CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 15 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said: Same, bud. Stay safe. Latest M&M homestead update: utility power has been off since 2am Monday. The house is mostly frozen inside. We've got a generator powering oil heaters in our bedroom for pets and a heat lamp in the barn for babies that were born Friday. No animal deaths so far, but it's always a possibility. Running water inside the house is no longer viable, but I'm going to try and thaw out our field faucet. Twice a day feedings is definitely taking a toll on feed supplies, but I think we've got enough to get through to thawing Temps. We're able to warm up and eat, shower, etc next door, and we parked the girls overnight there so Morgan and I could focus on keeping the homestead viable through the night. They're on a different provider than us and so far haven't had any outages - so we're grateful and blessed. The sunrise over our snow covered garden and barn was beautiful this morning. Sounds like a generator needs to be in the plans for the new house. Stay warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 3 minutes ago, CECAA850 said: Sounds like a generator needs to be in the plans for the new house. Stay warm. Yup, fortunately we were able to borrow my inlaws, but definitely need to get our own. I won't go into detail and risk being scorned, but with the mains off we're able to connect the generator into the garage and power whatever what we need on the property using existing infrastructure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 -23 at 4 am this morning, felt like -40. I recall "feels like -30" many times in the past. We are part of the rolling black outs, just fired everything up in the office this morning at 7 and bam, the power was out by 7:24, back on at 8, so can't complain. Hopefully it was enough to help those without. Its sad how everyone in the area is crying about 30-90 mins with no power when people in -15 haven't had any for a day if not longer. Must be getting a heat wave now as it is showing 0 and feels like 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Thaddeus We now live in an area with quite a few cattle farms, one just across the street. The cattle are no longer roaming the pasture and are in an area that seems to keep them around bales of hay, grass? How the hell can cattle live through negative 15-20 degree temps. Being a suburban boy, I feel sorry for them. My wife is busy crocheting 75 cow blankeys - 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, richieb said: Thaddeus We now live in an area with quite a few cattle farms, one just across the street. The cattle are no longer roaming the pasture and are in an area that seems to keep them around bales of hay, grass? How the hell can cattle live through negative 15-20 degree temps. Being a suburban boy, I feel sorry for them. My wife is busy crocheting 75 cow blankeys - They have leather jackets dummy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 16 minutes ago, CECAA850 said: They have leather jackets dummy. Good info from a Texas cattle baron - 🐄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 33 minutes ago, richieb said: Thaddeus We now live in an area with quite a few cattle farms, one just across the street. The cattle are no longer roaming the pasture and are in an area that seems to keep them around bales of hay, grass? How the hell can cattle live through negative 15-20 degree temps. Being a suburban boy, I feel sorry for them. My wife is busy crocheting 75 cow blankeys - We don't give livestock nearly enough credit. They need extra feed and water for internal combustion heat. But otherwise they're resilient. Goats grow cashmere and fluff up. Birds flood their feathers and trap air pockets. Pigs pile up into a clump. Give them space out of drafts, but maintain airflow so moisture doesn't build up. We're actively heating a small stall for two goats that are less than a week old, but everyone else is relying on their natural survival tools. Some chickens will likely end up with frostbite on their combs, but that's truly minor and all of our other animals so far are acting strong, no signs of distress. The hedgehogs and cats and pug, however, are more fickle and the real purpose for why we're running a generator at all for the house. Also, the field faucet is thawed and we've got a source of flowing water again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 28 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said: We don't give livestock nearly enough credit. teachers sure don't. I tried ... all through high school. I'd yell out BS and the teacher just got mad. why do teachers hate bulls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamahaSHO Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 1 hour ago, The Dude said: -23 at 4 am this morning, felt like -40. I recall "feels like -30" many times in the past. We are part of the rolling black outs, just fired everything up in the office this morning at 7 and bam, the power was out by 7:24, back on at 8, so can't complain. Hopefully it was enough to help those without. Its sad how everyone in the area is crying about 30-90 mins with no power when people in -15 haven't had any for a day if not longer. Must be getting a heat wave now as it is showing 0 and feels like 0. I saw a lot of friends posting about Omaha since I lived there for a decent amount of time. They thought I moved to cold country here up at 8k ft, just outside of Denver. It was like 50F warmer at my house. The beauty of a lack of atmosphere is that even when it's well below freezing, if the sun touches the snow/ice, it melts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiva Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 It seems some Texans are a bit peeved by the loss of power. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9266809/Deep-freeze-paralyzes-Texas-knocks-power-grid.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 29 minutes ago, Shiva said: It seems some Texans are a bit peeved by the loss of power. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9266809/Deep-freeze-paralyzes-Texas-knocks-power-grid.html Yes. A perfect storm created by record low temperature. I've lived in this city since 1980 and never remember it getting down to 15 degrees before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Whoop, whoop! Power restored in my neighborhood a few minutes ago. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 48 minutes ago, Seadog said: Whoop, whoop! Power restored in my neighborhood a few minutes ago. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2021 3 hours ago, Thaddeus Smith said: Yup, fortunately we were able to borrow my inlaws, but definitely need to get our own. I won't go into detail and risk being scorned, but with the mains off we're able to connect the generator into the garage and power whatever what we need on the property using existing infrastructure. Scorned? For being prepared? I have to have a Generac installed by Sept. or I'm in big trouble. Would love to hear how you are able to manage that? I need mine to run AC in summer and heat in winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Just now, dwilawyer said: Scorned? For being prepared? I have to have a Generac installed by Sept. or I'm in big trouble. Would love to hear how you are able to manage that? I need mine to run AC in summer and heat in winter. Best money I've ever spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, CECAA850 said: Nice! We have had 2, 2 hour shutdowns today. On about 4a.m. and one at 1 PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2021 Just now, CECAA850 said: Best money I've ever spent. Should I go NG, or dual fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, dwilawyer said: . Would love to hear how you are able to manage that? Easiest way to hook up a portable is to pull your meter or turn off your main breaker if you have one then hook it into your dryer connection with a jumper. Itll do both legs of your 120 and your 240. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 1 minute ago, dwilawyer said: Should I go NG, or dual fuel? Natural gas. No need for propane if you have natural gas. All the generacs will do either with a tweak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted February 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2021 6 minutes ago, CECAA850 said: Natural gas. No need for propane if you have natural gas. All the generacs will do either with a tweak. I was thinking Bi-fuel diesel/NG, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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