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Weather thread, Part III

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Bazza said:
With this nasty heat wave I thought I'd post a PSA. For a temporary "fix" if your central system breaks down.

You can always use a window unit.

Most HVAC companies this time of year are used to "scramble-mode" when someone's unit goes down, so that always helps.

But why not do something under YOUR control - something you can do to get by while you wait. I mean in some cases a whole new system may be in order and that could take days/weeks to have installed....yikes!

There are various suppliers - one being Home Depot. Units ranging from 5K BTU to 12K BTU only run $150.-$300. or so.

I actually have a 6K BTU unit that stays in one of my living room windows year round. And another just like it, still in it's box. And another larger size, in it's box - available to use if need be. I like keeping them on hand so I don't have to run to the store in "emergency-mode".

You can also spend more time researching and getting a better price if you buy them ahead of time and not in "emergency mode". And with potential possible price increases on electronics......would be smart to get them now.

Also, this time of year I keep my small window unit on and in in Eco-mode so it supplements my 10 year old Goodman/Trane central unit. Perhaps even extending it's life a bit.

Having spare start and run capacitors is also a good idea - separate discussion maybe.
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There is a lot to think about here. I have explored the dual fuel units myself due to having natural gas heat. The other factor that has slowed me is the need to run heat or cooling on the unit. Your suggestion of a window unit alleviates at least 1/2 of that issue.

I have also been attempting to understand the benefits of the new back up battery units and where they fit in the equation.

Just a lot to think about with utility cost increasing each year and the threats of weather and heat related brownouts.
 
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Bazza said:
Ha - I don't know about that. On all 4 sides, 3 have whole house generators. I still have just my portable.

It's OK - I feel pretty good about my set-up.....
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Interesting. Xmas Eve, 1998, Monte Sano had a devastating ice storm, taking down all the power lines. We were black for 5.5 days, some folk much longer. I had the only generator to be heard. My next-door neighbor made a comment about having to listen to my generator and there were other comments about it. FF to 2011. We were out about the same length of time, but I could hear generators all over our end of the mountain. We had a block party (it was April) and ate up all the frozen food of folk without generators. It caught my wife in Greenville, SC, visiting kids. She wanted to come home. I persuaded her to stay in place, rather than being one more mouth to feed, etc. In a couple of days, she came, detouring through Nashville and buying two little Honda 2000 generators, one for the west end of our long house, just to run a fridge and freezer and one for our neighbors, who had a CF son, who had a electric vibrating corset to shake loose congestion. They were having to take him to the fire station for power. She also bought gas containers at Camping World and filled them up at the last station before the state line. (No gas to be had around here and no power to run the pumps.) After that, I sold my gas generator, bought a bigger one and converted it to propane. I moved two 100 lb tanks up to the shop, where the generator is, and bought a 420 for the house to run our gas logs and gas range. I haven't had to use it it since. I've used the little Honda just for fridges and freezer for a couple of shorter outages...
 
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Its On A Slab said:
Here in Iowa, we are being hit again by the smoke from Canadian wildfires.

I was out in it over lunch for about 20 mins later, and I was coughing/sneezing for the rest of the day. Eyes burning.

I guess this is going to be a regular thing in Summer here.
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With climate shift, I'm sure you're correct. There's no way Canada's federal or provincial government can adequately control burns in their vast boreal forests. A lot of forest is going to be converted to savannah. I don't think grass fires put out as much smoke, but there're still a lot of trees up there to burn...
 
TIDE-HSV said:
With climate shift, I'm sure you're correct. There's no way Canada's federal or provincial government can adequately control burns in their vast boreal forests. A lot of forest is going to be converted to savannah. I don't think grass fires put out as much smoke, but there're still a lot of trees up there to burn...
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And it's happening in untamed wilderness areas. Canada has vast swaths of territory without even roads. I guess you'd have to have smoke jumpers, but even then, the logistics of supply lines.

I always laugh when I meet people down here from Ontario. I try to tell them about all the places I've been in Ontario....nearly all in the wilderness areas of Northern Lake Superior (Sleeping Giant, Rossport, Nipigon, Pukaskwa). Nearly all of them will finally tell me that they come from the Toronto or Windsor area, not far from the US border. And none of them have ever been to the other side of Ontario.....where there are miles and miles of wilderness, no people, gas stations become like truck stops because there are no showers or hot food for many miles.
 
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OK now that we're in August it's time to get serious about hurricane season!

So yesterday I filled up all my gas cans with non-ethanol gas.

I stopped on the way home to drop off some homemade soup to one of my clients. Getting back in the truck I noticed there's a pin hole in that blue 5 gal. can and gas is streaming out.

Haul butt home and then pour that gas into an empty 5 gallon pail that came with Evapo-Rust - then a run out to Walmart to grab a couple new 5 gallon cans. Was able to pick up a script for my healing chest suture wound while there so a win-win, I guess. Get back home and move the gas into the new can using a transfer pump - so that's done. I guess it's time to start replacing some of these older gas containers. I also ordered new spouts from A-zon which should be here today. The ones that came on those new cans are ridiculous to operate.

Moral to the story.......no matter how hard you try and how much thought you put into things - it's never enough!

This weekend I will service my generator.

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Bazza said:
OK now that we're in August it's time to get serious about hurricane season!

So yesterday I filled up all my gas cans with non-ethanol gas.

I stopped on the way home to drop off some homemade soup to one of my clients. Getting back in the truck I noticed there's a pin hole in that blue 5 gal. can and gas is streaming out.

Haul butt home and then pour that gas into an empty 5 gallon pail that came with Evapo-Rust - then a run out to Walmart to grab a couple new 5 gallon cans. Was able to pick up a script for my healing chest suture wound while there so a win-win, I guess. Get back home and move the gas into the new can using a transfer pump - so that's done. I guess it's time to start replacing some of these older gas containers. I also ordered new spouts from A-zon which should be here today. The ones that came on those new cans are ridiculous to operate.

Moral to the story.......no matter how hard you try and how much thought you put into things - it's never enough!

This weekend I will service my generator.

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I can't believe those prices. Around here, no-ethanol gas is high as a cat's back...
 
Head's up peoples.....


Invest 97-L was upgraded into Tropical Storm Erin on Monday.
The NHC said the system is causing showers and thunderstorms near Cabo Verde.
So far, the NHC has not placed any other areas at risk.

AA1Kjp3z.img
 
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Bazza said:
Head's up peoples.....


Invest 97-L was upgraded into Tropical Storm Erin on Monday.
The NHC said the system is causing showers and thunderstorms near Cabo Verde.
So far, the NHC has not placed any other areas at risk.
Click to expand...
Gotta remain diligent (because we know models aren't always correct) but right now it looks most likely Erin will head up into the north Atlantic:

1754936133233.png
 
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