How Is Everyone Keeping Warm?

[iej]

It's getting as low was 35°F here at night which is hysterically described as "Arctic" by some people.
Occasionally, there's a mild frost in the morning and a little bit of ice on the car that clears in about 5 mins if you just start the heat.

Perspective is everything!

Also with regard to snow in Ireland and over in the UK, for the last part it's a rare phenomenon and we don't have the gear to deal with it. Hardly anyone fits winter tyres because nobody needs them most of the time and snow chains are virtually unheard of and totally unnecessary.

We are as far north as Edmonton in Canada but without a continental effect and with the warning gulf stream. So we basically never get anything other than cool temperate.

It's do bloody mild down here on the south coast of Ireland moss never stops growing. So you have to be extremely careful of slates and gutters. It will even grow on your car !!

 

[polkanut]

We're keeping warm with a 5 year old Bryant natural gas furnace w/ a 2 stage blower.  Our house has all of the ducts on the inside walls because when our home was built in 1925, it had a coal gravity furnace.  Later on, the coal furnace was replaced with a fuel oil furnace.  When that one died in 1994, it was replaced with a Lennox natural gas furnace.

 

I like the 2 stage blower (

) on the Bryant.

                                                                                                                  

 

[washman]

[No message]

 

[circlew]

The house has electric baseboard heat, and I hate to see the bill when it comes! I don't heat the upstairs except for the bath, and have been keeping the door to it shut when not in use since it's been so cold.

 

[gusherb]

The wind kicked up and the temp quickly started plummeting toward 0 around 3 PM. It's currently 2 degrees and falling. 

I did a video for YT and nearly froze to death, and that was wearing my super warm puffy down coat that has kept me warm every day this week on my walk. The wind took it from "It's very cold" to "I'm gonna die". 

 

 

Edit: It's dropping so quick it dropped another degree by the time I hit post. 

 

[maytagbear]

Drinking hot tea

herbal--Celestial Seasonings and regular Red Rose by (what seems like) the gallon, and layering my clothes.

This building is two years old, and the Rheem gas furnace and gas tankless water heater are noisy! Does not help that their closet is across the hall from my bedroom.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[lordkenmore]

It's not easy staying warm... My climate doesn't get as cold as some places, but the cold is damp cold, which feels colder than a much colder dry cold.

 

Making matters worse, I live in a place that is poorly insulated, and has electric heat. So I keep the thermostat low when I'm up, and even lower when I'm in bed or leave on errands.

 

Like Lawrence above, I drink a lot of tea (and coffee), and tend to eat warm meals. I wear a warm sweatsuit when I'm staying in. A hot bath, even with a small quantity of water, helps to warm me up. I also keep a blanket in the living room to wrap up in.

 

When going out, it's easier...since most places I go to are heated better, and so all I need to worry about is the time I'm actually outside...

 

[lordkenmore]

gas furnace and gas tankless water heater are noisy!

When first living here, furnace noise was hard to get used to. It's noisy in operation--both a blower, plus some relay that clicks on when it starts up. Making matters worse, it's in the hall very near the bedroom. I think I've gotten used to it--I can sleep through the noise of it running in the middle of the night.

 

I've lived at least 2 other places where furnace noise is noticeable in my bedroom in the last 25+ years. It's strange, even, to think of my childhood home where the only sound I ever heard in my room was just a hiss of air coming out of the register...

 

[washman]

2 above here and falling

Typical winter gear

wool/cotton blend socks

kellsport heavy cotton sweats

tshirt

long sleeve sweatshirt

LL Bean flannel robe

 

And a wee bit of a dram 'fore retiring for the night.

 

Also the Electrowarmth bed warmer, it is a true godsend.

 

[launderess]

"I remember several years ago during a cold winter, peoples' boilers shut down..."

Read about that unfortunate situation. Made worse by the fact one can no longer purchase anything else but condensing boilers in UK (IIRC), people felt they'd been done. First by being forced into having the things, then dealing with the aftermath.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/dec/27/condensing-boilers-freeze-uk

City of New York for some time now has been trying to force certain buildings into replacing their old oil (often converted from coal) boilers to new condensing; many aren't having it and refusing.

 

[foraloysius]

We have those condensing boilers too, but overhere there is always a drain pipe installed under the boiler to catch the condens water. I have never seen an installation where the condens water is lead outside.

Not that there is a risk of freezing here at the moment. Today we reached 53 degrees F.

 

[mjg0619]

Keeping warm with a vintage Sears electric blanket, an ancient natural gas boiler with enormous cast iron radiators, and a big mug of hot chocolate.

 

[tomturbomatic]

electric baseboard heat

or any baseboard heat: You can improve the effectiveness of it by training a small fan like a smaller, but not miniature, Vornado down at floor level to drive air through the things and pull more heat out of them. It also serves to push cooler air near the floor into the heating units which helps remedy the stratification of heat at the ceiling and cold on the floor that you can get with baseboard heat.

 

[twintubdexter]

me & my big mouth...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I've been watching some of the weather reports concerning the bitter cold in other parts of the Country. I realize that although my earlier comment about the unusually warm weather here in the desert was done in good fun, the freezing temps are nothing to joke about. Having lived my entire life in California and never been in zero degree weather I guess I'm not aware of all the problems and obstacles the cold throws at you. Check back with me in the summer when it's 120 outside.  </span>

 

[iej]

@foraloysius - UK & Irish Drains are very different topl

The eager

 

[iej]

@foraloysius - UK & Irish Drains are very different!

In most buildings, other than multistorey apartments or larger commercial buildings in these islands the drains (except toilets) run to outdoor gulley traps. They either just point directly into the gully and flow in through the grille, or they enter just below the surface.

In most setups, we don't tend to connect drains from sinks, baths, showers, washing machines and dishwashers etc directly to a sewer line. The gully trap provides a physical and complete separation.

For that reason, you would typically also run a gas boiler drain to an outdoor gulley. There's no real way of connecting them to a floor drain as they don't generally exist.

It's fine in the mild conditions of the south of both islands but because of the small diameter and low, constant, flow rates they can freeze in a way normal drains here wouldn't and you can get temps low enough to do it.

It's an extremely bad design in my opinion. They really should be connected to a normal sized drain pipe not at risk of freezing.

I can't see any possibility of condensing boilers being connected to to an freezable drain in the USA as the temperatures are much more extreme. I would guess that regulations there, used to dealing with freezing conditions, wouldn't allow it.

 

[tolivac]

For Greenville,NC its going to be BITTER cold tonight-at least for this area-14,16 degrees.FUN!!!!BRING IN THE BRASS MONKEYS!!!!!

 

[rolls_rapide]

Boiler condensate drain

I think lessons might have been learnt (by some installers) from the frozen external boiler drain fiasco.

My particular boiler drain setup has the typical plastic 3/4" drain piping (with lovely right-angles here and there!), leading into the bathroom. (The boiler is in a cupboard, in the hallway just outside the bathroom).

The boiler drain piping is connected in the bathroom, to the bathtub drainpipe via a T-junction and appropriate size reduction adapter.

I presume that the bath drainpipe was employed because it is lowest in height, thus assisting in gravity drain/siphoning of boiler condensate. And I suppose that with 'used' bath water occasionally rushing past the T-junction, there might also be a small degree of suction helping to drain the condensate pipe.

 

[abcomatic]

Jerry

Jerry, Now there is an idea, dial-a-bear. If you look at the pictures that Martin posted, there are many from which to choose. Gary

It is -1 here now. Gary

 

[askolover]

12F in Music City!

It's 12F here in the Music City as the music note dropped at midnight. I'm at work but I'd much rather be home.

A few days ago, I was sitting in the living room watching television and noticed a chill in the house. Tony was up fumbling around already so he went to the digital thermostat in the hallway to bump the heat up a degree or two, but it said the heat was already on...no it wasn't. We turned it up to 78 to see what happened...nothing. My satellite dish is right beside the furnace and when the gas lights it sends a couple of lines of interference across the television screen. I had noticed while watching TV that when the furnace combustion fan came on (it's right outside the living room window) I saw the static lines go across as usual. Then a few seconds later I saw them again. In my little brain I took note but didn't think much about it. So...I went outside and took the access door off to investigate. Ran in the house, turned the heat back on and ran back outside. Combustion fan came on, then heard the buzz from the ignition module, but did not see the spark plug fire. It was dark outside so I kept looking around in the cabinet...then I saw it. Just like a spark wire in a car, it was jumping fire to the cabinet and shorting itself out. I guess the insulation had weakened enough that the spark took the path of least resistance. I just wrapped some electrical tape around that spot and moved the wires around a little, turned the heat back on and BINGO, the spark plug fired and the burners lit and we have HEAT! I'm so glad I didn't have to call out a service guy.

 

[tolivac]

Small heater here at work-also the boiler is going here-surprised BOTH aren't going.Last time it was this cold-15 both were running.At home-small heaters and the heat pump.

 

[DADoES]

 
Temp 3:30am 34°F @ my house.  46°F on the car out of the garage, varied 34°F to 32°F to 33°F on the road to work.

Current forecast 40°F/27°F today, 34°F/23°F Tue, 49°F/27° Wed, 50°F/30°F Thu.

 

[norgeway]

14

This Morning.

 

[imperial70]

-4 here in central MA. I think my furnace is unable to keep up with setting the furnace above 69F. I had it at 70 and it doesn't seem to be shutting off. So I put it back to 69. During normal winter temps I keep it set at 67 and it seems fine.

 

[iej]

@Rolls-rapide

That also make sense from the point of view of protecting drains too. Boiler condensate (depending on the exact makeup of your natural gas supply) can be mildly acidic and can etch and dissolve concrete, porcelains and earthenware surfaces. It makes sense for the boiler drain to flow into a trap that has a lot of use eg : from a bathroom, a kitchen or best of all a washing machine. A good flush out prevents problems.

I think in the early days of condenser boilers growing use, a lot of plumbers were fairly clueless about the potential issues with the drain lines. Maybe they’re learning!

 

[vacerator]

"come here closer and snuggle up

baby".

Checked the high for today in Phoenix. 74 F. They say everyone out west will be moving to the great lakes states for the water soon. If they aren't submerged under water again like after the last ice age.
Jet stream, El Nino, La Nina~, colder ocean currents, who knows. It's as much of a crap shoot to prove or disprove climate change and planet warming.

 

[DADoES]

 
Outdoor temp is reading 32°F at 10:00a which is less than at 3:30a.  "Official" report is 33°F.  The thermostat app at work reports 31°F (outdoor, not in the building) but there are no outdoor sensors on the units so I don't know what/where is that reference source.

 

[abcomatic]

-12 here now, I keep the furnace set at 67 and it seems to be doing ok.

 

[gusherb]

According to one of my weather apps it did reach -8 last night. I'll check the logs in the thermostat when the heat finally shuts off. The downstairs furnace is running continuously in first stage but hardly going into second stage surprisingly. Normally it would be cycling into second frequently at these temps.
I looked out the window and I could see everyone in the neighborhoods furnaces were running, the gas company must love that.

 

[swestoyz]

Waterloo broke the record low for the day, which was only set back in 1974, this morning. And that is air temp, not wind chill, which was hovering in the -40 range.

To say it was a cold NYE here in the Cedar Valley is a slight understatement.