Ice storm coming!!

[Xairbusdriver]

Water has an amazing quality of requiring a lot of energy to change its normal liquid state, to either a solid or a gaseous condition. So, even though the temps have been below freezing for about 18 hours, there is still not ice on the pond. I suspect the surface temp may be ~40 and we are going to have little Sun and more low temps, mostly above 20°F. Not much wind either, that can increase the surface area with the little waves as well as disturbing the air right at the surface of the water. I'm sure there will be ice on the pond before we get back to normal temps, of course.

Now, I don't plan on joining the fish for a swim for several months, but I haven't seen any fish-made signs asking for heat yet.

"Water-proof fire place log" sounds like a great idea... from M$ or maybe some government bureau!

Our Crepe Myrtle chandelier
(Just a few feet from the pond, BTW)

[krissel]

Nice description of the picture (chandelier), Jim.


My folks have had a setup like Jon's since just before the Y2K scare. Mom was sure they would be out of power for weeks. Of course it didn't happen but the generator came in handy now and then.

We had been trying to get the guy who originally installed it to move it away from the house but he kept stalling. It was located under the window to my Dad's bedroom and he could smell the exhaust each time it came on for the test run or when the power had gone out. I spoke to the installer myself after Hurricane Irene and he kind of looked at me like I was paranoid but agreed that he would do it.

More than one year later, after a few days of the generator being on after Hurricane Sandy, the carbon monoxide alarms in the house went off. I put boards up over the windows and wall near it and it ran for another couple days before finally dying. It was over revving, eventually shutting down and could not be fixed. One company came out near midnight and worked for 45 minutes or more on it but ultimately gave up, said the part needed was not available since it was too old. (Would you believe they didn't charge anything? Just apologized for not fixing it and left. Amazing!) The original guy installed a new one and turned it 90ª so the exhaust was not going toward house. Two days later, carbon monoxide again so we shut it off. 'Fortunately' the power came back after day 12.

We insisted he move it this time and it is now located up next to the propane tank about 35 feet from the house where it should have been in the first place. My folks had a yearly maintenance agreement with this guy for 12 years but suffice to say we don't have one with him now. It is important to check the oil and battery regularly, though as the test runs each week do make these things subject to eventual failure if not maintained.

[Xairbusdriver]

Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear things are finally correctly installed. You bring up my biggest concern in this whole thing: reputable, knowledgeable installation and repair/response in the years to come! Not being closer than two hours to their home means this thing needs to be very reliable. Since it was decided to hire 24/7 'sitters,' their home is now virtually a 'nursing home,' even though they are both still fairly mobile.

While we have another forecast of freezing rain/sleet today, my wife's folks got much more 'stuff' last week. She drove over last night to take her Mom to an appointment this morning. The doc's office called just before she arrived advising that the appointment was canceled due to the roads still being dangerous. My wife had called only a few moments earlier to say she was moving only about 15 MPH because there were still icy patches on the roads, the overpasses and bridges were not as well sanded in the rural areas as we enjoyed in the "city," of course. We're hoping for some Sunshine tomorrow, finally! Not to mention more normal temps!

[Xairbusdriver]

My wife called last night to report that the 'tractor shed out back' had collapsed. It was open at each end, about 50 feet wide and 75 feet long. The farmer who rents her Dad's land had a header (fits on the front of a combine) stored in there, it took most of the force of the steel girders. They think the weight of the ice caused the collapse, but there had been no additional ice/snow since last Friday. I think some of the bolts must have simply rusted away; the building is ~40 years old.

The previous 'pole barn' was lost in 1973 when a tornado pulled up some of the poles (actually steel girders) along with their concrete filled 55 gal drums! The metal drums has rusted away but that much concrete is pretty heavy... and they were buried, of course. I suppose it made a loud, 'cork popping' sound but we didn't hear it inside the storm cellar because of the other roaring noises.