Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Kraken
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

Post by Kraken »

The Meal wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:09 am Can you rig up a ski/skid of some sort (I'm thinking plastic milk bottle at the foot of a piece of wood) to replace the troublesome wheel? Just enough to get by once or twice until you can get the tire replaced? It wouldn't be great (especially if you only have one wheel acting as the locomotion for the machine), but still better than shoveling.
It's a self-propelled machine, so No. With one drive wheel it would want to go in circles.
TheMix wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:28 am What about a can of fix-a-flat? Assuming it has standard valves, you should be able to fill the tire. I used it on my wheelbarrow tire. It didn't work 100%, but definitely kept it from going totally flat.
That's not a bad idea. I might even have a can in my car, in lieu of a spare tire. I should look.

I put the leaky wheel back on the machine this morning so that I could move it out of the way and get my garage back. It looks like it will hold enough air to be functional for another day or two. In the unlikely event that I need to blow tonight's snow, I think I can cripple it through. But we're only expecting 1-3" of the usual slop, followed by warming temperatures, so I doubt that I'll even need to shovel. The new tires should be here before we get any more snow.

Here's a moot question: tubeless or tubed tires? I bought tubeless because that's what was on there before, and they're cheaper. But it seems like a tubed tire would be more durable. Which would you have bought?
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Jeff V wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:59 am
Skinypupy wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:48 am Being from Utah, I'm always amazed at the relatively small amount of snow it takes to completely cripple a major metro area like DC. About 1/4" (if that), and everything is shut down.

Which is just awesome, since I flew here for four meetings today. :evil:
DC really is a city of snow pussies, which is odd since snow isn't exactly rare there.

I was there once when they had 7". The airline called me earlier that afternoon and encouraged me to catch an earlier flight since they were anticipating the airports to close by 7 pm. I was on the last flight in. Driving toward Silver Spring down George Washington Pkwy, I felt like I was in some horror movie where everyone is raptured and there are abandon cars all over the place - all facing different directions. No people, just dozens and dozens of cars. I had to drive like I was slaloming down a ski slope to get around them.

The next day the entire city was closed.
I was here for one of those as well. I remember sitting in my room at the Key Bridge Marriott, which looks out over one of the highways. I literally saw the same car outside my window for 4+ hours because nothing was moving at all. Madness.

It has been kinda funny to see all the people (like me) who were here for meetings that got cancelled. There's another hotel right across the street, and there's at least 20 people who are on their phones while standing at the window and looking out at the snow. We've all been waving to each other as we do conference calls. :lol:

I'm really hoping my flight this afternoon can actually get out, as we're leaving for Disneyland with the kids tomorrow night. If that schedule gets thrown out of whack, my wife (who has spent an ungodly number of hours planning this trip) is gonna scream.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Kraken wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:01 am Maybe if we had a hard freeze. High temps have been mostly in the 40s all winter, with just a couple of cold snaps. Filling it with water would give me a tire full of water.
Ahh, Ok. Over here it's been so drastically different. We've had almost nothing but cold snaps for the last several weeks and gotten inundated with snow. There's even a house in town that had its roof collapse from the weight of the snow on it. Been the opposite of warm.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Skinypupy wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:48 am Being from Utah, I'm always amazed at the relatively small amount of snow it takes to completely cripple a major metro area like DC. About 1/4" (if that), and everything is shut down.

Which is just awesome, since I flew here for four meetings today. :evil:
I think OPM closed the government for today by 9 PM yesterday. Sadly, I have to work at home anyway (while my neighbor is being a noisy asshole with his subwoofer thumping away).

DC is just far enough south that, while snow is a regular thing here, plenty of people are not capable of driving in the snow. So you get panic and early closures for any significant winter weather.

And while this isn't a lot of snow, the sleet that followed it is a big reason why it closed today I am sure. I expect us to be open again tomorrow.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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This is the winter, yesterday specifically, when I found out how much a new furnace costs. A lot.

But the install guys just left and the house is warming back up...so I've got that going for me.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Mine was about $3k. Less than three years after the $6k for a new AC.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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We spent $4,000 on a new boiler 29 years ago. When I had it tuned up (for the first time) last year, the kid who did the work suggested that I replace it with a modern model. It may be 10 years older than he was, but dammit, it's still the new furnace to me!
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Last time I had my boiler worked on, I was told that it's only about 50% efficient. So I asked about whether it was worth replacing. I was told no. That they practically last forever. I do like the radiant heat. Slow to warm up, but maintains the temp very well. What I don't like is when there is a lot of air in the lines, and it sounds like a stream running through the room. :D Also helps that mine is gas, so it usually doesn't cost me that much to heat.

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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Yeah, radiators are the best. They don't dry the air like forced-air heat, and they stupify my cats. Since we switched from oil to gas 29 years ago I've saved eleventy billion dollars.

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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:10 pm Mine was about $3k. Less than three years after the $6k for a new AC.
I just bit the bullet and got everything replaced. Well, they will come back in the spring and install the new condenser unit. And the new chimney liner to bring it up to code.

I figured since I can't really afford the furnace I may as well not be able to afford the whole thing. I paid about the same as you with an extended warranty added on.

Now I can control the humidifier with The Nest!
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Kraken wrote: Wed Feb 20, 2019 12:40 am Bad news: My snowblower has another flat tire.
Good news: Last time this happened, I had to have a garage fix the stuck axle (with a blowtorch!) so I could remove the wheel. Taking it off this time was easy-peasy.
Bad news: The tire has a leaking sidewall crack. It's toast.
Good news: They sell snowblower tires on amazon, and a pair of them are only $36.
Bad news: The new tires won't be here until Friday, and there's a storm coming tomorrow night.
Good news: It's supposed to be another unblowable slopstorm. In a pinch, I can probably get one more use out of the leaky tire.
Next news: ???
Bad news: The tires didn't get here until yesterday.
Good news: Our last snowstorm pussed out, so I didn't need them.
Bad news: My neighborhood garage can't install them. Go to Town Fair.
Bad news: Town Fair won't touch tires they didn't sell. They won't tell me who might.
Good news: Sullivan tire will do it, but
Bad news: It will cost $25 per wheel -- that's more than I paid for the damned tires.
Good news: They'll have it done before the next storm comes tomorrow night.
Bad news: They won't be liable if they damage the tires during installation. Their tire machine only goes down to 10". Installing 4" tires has to be done manually, with hand tools, and is not a fun job at all.
Next news: ???
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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WaPo
If the forecasts for first week of March are verified, the groundhog may have to go into hiding over its early February prediction of an early spring. One of the coldest weeks of the winter season, compared to normal, is on its way.

At peak, it will feel more like midwinter than early spring for much of the Lower 48.
...
What that means on the ground is that large portions of the north-central U.S. could struggle to get above zero, with widespread nighttime lows in the minus-10 to minus-20 range a decent bet in that region. It’s also possible that every state except perhaps Georgia, South Carolina and Florida will face high temperatures at or below freezing during the stretch.
...
Around March 4 or 5, there could be a day or two with temperatures 20 to 40 degrees below normal encompassing about one-third of the country, from Montana to Wisconsin in the north and then sweeping south across most of the central United States between the Rockies and Mississippi River. The cold ultimately makes it to the Mexico border with Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Bomb Cyclone
An unusually strong late-winter storm is predicted to intensify explosively in the western Plains on Tuesday into Wednesday, unleashing flooding rains, severe storms, raging winds and blizzard conditions in the middle of the nation.

The zone from Texas north through the Dakotas and Minnesota is expected be hit hardest by the powerhouse storm. It is likely to meet the criteria of a “bomb cyclone,” its pressure dropping 24 millibars in 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. The lower the pressure and the faster it falls, the more intense the storm.

Roaring, potentially damaging winds will affect an enormous area. High-wind watches and warnings have been posted from southeastern New Mexico through Nebraska. Gusts are expected to reach 60 mph late Tuesday into Wednesday, and up to 80 mph to 100 mph in the high terrain, in southwest Texas and southeast New Mexico.
...
Image
...
Blizzard conditions are expected develop on the storm’s cold side in the western and northern Plains on Wednesday into Thursday, including northeast Colorado, southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska, southwest and central South Dakota, eastern North Dakota, and northwest Minnesota. Blizzard and winter storm warnings and winter storm watches cover much of this territory.
...
In the storm’s warm sector, a generalized heavy rainfall capable of causing flooding is a threat from Kansas to western Wisconsin late Tuesday night through Wednesday. One inch to three inches of rain is predicted to fall on top of saturated soils.

In addition, from Nebraska through southeast South Dakota into southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, the combination of heavy rain and thawing snow and ice could exacerbate flooding and lead to ice jams on area rivers.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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It snowed last night, and it's supposed to snow more later today. It's almost end of May, and there are 3 inches of snow on the ground. :roll:
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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gilraen wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 9:32 am It snowed last night, and it's supposed to snow more later today. It's almost end of May, and there are 3 inches of snow on the ground. :roll:
OK, I'll stop complaining about rainy and low 50's.

Tomorrow will be 30 degrees warmer!
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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We got robbed of spring. April was the rainiest on record -- not in terms of total rainfall, but in the number of days with rain. It was also substantially cooler than normal. So far, May has had 17 precipitation days (out of 21). We're finally looking forward to a stretch of 2-3 dry days before spring unofficially ends this weekend. I am going to try to plant my garden anyway; if I do manage to get plants in the ground, it probably won't rain again until September. :P
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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We have a string of 3 80-degree days starting tomorrow -- then all upper-60's/low 70s in the 15 day forecast. Waterpark opens Saturday, my daughter is dying to go, but not a single decent day in the foreseeable future.

I bought plants for the garden a few days ago but they still need to get into the ground. Wife is going to be working a lot over the next week, she's better at the planting thing than I am (although last week she planted the calamansi twig she's been trying to raise to a tree over the past year and it seems to prefer death instead). Not sure why she did that, even if it grows to something resembling a tree, it wouldn't survive the winter outside.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

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Why not go to the water park on a bad day? Last time we went, it was raining. Not like we were worried about getting wet. And cuts down on needing to keep everyone in fluids if it’s not sunny.
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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

Post by stessier »

It high 80s and bright sunshine today. By the weekend it's supposed to be highs around 97 and lows around 77...for a week at least.

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Re: Winter 2018-19 is coming

Post by Jeff V »

Isgrimnur wrote: Tue May 21, 2019 12:25 pm Why not go to the water park on a bad day? Last time we went, it was raining. Not like we were worried about getting wet. And cuts down on needing to keep everyone in fluids if it’s not sunny.
The water in the attractions is frigid, like they somehow tapped into glacial run-off. It's really only tolerable when there's a hot sun beating down on you. The forecast highs Sun/Mon and next week Sat/Sun are upper-60's, low 70's. Just basking in the rain will be uncomfortably cold. This Saturday though looks like it could get to 80 and at the moment, rain only in the morning. There might be a few hours of opportunity to take the kids there Saturday afternoon.
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