TX owners.....

[Bullitt 2159]

My point is just that these "100 year" issues with respect to extended power outages will continue to happen summer and winter according to my recent experience. We're all on our own to either prepare for them or not.
I have no advice to help them with the water problem.

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[hlfbkd420]

My point is just that these "100 year" issues with respect to extended power outages will continue to happen summer and winter according to my recent experience. We're all on our own to either prepare for them or not.
I have no advice to help them with the water problem.

This isn't a "100 year storm" issue. It was created when Bush Jr and Texas decided to unregulate power back in the day. Can't blame that on every Texan.

To clarify, the 100 year storm will probably be the 25 year storm soon. (not just in TX).

 

[Nawsad123]

Much respect for Texans getting through the rough patch but honestly...

 

[hlfbkd420]

Much respect for Texans getting through the rough patch but honestly...

AZ be like... 70 degrees today. Low of 46!

Better change out my drag radials tomorrow though. High of 75.

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

You're right about Phoenix being f**ked if you got 2 feet of snow. I lived there 30 years ago and back then they would freak out and panic if it rained.

 

[Nawsad123]

AZ be like... 70 degrees today. Low of 46!

Better change out my drag radials tomorrow though. High of 75.

Hahah nice, yea chicago does have its cold days, but tbh our summers here are the best

 

[hlfbkd420]

You're right about Phoenix being f**ked if you got 2 feet of snow. I lived there 30 years ago and back then they would freak out and panic if it rained.

You would be amazed at how well people drove here the last time I saw snow.. Never seen so many courteous people You are right about rain though, it's Armageddon.

 

[JR369]

making your next truck a Ford 150 with the built in generator might be a good option. Definitely portable.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bu...h-storm-help-their-ford-pickup-tesla-n1258364

F150 won't work for my needs and if I wanted an F350, I'da bought one.

 

[Lurker_350]

@UnhandledException, @Bullitt 2159

When houses are built to maintain 30 degree temperature differences (think 105F outside, 75F inside), they don't do well with a 65 degree temperature difference (5 F outside, 70 F inside). Then you couple that with power outages where you can't get heat your home for days and pipes freeze. The freezing pipes were generally inside the homes, not underground. Even though pipes are buried here about 6 inches, not 10 feet like yours. Construction quality is one (but maybe not the main reason) that homes are far cheaper here than in other locations.

Some utilities couldn't even pump enough water to pressurize the lines because of all of the full-bore ruptures across the communities (think pump capacities versus thousands of 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch home lines flowing water unrestricted) and the fact that they didn't have power. It is pretty easy to say that all of those providers should have backup power generation and contingencies, but it all depends on how frequent the event is. I, for one, would rather go through some hardships for 5 days once every 25 to 50 to 100 years (depending on your view of frequencies of these events), rather than pay billions to prepare for them. And you know where the money would come from - taxpayers or rate payers.

Statements about this situation are more than just insincere. To say that people were unprepared by not having standalone backup power for a winter event across all of Texas is ridiculous. Last 12 winters in my part of South Texas had maybe 3 freezing mornings (not entire days) each winter. Spaced out by weeks. It was way below freezing for almost a week this time. 1983 had a similar storm (I wasn't around then) with a week below freezing, but nothing like that since. Central and North Texas are far colder, but those folks are inherently better prepared because cold temps happen frequently. To compare winter preparedness in Buffalo or DC to Houston or San Antonio is not valid. I will also say that people in rural areas are much better prepared than people in the city. I remember having stockpiles of supplies growing up in a rural area, but you take for granted the rapid availability of supplies in a city setting. Had a few things where I was caught with my pants down and you can bet I won't forget it.

The design basis for the Texas grid and homes is summer cooling not winter heating. And I have never experienced power issues in Texas in any summer due to high demand. Only past electrical issues have been thunderstorms and fallen trees downing a line (very localized issue).

I'm not excusing the generation/grid issues. There are certainly problems that need to be rectified and considerations made to where power gets cut. Our house had periods of 12 to 24 hours of no power and our only heat source is electrical. I had a camp stove to cook and heat water for coffee/tea and enough fuel to suffice - but no way could I heat my home with it. Plus the CO issues. I know folks that work for midstream companies (they move oil/gas products from the field to the end users) and many of their sites' electricity was cut on Monday - the first really cold day. Can't move natural gas to make electricity or heat without compressors running.

And as far as getting supplies to stores, highways and interchanges were still closed until late Saturday. They had been closed for almost a week. It will take a while for things to normalize out. People could definitely stand to chill out and quit panic buying. The time for preparing was before the event, but lots of folks are just buying anything they can get their hands on, which perpetuates supply the issue.

At any rate, I think that what goes around comes around; I recall the past few summers when people in Texas have cast negative views on power stability in other regions during heat waves. There was suffering in those areas then and there is suffering in Texas now. I don't know that it is an "emergency" but last week was pretty bad. I guess all I would like you to take away from this (if you made it this far) is that there is no place without issues and all places have people. A bit of compassion goes a long way (and that instruction could certainly be leveled at Texans as well).

 

[UnhandledException]

It's not the northeast we are talking about. It's Texas. They aren't used to temperatures like this.
And their grid is open source. If it snowed two feet in Phoenix tomorrow, we'd be ****** too.

I know but you should always plan for worst case. Always have contingencies planned out and more contingencies for those contingencies. Its like how they build systems on planes. If a hydraulic line fails, there is another one, and if that one fails, there is a third one.

You apply these principles to your day to day. Have a portable generator. Always have at least 2x5 gallon jugs of fuel ready. How hard is it? It doesnt have to be cold, it can be a heat stroke one day and still take the grid down. The generator setup will run you $1000 or at most $1250 if you have an electrician wire it up. Its not rocket science.

I understand Texas isnt used to cold. I am very familiar with Texas personally. But what I dont understand is why not having electricity for a few days turned into a massive disaster there. We all lose electricity one way or the other. But th

@UnhandledException, @Bullitt 2159

When houses are built to maintain 30 degree temperature differences (think 105F outside, 75F inside), they don't do well with a 65 degree temperature difference (5 F outside, 70 F inside). Then you couple that with power outages where you can't get heat your home for days and pipes freeze. The freezing pipes were generally inside the homes, not underground. Even though pipes are buried here about 6 inches, not 10 feet like yours. Construction quality is one (but maybe not the main reason) that homes are far cheaper here than in other locations.

Some utilities couldn't even pump enough water to pressurize the lines because of all of the full-bore ruptures across the communities (think pump capacities versus thousands of 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch home lines flowing water unrestricted) and the fact that they didn't have power. It is pretty easy to say that all of those providers should have backup power generation and contingencies, but it all depends on how frequent the event is. I, for one, would rather go through some hardships for 5 days once every 25 to 50 to 100 years (depending on your view of frequencies of these events), rather than pay billions to prepare for them. And you know where the money would come from - taxpayers or rate payers.

Statements about this situation are more than just insincere. To say that people were unprepared by not having standalone backup power for a winter event across all of Texas is ridiculous. Last 12 winters in my part of South Texas had maybe 3 freezing mornings (not entire days) each winter. Spaced out by weeks. It was way below freezing for almost a week this time. 1983 had a similar storm (I wasn't around then) with a week below freezing, but nothing like that since. Central and North Texas are far colder, but those folks are inherently better prepared because cold temps happen frequently. To compare winter preparedness in Buffalo or DC to Houston or San Antonio is not valid. I will also say that people in rural areas are much better prepared than people in the city. I remember having stockpiles of supplies growing up in a rural area, but you take for granted the rapid availability of supplies in a city setting. Had a few things where I was caught with my pants down and you can bet I won't forget it.

The design basis for the Texas grid and homes is summer cooling not winter heating. And I have never experienced power issues in Texas in any summer due to high demand. Only past electrical issues have been thunderstorms and fallen trees downing a line (very localized issue).

I'm not excusing the generation/grid issues. There are certainly problems that need to be rectified and considerations made to where power gets cut. Our house had periods of 12 to 24 hours of no power and our only heat source is electrical. I had a camp stove to cook and heat water for coffee/tea and enough fuel to suffice - but no way could I heat my home with it. Plus the CO issues. I know folks that work for midstream companies (they move oil/gas products from the field to the end users) and many of their sites' electricity was cut on Monday - the first really cold day. Can't move natural gas to make electricity or heat without compressors running.

And as far as getting supplies to stores, highways and interchanges were still closed until late Saturday. They had been closed for almost a week. It will take a while for things to normalize out. People could definitely stand to chill out and quit panic buying. The time for preparing was before the event, but lots of folks are just buying anything they can get their hands on, which perpetuates supply the issue.

At any rate, I think that what goes around comes around; I recall the past few summers when people in Texas have cast negative views on power stability in other regions during heat waves. There was suffering in those areas then and there is suffering in Texas now. I don't know that it is an "emergency" but last week was pretty bad. I guess all I would like you to take away from this (if you made it this far) is that there is no place without issues and all places have people. A bit of compassion goes a long way (and that instruction could certainly be leveled at Texans as well).

I read the entire post. Thank you.

My life philosophy has always been "worry about things you can control. focus your energy on changing outcomes that is within your reach". I apply this everywhere from work to exercising to fixing up the house.

With that said, all those things you talk about the grid, the houses not being built to handle 65 degree difference are things that are not in my control.

However....

Going to homedepot.com and purchasing a $800-900 10kw portable generator with a $50 outlet, $200 50 amp wire and an interlock kit are things that are within my control. There are those who cant afford to spend $1200 on a generator and this statement does not apply to them. But of those millions of people, I am sure at least 50% can afford a one time cost of this, can they not? They choose not to because they did not plan properly.

You build skyscrapers not considering the 95% of the environmental factors. You build them for the 5%. They have to withstand a once in a century earthquake. They have to withstand tornados or hurricanes. You design aircrafts not for when all systems are nominal, but for the corner cases where there are multi system failures. List goes on and on. We all have a certain level of intellectual ability. We must use this and apply some common sense. We take too many things for granted without appreciating one very powerful force that is outside of our control, one that can in a split second take it all away and that's mother nature.

I have nothing to say about the grid or the water companies or the failed local government. But I see pictures of houses in wealthy neighborhoods with multiple expensive cars park out front and I wonder why these people didn't apply some common sense and invest in a portable generator?

 

[honeybadger]

I know but you should always plan for worst case. Always have contingencies planned out and more contingencies for those contingencies. Its like how they build systems on planes. If a hydraulic line fails, there is another one, and if that one fails, there is a third one.

You apply these principles to your day to day. Have a portable generator. Always have at least 2x5 gallon jugs of fuel ready. How hard is it? It doesnt have to be cold, it can be a heat stroke one day and still take the grid down. The generator setup will run you $1000 or at most $1250 if you have an electrician wire it up. Its not rocket science.

I understand Texas isnt used to cold. I am very familiar with Texas personally. But what I dont understand is why not having electricity for a few days turned into a massive disaster there. We all lose electricity one way or the other. But th


I read the entire post. Thank you.

My life philosophy has always been "worry about things you can control. focus your energy on changing outcomes that is within your reach". I apply this everywhere from work to exercising to fixing up the house.

With that said, all those things you talk about the grid, the houses not being built to handle 65 degree difference are things that are not in my control.

However....

Going to homedepot.com and purchasing a $800-900 10kw portable generator with a $50 outlet, $200 50 amp wire and an interlock kit are things that are within my control. There are those who cant afford to spend $1200 on a generator and this statement does not apply to them. But of those millions of people, I am sure at least 50% can afford a one time cost of this, can they not? They choose not to because they did not plan properly.

You build skyscrapers not considering the 95% of the environmental factors. You build them for the 5%. They have to withstand a once in a century earthquake. They have to withstand tornados or hurricanes. You design aircrafts not for when all systems are nominal, but for the corner cases where there are multi system failures. List goes on and on. We all have a certain level of intellectual ability. We must use this and apply some common sense. We take too many things for granted without appreciating one very powerful force that is outside of our control, one that can in a split second take it all away and that's mother nature.

I have nothing to say about the grid or the water companies or the failed local government. But I see pictures of houses in wealthy neighborhoods with multiple expensive cars park out front and I wonder why these people didn't apply some common sense and invest in a portable generator?

I normally stay out of these types of convos, but will jump in here as a northerner who moved down here recently.

Couple notes here:

1. Anytime a storm appears on radar, generators are sold out everywhere for weeks. Yes, preparing years in advanced is ideal, but it's just not the reality. But let's assume you were prepared with a generator.

2. The houses here aren't designed for cold. That sounds obvious, but it's more serious than people realize. The entire way houses are designed in Texas is to vent hot air through the attic. That means the vents in your first floor eaves have paths to vent through the attic. That makes it a HUGE heat leak during the winter. With things operating normally, it's stupid inefficient. in 20-30 degrees, it's downright dangerous.

3. A lot of homes here use electric heat. IF you had power, you only had it for a few mins at a time. Not long enough to keep things going. You might gain 1-2 degrees, but drop 3-4 inbetween.

4. The houses are big because texas. More to heat. And they don't have fireplaces.

5. Houses aren't insulated against cold. They're dense to fight solar gain (lots of brick), but not super efficient insulation or windows. So again, they leak a ton.

6. My area doesn't have snowplows. So no way to remove snow or ice (ice is much worse down here than in the north).

7. Any time a storm is predicted, everything sells out - hell, around me our local grocery stores were completely out of EVERYTHING. I mean everything. And 8 out of 10 gas stations were out of fuel.

8. But let's assume you prevented all the above and took care of yourself. Oh, a pipe bursts and you don't know where the shutoff is or you can't shut it off because it's next to the street under 1ft of snow and frozen (my other homes it was in the house, like you know, a sane person would put it). So your house floods and you need to evacuate? Where do you go? It's a pandemic and everything is closed/blocked off/etc.

9. Texas went a week without any re-stocking. Keep in mind, this is a state that doesn't do disaster preparedness. A week without re-supplies will completely wipe out essentials everywhere (food, TP, fuel, etc.)

There's probably more that I'm missing, but those hit the high points. It's serious down here. There were quite a few deaths and tons of damage $$$.

Was it 100% preventable? yep. Could you be more prepared for it? yep. Can you still get absolutely wrekt? yep - many did.

 

[sk47]

I guess next time I will turn off the water, drain the lines as well as I can, and leave all the faucets open. Thinking about adding a drain valve at the piping low point to help get as much out as possible. This way, even if a line bursts, it won't flow for a long period of time before we find it.

Let's help others where we can and stay safe!

Hello; Years ago I had to be away from my home for weeks to a couple of months at a time during the winter. I would prep the house to prevent frozen piles. I would turn off the water at the meter and drain the lines at the lowest point which was in a basement. The electric water heater was also in the basement so I would drain it and turn off the power to it. Was lucky to have a floor drain in the basement. I opened the taps on all the upstairs faucets.
I sometimes would use compressed air from my air compressor to blow out the water lines, but eventually stopped doing this as it was not needed unless it was to be very cold on the day when I left. Still might be a thing to consider if the extreme cold is due soon.

I would flush the toilet but did not try to empty the bowl. I got some RV antifreeze and poured a good amount into the bowl. Did not lose a toilet.

 

[Lurker_350]

My life philosophy has always been "worry about things you can control. focus your energy on changing outcomes that is within your reach". I apply this everywhere from work to exercising to fixing up the house........

........Going to homedepot.com and purchasing a $800-900 10kw portable generator with a $50 outlet, $200 50 amp wire and an interlock kit are things that are within my control. There are those who cant afford to spend $1200 on a generator and this statement does not apply to them. But of those millions of people, I am sure at least 50% can afford a one time cost of this, can they not? They choose not to because they did not plan properly..

You build skyscrapers not considering the 95% of the environmental factors. You build them for the 5%............I wonder why these people didn't apply some common sense and invest in a portable generator?

I sincerely appreciate your reply and concur that you are in control of your own future and should plan to prevent/prepare for foreseeable situations.

Do you have natural gas service to your house or are you all electric? If you have natural gas, you have a backup source like an LPG tank? If not, you aren't prepared to lose gas.

In addition, if you have natural gas or LPG, do you have gas detection, isolation, and mitigation capabilities? It would only take a control valve and a few gas detectors with a few lines of code to prevent a catastrophic explosion in your home. But I am guessing you are not preparing for that event - which happens every day in a house in the US. The risk to you, however, is low, because 1 house explosion a day across 330 million homes means it probably won't happen to you. But the consequence is very high.

My point is that this was somewhat "unforeseeable" in my part of Texas. Not Amarillo or points north. And by the time that we knew it was coming, it was a bit late.

But again, I agree. Those that can prepare should, and I'm guessing will.

 

[Lurker_350]

Hello; Years ago I had to be away from my home for weeks to a couple of months at a time during the winter. I would prep the house to prevent frozen piles. I would turn off the water at the meter and drain the lines at the lowest point which was in a basement. The electric water heater was also in the basement so I would drain it and turn off the power to it. Was lucky to have a floor drain in the basement. I opened the taps on all the upstairs faucets.
I sometimes would use compressed air from my air compressor to blow out the water lines, but eventually stopped doing this as it was not needed unless it was to be very cold on the day when I left. Still might be a thing to consider if the extreme cold is due soon.

I would flush the toilet but did not try to empty the bowl. I got some RV antifreeze and poured a good amount into the bowl. Did not lose a toilet.

I appreciate those pointers. Good idea to use the compressor too - although you said you didn't need it. In most Texas homeowners cases, the low point would be the water meter since we don't have basements, but I can easily add a valve there just downstream of the meter/check valve/pressure regulator.

 

[sk47]

I appreciate those pointers. Good idea to use the compressor too - although you said you didn't need it. In most Texas homeowners cases, the low point would be the water meter since we don't have basements, but I can easily add a valve there just downstream of the meter/check valve/pressure regulator.

Hello; The use of the air would depend on conditions the day I had to leave. If it was mild and no deep cold due for a while I would just drain the lines and leave the taps open figuring over a few days or weeks the remaining water would evaporate or drain. I also left some heat working just set to a lower overall temp so that would have to fail as well.

Good idea about the added valve near the meter.

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