After 5 to 7 days without power in Michigan, it taught me that comfort is not true. And new furnaces, water heaters, and stoves don’t work with portable generators.
Umm… The whole idea of a thermostat is that you set it and it maintains a constant temperature regardless of what’s going on outside. Shouldn’t be any need to adjust it because it’s going to snow. But that’s not funny.
BTW it’s -25C here (Ottawa) and a comfy 21C inside (-13F and 70F).
We haven’t had a decent snow so far this winter in Baltimore, but we have plenty of fire wood, a gas stove, and two weeks worth of canned goods. Bring ’er on!
in case the electricity goes out I suppose you could go sit in the car and run the motor to warm up. We just turn on the GAS range and put on more sweaters. lol Of course in Texas it is unusual for us to have really cold weather for more than 3 or 4 days.
Today they say 4 to 6 inches, and we end up getting 2. When I was a kid I’d wake up in the morning, look out the window, and say, “It snowed last night!”
I work in a fabric store in Northern Virginia. Whenever snow is predicted our store is swamped. People buying fabric for projects they plan to do when they’re snowed in. I’ve never understood it.
We’d love to have snow, or any precipitation. 3" total in all of 2013, and nothing on the horizon. Alas… Oh, and 80 degrees today here on the California Central Coast.
Bawana got half of my thought. A good sized generator (say 6,000+ watts) can run your furnace, fridge, and plenty of lights. But you need a transfer switch installed <costs almost as much as the generator.And the thermostat? Arlo may just have a drafty house, but many advise turning heat up a few degrees and fridge/freezer down a few to buy a couple hours of comfort and food safety in case they get your power back within a handful of hours. We also fill a tub and some pots with fresh water in case the pumps go out.And the gasoline might for home generators and snow blowers – possibly the car if the gas stations lose pumps.
" but if you can’t drive to the store why do you need gasoline?"
Based on my experience with hurricanes, you may need to drive to the hospital between the time the roads are cleared and the supply of gasoline is restored.-You may run out of food before the supply of gasoline is restored but after the stores have been restocked or you may need to pick up MREs in the interim.
“You may want to consider a permanent standby unit?”-My brother lives outside Hinton, WV and has a permanent natural gas fueled generator. -A blizard knocked out the power for a few weeks. -He had power for himself, power for his electric pump in his well, for his water heater, for his washing machine and dryer. -He was very popular since he let all his neighbors get water, wash, bathe, et cetera until the power was restored.-A good investment for self and good will.
After a weekend spent in subzero temperatures in Carbondale, Illinois, in the 1980s; I realized why this place was known, locally, as the “a**hole of the Earth!”
Marvin Kaplansky – We’ve been doing this in this unusually cold weather. Normally our thermostat adjusts the temperature during the day on a preset schedule. When it is this cold I have to override each program to keep the heat up – both because we are in the house when we would normally be out, and because we want to keep it warmer than usual so if we lose electricity it will take longer for it to get colder.
olfart – First in cold weather one needs to keep the tank full to prevent condensation in the tank. Second, no matter what happens newsworthy – good or bad – I always fill the tank – there can be shortages or huge price increases or one might have to leave home if the heat is gone when one did not plan to. We have a car we drive, a van that is driven rarely, and a Class B RV (Chevy van conversion) and we keep all 3 tanks full.
unclejoe19 – around here it is not uncommon to have generators to run same, so they must be able to do so, however they do need gasoline, and if there is limited or none the generator doesn’t help.
We do not have one. Husband has been talking since the outage after Hurricane Sandy of getting a whole house natural gas generator installed, but it is beyond our finances at this point.
suevanv Premium Member over 10 years ago
18 degrees outside, 74 inside. Yep, pampered indeed.Happy New Year!
joe19 over 10 years ago
After 5 to 7 days without power in Michigan, it taught me that comfort is not true. And new furnaces, water heaters, and stoves don’t work with portable generators.
L over 10 years ago
62F here this am
Marvin Kaplansky Premium Member over 10 years ago
Umm… The whole idea of a thermostat is that you set it and it maintains a constant temperature regardless of what’s going on outside. Shouldn’t be any need to adjust it because it’s going to snow. But that’s not funny.
BTW it’s -25C here (Ottawa) and a comfy 21C inside (-13F and 70F).doublepaw over 10 years ago
In western Michigan 12 inches of snow is a dusting. Means you have to take a broom to start the grill on the deck.
morningglory73 Premium Member over 10 years ago
It’s snowing here now in central MI and very cold.
Dani Rice over 10 years ago
We haven’t had a decent snow so far this winter in Baltimore, but we have plenty of fire wood, a gas stove, and two weeks worth of canned goods. Bring ’er on!
jeanie5448 over 10 years ago
in case the electricity goes out I suppose you could go sit in the car and run the motor to warm up. We just turn on the GAS range and put on more sweaters. lol Of course in Texas it is unusual for us to have really cold weather for more than 3 or 4 days.
Agent54 over 10 years ago
It is 30 degrees at the moment and I am dressing for the annual Polar Bear motorcycle ride. May do about 40 miles.
Doctor_McCoy over 10 years ago
Today they say 4 to 6 inches, and we end up getting 2. When I was a kid I’d wake up in the morning, look out the window, and say, “It snowed last night!”
GSJohnson over 10 years ago
I work in a fabric store in Northern Virginia. Whenever snow is predicted our store is swamped. People buying fabric for projects they plan to do when they’re snowed in. I’ve never understood it.
Flossie Mud Duck over 10 years ago
We’d love to have snow, or any precipitation. 3" total in all of 2013, and nothing on the horizon. Alas… Oh, and 80 degrees today here on the California Central Coast.
AMarsh1 over 10 years ago
Bawana got half of my thought. A good sized generator (say 6,000+ watts) can run your furnace, fridge, and plenty of lights. But you need a transfer switch installed <costs almost as much as the generator.And the thermostat? Arlo may just have a drafty house, but many advise turning heat up a few degrees and fridge/freezer down a few to buy a couple hours of comfort and food safety in case they get your power back within a handful of hours. We also fill a tub and some pots with fresh water in case the pumps go out.And the gasoline might for home generators and snow blowers – possibly the car if the gas stations lose pumps.
alioop over 10 years ago
NHL classic here today- temps sub freezing, snow drifting down, dont know if it is poetic or poetic justice
ARLOS DAD over 10 years ago
Wonder what Super Bowl weather will be this year? Snow, cold, it’s all coming there-then..
Mary McNeil Premium Member over 10 years ago
When “the electric” goes off, the digital thermostat won’t help.
David Huie Green LosersBlameOthers&It'sYOURfault over 10 years ago
" but if you can’t drive to the store why do you need gasoline?"
Based on my experience with hurricanes, you may need to drive to the hospital between the time the roads are cleared and the supply of gasoline is restored.-You may run out of food before the supply of gasoline is restored but after the stores have been restocked or you may need to pick up MREs in the interim.
David Huie Green LosersBlameOthers&It'sYOURfault over 10 years ago
“You may want to consider a permanent standby unit?”-My brother lives outside Hinton, WV and has a permanent natural gas fueled generator. -A blizard knocked out the power for a few weeks. -He had power for himself, power for his electric pump in his well, for his water heater, for his washing machine and dryer. -He was very popular since he let all his neighbors get water, wash, bathe, et cetera until the power was restored.-A good investment for self and good will.
K M over 10 years ago
Gasoline? Here it’s milk, bread, and toilet paper!
larrylunts over 10 years ago
Ryan Plut over 10 years ago
Here in Seattle we keep it at 72. If it’s raining (the roof is wet) we have to bump it up to 73.
mafastore over 10 years ago
Marvin Kaplansky – We’ve been doing this in this unusually cold weather. Normally our thermostat adjusts the temperature during the day on a preset schedule. When it is this cold I have to override each program to keep the heat up – both because we are in the house when we would normally be out, and because we want to keep it warmer than usual so if we lose electricity it will take longer for it to get colder.
mafastore over 10 years ago
olfart – First in cold weather one needs to keep the tank full to prevent condensation in the tank. Second, no matter what happens newsworthy – good or bad – I always fill the tank – there can be shortages or huge price increases or one might have to leave home if the heat is gone when one did not plan to. We have a car we drive, a van that is driven rarely, and a Class B RV (Chevy van conversion) and we keep all 3 tanks full.
mafastore over 10 years ago
unclejoe19 – around here it is not uncommon to have generators to run same, so they must be able to do so, however they do need gasoline, and if there is limited or none the generator doesn’t help.
We do not have one. Husband has been talking since the outage after Hurricane Sandy of getting a whole house natural gas generator installed, but it is beyond our finances at this point.
mafastore over 10 years ago
Lastly, kudos to Jimmy to time out this strip so well!