Official... raise your post count thread!!

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Mornin!

They're saying worse than any Hurricane.

Yes major disaster, primarily infrastructure failure. Add in un regulated independent power grid with a focus on cheap and not abundant power.
Freeze protection for pipes is dripping faucets. With everyone with water running on everything to keep from freezing water ran out. Water stops flowing it freezes. If you don't turn off main valve it thaws and floods buildings.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Expecting a thaw to begin tomorrow. That's when a new horror begins. Flooding houses and streets. I tuned my water off at house . Hope to drag out compressor and pressure check plumbing before adding water. Currently my water from street is frozen likely broke.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

And we are of the luckier ones all considered.

Been praying a lot!

[Bobcat]

Mornin!

Florida is on the Case...already sending Multiple FLP Trucks and Crews, Local level is sending Supplies.

Heading to Key Largo @ Nine. Should have a Story up soon.

[fund razor]

Jim, if you end up needing anything we can get up here, but you can't get down there, I'd be happy to send it to you.
I know I can't help with water...

[Blue Oval]

Hearing a couple stories about the new F150 powering up people in the south with its new 110 capabilities. Ford is going to eat that publicity up.

[Ratickle]

Spent some time on the phone with Jim yesterday. The next big test for Texas will be when the thaw hits. They will be above freezing for a few hours today it appears, but tomorrow it warms up and stays warm.

Jim says most homes have water pipes like down here in Florida, in the attics and outside walls with no freeze protection at all.

And, because so many tried to keep pipes from freezing by running the water, the water ran out. So nobody had water to try to run to keep the pipes from freezing.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Thanks Fund, Yesterday a rigged and tire fill gauge valve thingy to a washing machine hose and blew out and pressure checked the house from an outside hose bib. I read the water provider has re established water to meters last night. Its 18 right now. expecting near 40 today. I hope to secure water to the house today or by tomorrow. Currently supply line in is frozen and/or broke. Will see when temp comes up some.

[rschap1]

Hearing a couple stories about the new F150 powering up people in the south with its new 110 capabilities. Ford is going to eat that publicity up.

Saw a few threads and ads about that already too.

Good luck down there ! ! !

Happy Friday
Enjoy the weekend

[fund razor]

Thanks Fund, Yesterday a rigged and tire fill gauge valve thingy to a washing machine hose and blew out and pressure checked the house from an outside hose bib. I read the water provider has re established water to meters last night. Its 18 right now. expecting near 40 today. I hope to secure water to the house today or by tomorrow. Currently supply line in is frozen and/or broke. Will see when temp comes up some.

Watching Texas I realized I am one power outage away from a similar scenario. Slab on grade. Copper pipes. I decided to add a propane heater and more water storage to my preps. I had electric heaters but if the power goes out you can't get many electric heaters on a small genny. I'm going to test my genny and see if it will run my furnace blower motor. Some guys are saying the 2,000 watt generators won't do it (start up surge blows the generator breaker.)

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

I didn't hear from Plumber, I sure he's slammed. After pressure checking house again this morning I turned water back on. Got lucky, purged everything, turned water heater back on and took a shower. I am lucky and so grateful. Many on news are not as fortunate.

[rschap1]

Congrats

Best wishes and luck to all the others there

[fund razor]

Turning the water off at the house was smart. It probably seemed extreme to some people.

Smart people like Jim make good luck.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Thanks Guys, Yes Fund I worked for it. I had map gas on my hose bibs to keep flowing. Cut a hole inside one to heat pipe with me hand to get one flowing. Cleared snow on ground locate shut off valve access. Insulated it and cover with door mat to make easier to find again. I was lucky I has monitoring water flow and pressure when I went to zero. I draining the house down to hose bibs at that point. Numerous times a day I heated and cleared hose bibs. Once power was restored long enough to do other chores , care for animals and such I modified a tire fill valves to hook to hose bib to blow out and pressure check the entire house. Then once I read update from water provider saying system had been restored I waited for plumber. Eventually I just went for it and yes, it worked and I got LUCKY. I am glad to have this week behind me.

I am still hopeful there isn't a surprise lurking.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

My valve thingy

[Ratickle]

My valve thingy

Looks more like a what-cha-ma-call-it than a thingy to me.....

[fund razor]

My valve thingy

In another life it was a Stevens gearcase tester.

[Bobcat]

Mornin !

We used to go up to Connecticut every Fall and Winterize the Houses...We'd always wait until the Day We were leaving to do the Guest House, and sometimes that

was too late...about 3 AM You'd hear a bang...Copper Pipe exploding...But We had a similar Tool to blow out all of the Lines.

[Blue Oval]

The boys moved out and I turned the water and heat off up stairs. I don’t need 5 bedrooms. A pipe froze and broke upstairs. The day after major knee surgery. Thank goodness I have some good friends. My buddy Roger got right here and got it fixed. I leave the heat on upstairs now. A increase in the heating bill is better then frozen pipes.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Animal back story. A couple weeks before cold snap we had rescued a big dog from a local shelter. He was said to have only ever lived outside which was OK with me. In addition the owner had died a year ago and wife was unable to communicate with him and he roamed the neighborhood free. Eventually, a neighbor complained to the woman threatening fees. She called the animal control and they had to trap to catch him. After a week in a cage I found and went to visit him. I felt a connection and brought him home the next day. He would not move on a leash. Just plant his but like a mule. I bought a dog house he would not get in. I prepared a shelter best i could that he would use. The first real cold night the power failed I went to check on him in his shanty and sat an hour with him. In that time the power cycled back on. He was alerted to a gulping sound the pond quoi pond was making. The skimmer door froze closed and the pump was running dry. I went to remedy that issue and chief was investigating snow and ice for the first time. At 4 am -6 degrees he falls in the pond. Only his back half was in as I plucked him out. As he attempted to scurry away I tackled him so we wouldn't run off. I then carried his 92 lbs inside to dry immediately. He remained inside and only went out on a leash the rest of last week.