Everyone ready for winter?

[vacerator]

Haven't heard from

Al Gore in quite a while.
Fact is, it hasn't been proven, nor dis proven.
Here is what science knows; There are climate cycles. The polar ice is melting, and sea levels rising. It may be cyclical.
An asteroid made the dinosaurs extinct. Then we have the volatile Yellowstone caldera. We may be next. The earth's gravitation is controlled by the core and orbit. Any significant change will have the same result.
I don't dwell on it. Out of my control. Live. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Our sun is a star. All stars burn out or explode.
Why would we be the only intelligent life in the universe? We are not meant to know. Not here. Not now anyway.
Perhaps the same intellect that got us to the moon can be expanded to make humanity survive in space out of this solar system if need be until we do find other life, or it finds us, if it hasn't already.
Dream big! They said Tesla and Edison were crazy too.
In the mean time, take care of mother earth.
That hole in the ozone layer over Australia was real, and the reason for increasing skin cancer rates. I don't mock science, or the unknown.

 

[DADoES]

 
Some coolness now.

Current 33°F - 35°F. Predicted 25°F morning.

Saved a yellow sporty car from impact with a cart blown out a corral @ WM.

 

[gusherb]

Well my car decided it doesn't like the winter. First the washer pump quit working (it's been liking to do that the last couple years when it gets into the teens. And no the fluid isn't frozen), I went out there today and found 14 volts at the wire harness of the pump, so I know it's the pump that's bad. Ok easy fix right? Nope....dealer says they only sell entire reservoir assy. Quoted $155 for the whole thing. No thanks. So I got autozone getting in a generic pump for $24 that claims it will fit, I will pick that up and cross my fingers it does. The part is very easy to replace too, just remove a few screws off the cover under the bumper and pull it away and there's the pump, doesn't even take tools to pull it out, it's ridiculous Nissan only sells the entire thing which would be a huge task to replace.

Secondly, while I was troubleshooting my car with it in accessory mode I accidentally left the climate control on and drained the battery down (it was already weak to begin with). The car is gonna need a new battery very soon, that's another $125 minimum right there.

The high was 11° today and I spent about 45 minutes freezing my ass off in that. Thank god for the really warm coat I was gifted for Christmas and long underwear. It's currently 7° with a low of 2° tonight. I'll be honest I'm not phased by it but it's still freaken cold.

 

[wayupnorth]

Ice frozen solid everywhere here. You need ice creepers to even get from my house to garage. I have salted and sanded my driveway so many times in the last few weeks its stupid. -2 tonight and dropping until Wednesday, then more rain and freezing up again. This is getting very old. Unfortunately, our meteorologists here predict quite well.

 

[washman]

I feel your pain Jonathan. Been there done that.

 

Have you looked at rock auto for parts? I have found their prices to be quite aggressive even with shipping. Not that it helps you now, but perhaps in the future.

 

We're sitting at 12 degrees with a forecast low of 1 degree, very slight wind from the west.  Tomorrow is supposed to be 15 above and same for Sunday. Thus the snow we got will stick around.

 

How is your furnace doing? Is it carrying the freight for you?

 

[askolover]

SNOW in TN!!!  I had the (dis)pleasure of having to drive home on it yesterday morning.  It took me almost 4 hours to drive what normally is only 1.  My 4x4 Jimmy did great though...slow and steady and got me home safe.  The Escalade is also handling very well in it.  It's 13F in Nashville this morning.

 

[DADoES]

 
23­°F this morn, 2°F less than the prediction.

Unusual.

Predicting 79°F next Fri.  Welcome to global warning or cyclic climate change ... whichever.

No snow.  Last snow was Christmas Eve 2004.  Several inches, also highly unusual.

 

[gusherb]

Ben I did look at rockauto, the price was about the same as autozone but I wanted the part ASAP so I could change the pump out today. I just want it done with cuz it's bugging the crap out of me and with weather like this it can start snowing with no notice.

It's a high of 18° today and got down to 1° last night. I noticed all the bars and breweries were packed last night, guess it was a good night for it.

The Tranes are doing great, I splurged yesterday and put the downstairs/upstairs on 72/73. The downstairs was cycling between 1st and 2nd stage after sun down. The upstairs just runs longer cycles because it's way oversized, it'll never run continuously no matter how cold it gets. The thing that was kinda struggling was the fan powered humidifier. It can only keep the humidity in the high 20% range in this weather, which isn't necessarily bad since you want to reduce the RH to prevent condensation on the windows as it gets colder anyway.

 

[washman]

Sitting at 10 above right now.  At least there is no wind. Nevertheless, it is darn cold.

 

The Goodman is cycling more frequently as is expected. I keep the day temp 69, down to 65 at night. Running between 41-45 per cent humidity during this cold spell; when the temps are more moderate, I'm close to 50 per cent, give or take.

 

The basic Aprilaire 8444 t-stat does the job; at some point I may get a programmable unit but it is not a high priority now

 

Just got replacement filters for the Vornado humidifier.  Going on 5 years now, it is the only one thus far that has not digested it's own motor. Only drawback is I cannot locate filters at local stores thus I am resigned to buying direct from Vornado. At least the last order had free shipping.

 

I might have mentioned it before, but for those who seek a warm bed w/o wanting to run the furnace to hell and back, Electrowarmth mattress warmers are the ticket.   If you're like me and hate a cold bed, these are indispensable in northern climates. I think I had mine for 6 years now and it still works very well. 

 

Going into my 3rd full year here, the Simonton windows are still doing well. No leaks that I can see no drafts etc. Not sure where they rank as compared to others, but I'm satisfied so far.  More than likely they are contractor grade but I cannot find any fault with them.

 

I have some minor gaps to seal on the window frames on about 6 of the windows, mainly due to house settling and shrinkage of the wood. I found some DAP stuff that makes a nice bead and dries to match the paint. Plus it stays flexible so in the future, it will keep the minor crack sealed.

 

I drained and flushed the water heater last fall. I was pleasantly surprised that very little gunk came out.  This is the first electric wh I had since 1993 when we moved into our Carrolton manufactured home (It came with a State Industries 40 gal gas). While my electric bill runs a tad higher than at the condo, I'm never at a loss for hot water here so long as the power stays on!  The builder put in a 50 gal unit which is more than enough for me. My condo had a 40 gal unit and I was never short of hot water there either.

 

Before long spring will be here and I'll be fussing over the yard........again.  I'm going perennial rye this year. To hell with the fescue and bluegrass. The fescue grows in clumps and does not spread. The bluegrass merely serves as bird food and never germinates.

 

With the USA made non union baldor grinder, at least now I have a device that can really put a super edge on the Husky mower blades.

 

[askolover]

12F right now.  The roads cleared off mostly when the sun came out yesterday but in shady areas still solid ice.  Replaced the battery in my Jimmy as it was warning me that it was getting low on starting oomph.

 

[frigilux]

The temps in southern Minnesota are actually climbing for a few days! It was -4 last night, but we should be in the low 20's for a couple of days. The furnace will run less and the humidity inside will go up a bit. Of course this means a few inches of snow are on deck, but...it's Minnesota. Hi, Ben!

 

[washman]

Hi frig

 

[DADoES]

 
24°F this morn.

The 12-years-old Carrier is cycling set at 71°F.  Auxiliary is locked-out until 20°F ambient so not using any of that (except during defrost cycles).

Don't know the humidity here but remote view of work is reading lower 20s% (electric resistance there).

 

[toploader55]

15" in Barnstable last night.

By Wednesday it's supposed to be in the upper forties to possibly just about 60 on Thursday. Then Forties during the day for about 3-4 days.

 

[washman]

Quite a bit of snow there eddie. What type of heating system do you have?

 

Humidity has hovered at 40 per cent all day now, even with the Vornado running full chat.

 

[toploader55]

Forced Hot Water/ Oil Fired.

Back up Wood Furnace tied in to the system

 

[washman]

Wow that sure is some setup!

 

[wayupnorth]

Eddie, a Weil McLain is the Cadillac of boilers I got a 22 year old New Yorker that just now cycled on as its -4 and going down now, set the old Honeywell round at 64 day and night that boiler runs just like it has since it was installed, baseboard units tick, heat comes out, what more can you ask for. I have gas backup just in case the power goes out.

 

[countryguy]

Another Colorado low has moved into the area. The snow started early afternoon. We are supposed to get 20 cm by tomorrow. I've had enough already.

I have a hot water system with radiant baseboard heaters. The water is heated by a propane fired boiler. The system was installed in 2009.

Gary

 

[washman]

that is a nice looking setup countryguy.