Little cold here…

TechsasJim

Legume said:

I think the issue is politicians fly the “Texas is independent” flag an awful lot which prevents them from making pragmatic decisions and ends up being a liability in cases like this.  So much criticism was leveled at the wind farms failing from freezing when wind power wasn’t the issue, it was the lack of winterized equipment. The world is changing.

I can’t say one way or another but I travel the entire state of Texas monthly.   We have a pile of wind farms—they are all private—and if I were to guess I’d say only 1/10th of them operate any given time. I don’t know what the issue(s) is/are but that energy “solution” isn’t a solution yet (for fun - research wind turbine graveyards-that’s a big issue moving forward).  

Texas added more wind and solar than any other state in 2021 but I really don’t think it moved the needle due to inefficiencies in the technologies.  

nolaegghead

If you see wind turbines idle in Texas, it’s most likely because the distribution grid can’t handle the power.

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/why-texas-grid-causes-high-plains-to-turn-off-wind-turbines/285-44bff49a-a5a3-4600-a0e2-605581833c6e

TechsasJim

@nolaegghead
yah I’m not sure about that report but if you drove the state, which I do, you see the same turbines missing a blade over and over.   Don’t want to stir anything up man, I just see what I see routinely.  

It’s a shame, landowners who have leased land that isn’t producing but is trampled on.   Blade graveyards (which do not biodegrade) is another hot spot.  

WeberWho

bbracey21 said:

5° here at the current moment with a wind chill of -12° (Middle TN). Tomorrow suppose to be close to 20 so that is nice. 

@WeberWho

That Kinders “the blend” is pretty tasty. We use it a lot on poultry. Sometimes mix it or layer with other rubs as well. It’s worth purchasing and adding to your collection. 

Thanks @bbracey21 I'll have to pick some up the next time I'm in there. I did a little research earlier tonight and the reviews were really good for the Buttery Steakhouse Rub and The Blend.  

caliking

nolaegghead said:

Texas needs to tie into some outside grids and regulate some of these providers better.  I’m assuming the board already acted on the spot price algorithm that seems to end up in an asymptotic rise in prices.

TX politics is too dirty for good/common sense to prevail^^^.

About 11K+ folks in Houston were without power overnight, due to weather conditions impacting lines, etc. The grid has apparently been holding up, but we have a few more days of this. The wind has died down, so hoping that means less power outages.

Photo Egg

WeberWho said:

bbracey21 said:

5° here at the current moment with a wind chill of -12° (Middle TN). Tomorrow suppose to be close to 20 so that is nice. 

@WeberWho

That Kinders “the blend” is pretty tasty. We use it a lot on poultry. Sometimes mix it or layer with other rubs as well. It’s worth purchasing and adding to your collection. 

Thanks @bbracey21 I'll have to pick some up the next time I'm in there. I did a little research earlier tonight and the reviews were really good for the Buttery Steakhouse Rub and The Blend.  

Peach Bourbon is not bad. High sugar ratio so watch for burning.

WeberWho

Photo Egg said:

WeberWho said:

bbracey21 said:

5° here at the current moment with a wind chill of -12° (Middle TN). Tomorrow suppose to be close to 20 so that is nice. 

@WeberWho

That Kinders “the blend” is pretty tasty. We use it a lot on poultry. Sometimes mix it or layer with other rubs as well. It’s worth purchasing and adding to your collection. 

Thanks @bbracey21 I'll have to pick some up the next time I'm in there. I did a little research earlier tonight and the reviews were really good for the Buttery Steakhouse Rub and The Blend.  

Peach Bourbon is not bad. High sugar ratio so watch for burning.

@Photo Egg Thanks for the heads up!

caliking

@Photo Egg I had some cooking to do this morning. Stepped outside, felt my face start to freeze. Nope! Headed back inside, to get things done.

Of course, 15 mins later, I was freezing my arse off, trying to help the neighbor unfreeze their outside faucets. So they could keep the pool filled. Because, it was losing water from a busted pipe in the water feature. 

So much for trying to stay warm, by deciding to cook inside!

Photo Egg

caliking said:

@Photo Egg I had some cooking to do this morning. Stepped outside, felt my face start to freeze. Nope! Headed back inside, to get things done.

Of course, 15 mins later, I was freezing my arse off, trying to help the neighbor unfreeze their outside faucets. So they could keep the pool filled. Because, it was losing water from a busted pipe in the water feature. 

So much for trying to stay warm, by deciding to cook inside!

You’re a good man. I have lots of cpvc fittings but almost zero pvc. Let me know if I can help.

nolaegghead

TechsasJim said:

@nolaegghead
yah I’m not sure about that report but if you drove the state, which I do, you see the same turbines missing a blade over and over.   Don’t want to stir anything up man, I just see what I see routinely.  

It’s a shame, landowners who have leased land that isn’t producing but is trampled on.   Blade graveyards (which do not biodegrade) is another hot spot.  

No worries, not stirring anything up either, just curious.  There’s probably a lot of postponing repairs on farms that are over the local delivery capacity.  

Contemporaneous observations are great except for extrapolating to large data pools.  I’m sure there are some studies out there, as everyone who invests does their due diligence.  Whatever is going on could be vastly improved, is all I know.

caliking

Photo Egg said:

caliking said:

@Photo Egg I had some cooking to do this morning. Stepped outside, felt my face start to freeze. Nope! Headed back inside, to get things done.

Of course, 15 mins later, I was freezing my arse off, trying to help the neighbor unfreeze their outside faucets. So they could keep the pool filled. Because, it was losing water from a busted pipe in the water feature. 

So much for trying to stay warm, by deciding to cook inside!

You’re a good man. I have lots of cpvc fittings but almost zero pvc. Let me know if I can help.

  Very generous of you. The busted line is inside the faux rock waterfall thing, so it will have to be taken apart and fixed. It’s above our  pay grade

Those extra fittings will be worth more than gold by next week!

danhoo

I've got nothing to complain about. its a brisk 44, no wind and fog will blanket things and hold the temp

MaskedMarvel

Yep. Greensboro NC will hit something like 7° tonight. My “drip spigots” are frozen mid-drip. I’ll be heading to Raleigh for the Christmas Eve night. Just gonna cut the main water shutoff and hope for the best when I get back and turn it back on. ….

stay warm my friends

HeavyG

MaskedMarvel said:

Yep. Greensboro NC will hit something like 7° tonight. My “drip spigots” are frozen mid-drip. I’ll be heading to Raleigh for the Christmas Eve night. Just gonna cut the main water shutoff and hope for the best when I get back and turn it back on. ….

stay warm my friends

Does your water heater have an expansion tank? If not, then whenever you cut off the water supply to your house you need to either turn off your water heater or leave a hot water side of a faucet  opened a bit.

Mgoodwin

It’s 28 here in Tampa Florida. Tough considering I dont own anything besides flip flops. At least no snow on the ground, but I had to leave my pool pump running all night so the pipes don’t freeze. 14lb prime rib going in the egg today with some spicy horseradish dip. I use nasal napalm horseradish from pepper palace. Amazing spice. Happy holidays to everyone. 

JohnInCarolina

Ten degrees here, but feels like minus three according to the app.  Brr!  That’s about as cold as it ever gets down here.

lousubcap

@caliking - great offer right there.  Sorry for the pipe failure as I'm sure there are many more in TX.  
+4*F here and I will be firing up the cookers in around 2 hours.  Gonna be refreshing.  At least I can monitor the cooking temps from indoors.  
Merry Christmas Eve-

fishlessman

Had power yesterday for an hour. Time to cook some potstickers and fill buckets with water to flush what's not yellow, then it's been out since. Lots of downed branches. 10 f this morning, fires just been lit. Looks like gin and tonic for breakfast

fishlessman

Took a ride down the road, I'm the last house. Ten houses up downed trees and power lines. Trapped for a few days. Looks like I'm taking a vacation

JohnInCarolina

fishlessman said:

Had power yesterday for an hour. Time to cook some potstickers and fill buckets with water to flush what's not yellow, then it's been out since. Lots of downed branches. 10 f this morning, fires just been lit. Looks like gin and tonic for breakfast

I'm actually a little surprised you don't have a generator, fish.  I know a lot of people up there who do.  

JohnInCarolina

Current outages across the US:

Legume

45 here already this morning, a very quick rebound from the past few days.

Botch

Mgoodwin said:

It’s 28 here in Tampa Florida. Tough considering I dont own anything besides flip flops. At least no snow on the ground, but I had to leave my pool pump running all night so the pipes don’t freeze. 14lb prime rib going in the egg today with some spicy horseradish dip. I use nasal napalm horseradish from pepper palace. Amazing spice. Happy holidays to everyone. 

So is it raining iguanas?    

fishlessman

JohnInCarolina said:

fishlessman said:

Had power yesterday for an hour. Time to cook some potstickers and fill buckets with water to flush what's not yellow, then it's been out since. Lots of downed branches. 10 f this morning, fires just been lit. Looks like gin and tonic for breakfast

I'm actually a little surprised you don't have a generator, fish.  I know a lot of people up there who do.  

A true mainer wired this house. There is literally six panels in the garage and house,  haven't figured yet If it all goes thru one box or if there are bypasses. It's pretty messed up, have a generator just not sure if the mess can be hooked up or looking at a whole house rewire. It goes back to the old penny breakers in some areas

johnmitchell

We have been out since 8.45 and Duke are saying they are protecting the grid due to extreme cold temps, rolling blackouts, not sure when power will be restored 

fishlessman

fishlessman said:

Took a ride down the road, I'm the last house. Ten houses up downed trees and power lines. Trapped for a few days. Looks like I'm taking a vacation

We found a way out. Up a driveway, across two frozen lawns, pass a bass boat in a front yard, then back to the road😁           
 

Legume

bluebird66

It got down to -5 here with a -25 wind chill.

SamIAm2

31 degrees here on the Florida east coast. We have exposed copper pipes on the north side of the house from a water softener the previous owners had installed. Water supply line from the water meter goes under the concrete slab to north side of the home. There is an electrical outlet near the exposed pipes. When cold weather is predicted I wrap a heating pad around the supply and distribution lines and set the temp high enough to keep the water from freezing. Had below freezing temps over night but water inside the home was fine this morning, although pretty cold from the faucets. 

JohnInCarolina