Snow Storm Stuff

As to ERCOT...I challenge anyone to tell me that what the likes of Shoquist and Uranga (and the other four or five defendants) did in the early 2000's and got pen time for was worse than this week's massive mismanagement that actually IS killing people. There needs to be more than investigation. There NEEDS to be prosecution.

The simple reality is that whoever was responsible for equipment reviews last fall (you know, before winter) did not actually CHECK things to make sure they worked.

I've got no problems with the notion of what ERCOT was designed to do. I don't like being at the whim of CA or NY by being on a national grid. But it absolutely REQUIRES there to be managers that know what in the hell they are doing!

 

I read that Texas does not require the same low temperature safeguards as northern states which is why there were equipment freezes.
Tonight we will see ice in Central and North Texas which will result in more power outages

 

Dang

 

The new system finally got tested at apparently 3:19 am
As far as I can tell, the transition was seamless -- indeed, I did not even wake up until 5am. Still had the central air blasting. One of the things I was worried about was the pool pump, so I hustled outside for that and it was still on, moving the water.
I had also put battery packs on the wifi-modem and all the desktops, but since no one left a machine on, I don't know whether that was seamless or not. There is a short gap before the new system engages -- enough to stop a clock. So I have to wait for the computer network test.

I already have an agreement to move in 2 neighbor families for the balance of time until it comes back on. Gonna be bodies everywhere.

One of the only good things I can think about it happening this time of year is that when you lose your freezer, you can just move your food outside to save it.

 

update -- The power came back on (they rolled us for ~3hours), and my computer was up with no lag during the power supply switch. So that was beautiful. But I still dont know if it will work with the same efficiency when city power goes off first. Have to wait and see first hand

And there was no time for my neighbors to pile in

Still no city water though. Thus no shower. And I am flushing the toilet with a bucket of pool water

 

On the bright side...you AND your neighbors can flush for a few weeks

 

Gas as in natural gas or actual gasoline (which obviously needs to be refreshed from time to time)? How much was it compared to something like Generac keeps hawking?

 

It's actually kind of tricky
BC I cant let the pool water get too low
The biggest pump killer of all is when they suck dry - the heat/friction blows the seals
And at these temps, it must run 24/7
So I am wanting the precipitation now -- fill it back up
I would fill it with dirty water if I had too

 

It's a permanent on a concrete pad generator now -- powers the whole house
There are a couple minor restrictions, like dont run the oven, the dryer and the dishwasher all at once with the AC on

I still have the gas generator too, from Hurricane Ike days (for me, that was 22 days no power)

But when covid hit, i have professionals working from here where power loss is not acceptable, so ordered the unit in May, installed end of August (those guys are very busy now)

 

this is the brand i got
gas line was already over there for the pool heater and near the breaker box too

 

I noticed that the portable generators they carried on the Phone repair trucks in Shreveport and Marshall both were Kohler powered.

 

I researched it and concluded the Kohler valves are better-made than the Generac valves, they last longer and do not require the same level of regular service. Should last longer too. The price difference was not much
The name sounds German but its US made (Wisconsin I think)

 

I've been to the Kohler resort north of Milwaukee. One of the nicest places I've ever stayed anywhere in the world. Beautiful rooms each with it's own fireplace. And the tenderloin in the restaurant literally does melt in your mouth. Best steak I've ever had, if you want to call it a steak.

 

DFW -- we just got a light extra dusting of snow last night. I think the ice hit south of the DFW area, and East Texas, pretty hard.

Friday it's supposed to get above freezing here, but only for several hours--probably enough to turn the top level of snow to slush, and then re-freeze as ice. It may be Saturday before the real melt off. It will be interesting to watch the creeks.

 

If they want to reduce load, they have to start with the tens of thousands of business running heat and lights for empty buildings. Yeah, residences should lower their heat and turn off their christmas lights if they still up, etc. But that's not enough.

Most of downtown is still bright. All the office towers in the Domain had lights all over every floor even at 9pm last night. ACC Highland and JJ Pickle Center had tons of aesthetic light on for no reason. The new soccer stadium had max field lighting turned on. COTA is bright as day all night long. Inexcusable.

 

Dang! Those Extended Warranty guys never quit!

 

Looks like most of Texas back on line. Center of the state still an issue, but mostly low population areas.

Texas Power Outages Map

 

@Joe Fan We had a similar issue here - to solve it, we poured boiling water down the drain of our washing machine to unfreeze the pipes. We then connected a hose from that line out to the pool through a window (under which we stuffed towels) and turned on the water line to the washing machine. Worked like a charm.

 

Clever
I used snow and ice melting off the roof
I collected it in leftover 5 gal chlorine tab buckets
Then ran it thru a filter to trap as much of the organic material as possible

Also, the almost constant drizzle of rain/ice/snow was a help

 

Local utilities back in control plus relief from other states. Hang in there! (Shouldn’t this storm have happened last year?)

 

Just got our power back on last night. It went off Monday night @ 6:30. Glad we have a fireplace. It was still really cold. All the higher ups at ERCOT need to go to jail.

 

I went out and tried that. I almost died!

 

Houston is getting some water back
Still very low pressure