.

Pete

Don't know anything about a heat pump other than they work like a commercial ice machine (limited experience with those) and heat the evaporator when they go into harvest or heat mode.

It sounds like yours is working pretty good if you're gaining 96 degrees. I've also read where you can gain the equivalent 3 KW of heat with 1 KW of electricity, which is pretty impressive.

Out of curiosity, what's a KW cost in your neck of the woods? We're at $.11 per KW, which is expensive for around here.

Chas

We pretty much dodged the ice, thank God, but the snow is really coming down.

We had a blizzard like this about 17 yrs ago and some of the folks in the country were snowed in for a couple of weeks and had to hire dozers to dig them out.

I got called out one nite and the drifts were as tall as the cab on my pickup. It was like driving in a tunnel. If you met someone you might have to back up for a mile.

Chas

I'm waiting for the s**t to hit the fan. The two homesites behind us share a common pipestem. One of the neighbours has parked her SUV at the very end because most of their share of the pipestem is at a 45 degree angle. The other neighbours can't get in or get out.

We must have got sone sleet last night because the driveway is all black ice. I had to slip my cleats on to get the paper and to put out some letters for the p[ostman.

My wife was bragging on her cleats when she came in last night.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to work for the next few days, not that it matters. I ran uptown for supplies in the Blazer, and you have to stop every five minutes to clean the windows off so you can see.

Chas

Hit reverse when you meet a car? I'm used to having to do that on a normal day, but in the snow it really sucks. I'd really hate to see the snow yall get up there as here it only takes 4-6'' to park a 4x4 about four miles from the house.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g9...0101111341.jpg

That looks like it could be real interesting in a snow storm Dave.

All you snow country people have my best wishes getting through that mess.


Carl

What a lovely area.

Chas

Here's hoping for a trip to the likker store!


http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5913/weatherz.png

Pete

You know you're snowed in when you're forced to make a trip to the likker store for more supplies.

Chas

All I want is for that damyankee storm to stay north of the Mason Dixon line.

Chas, it makes it seem easy when you clean out the old home bar first :D

Rob, if being a northerner make one a yankee (and it does, imagine my surprise when I was called that in SC. ME! I'm not from NY :D ) what does that make Canadians lol.

Pete

Made this one very happy, temps stayed above freezing so all we got was rain.

I've seen worse, but not by much. Then again, I haven't been out yet.

They did close I70 all of the way across Missouri last nite, which I think is a 1st.

I know one thing, it's a COLD sob out there.

Chas

We dodged a very big bullet

(although I'd have preferred a big snow)

It stayed much colder than it was supposed to so the rain feel as sleet and not freezing rain. So we got about two inches of sleet overnight and 4 inches of snow yesterday. The forecast was for an inch of ice and no power for weeks.

So it is all good.

It never got warmer than 20, it has not been above freezing this year yet..

It looks like we got around a foot here. Our cul-de-sac is near impossible to get out of in the snow, so I parked on the street outside of the cul-de-sac. I was able to dig out of the drifts enough last night to get the car out to drive my wife to work. (For some reason the sick and infirm don't get over that condition just because it snows). I even had to dig out of a drift to open the front door. We got out into the street and were slip-sliding through the unplowed streets until we got within ten feet of the main drag. It was uphill to get there, and we ran out of momentum.

That's where Midwest friendliness and courtesy comes in. One fella who was shoveling his walk and another who had just had some help getting out himself came over to help shovel a path to the main drag and give us a push to get out there. About one lane each way on the six-lane interstate was plowed, which got us to her facility.

If I want to get anywhere today, I'm gonna have to dig out of the bunker the snow plow built around my car. The snow is, however, quite beautiful.

Regards,

D-Ray

The ice storm worried about yesterday was a dud (the weather folks have been remarkably wrong this year hereabouts), but it's blizzarding out now.

Pete

Had I have been there, I would have pulled you to the highway with my pickup.

And wouldn't have charged over 20 bux!!!

They don't give away 4WD pickups, you know.

Chas