[AZ_1LE]

EDIT: Power just came back on!

[seethruya]

Originally Posted by AZ_1LE

EDIT: Power just came back on!

North Austin for me. No power Thursday and Friday. Loss power again yesterday and still waiting.

[GroundhogSS]

Here in Cedar Park, northwest of Austin, we started getting the rolling blackouts Sunday night/Monday morning. They said 40 to 45 minutes but they have ranged from an hour up to 5 hours. About three times daily. Can't do anything important on the computer since the power will go off without warning. Come on spring. Damn you, groundhog.

[AZ_1LE]

Yea, my mom has been home alone since it went out on Sunday, and then the water stopped early monday morning. My dad's been out of town on a work trip and can't get back because of cancelled flights and no rental cars available.

Pool plumbing all exploded around the pump and filter, irrigation system is toast, hose bibs are questionable which is the main concern (if they burst in the wall, that's gonna suuuuck to fix). The neighbors helped her shut off the water valve at the street so they can make sure there aren't any crazy bad leaks when it comes back on.

And the power did come back on a little bit ago, but the heat pump was making a helluva racket and so they shut it back off. But the neighbors also helped her get the fireplace going and brought some firewood. It's still only 40 degrees in the house. They also are taking buckets of slushy water from the pool back to their houses so they can flush toilets.

But the roads in their neighborhood are the issue. There's only one road in/out from the main highway and it's fairly steep in places. Unless they lay down some salt and/or sand or gravel, I don't see how anything other than a 4x4 with chains is going to get in there before it melts in a few days. I was hoping someone could bring them some food or water or something, but it'll probably be near impossible.

I'm already planning on taking some days off work coming up to fly out there and help my dad fix everything. It's a mess.

[MR's 2SS]

Is it true you have a bunch of windmills producing power for you and the ice shut them down?

[Drags1998]

I TRULY feel for You Guys, Living in Maine we see this ALL TO OFTEN!!!! Good Luck and make sure to check on some of your older Neighbors!!!

[Big Lebowski]

Originally Posted by MR's 2SS

Is it true you have a bunch of windmills producing power for you and the ice shut them down?

I heard 1/5th of Texas energy comes from wind power? Crazy. My question is what’s different? We have windmills all over illinois and you never hear of them freezing up.

[MR's 2SS]

Thats what I was thinking. I think the biggest issue is the totally irregular situation. When was the last time anything like this hit that far south?
But it does potentially indicate that the new green deals are more fragile than previous power generation.
I imagine the windmills in the northern states are regularly exposed to consistently lower temps. I wonder if they would use different components where the cold is not expected.
Im all for clean air and inteligent power generation. But when you hear the reality of someones mom stuck up an ice covered road without heat... water or food..
Thats really disturbing. And if its something that could have been avoided by intelligent technology as opposed to what could be politically motivated decision making.. That would piss me off.

[GTO_Gregory]

I'm in the Fort Hood area and the base has been closed all week and the end of last week. The power out times are getting shorter each day. I have a 3200/4000 Watt Harbor Freight generator for difficult times. My 4x4 2500HD helped me get around with ease.

The weather is historical for Texas. Texas probably needs some nuclear power plants. The state voted for coal plants because they are cheap to build.

[MR's 2SS]

Yea generators are common in the NE. And given the condition of the country these days, food for at least a month. Ability to filter water.
The last 4 cars Ive had for my wife have been all wheel drive. Ive had a 4x4 truck since the 80's.
The sheep dogs have to be able to get through. But I have come across a young man in a 4x4 who were terrified to go down a slight hill in the snow. People who are going 5 mph and who then high beam me because I go around them.
It seems people around here are becoming increasingly incompetent.
I can see by your location your likely more adaptable than average.

[95 imp]

Originally Posted by AZ_1LE

And the power did come back on a little bit ago, but the heat pump was making a helluva racket and so they shut it back off.

They need to have power for 12 continuous hours. More than likely the liquid freon is mixed with the oil.

Turn them on and the freon boils off and takes all the oil with it and your running pistons/cranks/bearings without oil and/or liquids are getting into the cylinder(s) and getting compressed. When that happens you get that racket.

If you have an "emergency heat" switch on the thermostat, you can try to switch it over to that.

It will work IF:

You actually have backup electric heaters
It is wired up for emergency heat

After 12hrs of continuous power, if equipped with crankcase heaters (which generally heatpumpsl. are), you can fire it up and everything should be normal.

If not, turn the heat on and let it run for 1 minute and shut it off for 5 several times. That will stir up the oil/freon, mechanically warm the compressor and help get the liquid freon out of the oil.

DO NOT run the compressor if it is making that noise, unless you want to buy new compressors and/or units.

PM me if you need any more help.

[willzilla]

I'm in new braunfels tx... I had bad timing and pulled apart my old 2000 explorer awd a few weeks ago lol

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by MR's 2SS

Is it true you have a bunch of windmills producing power for you and the ice shut them down?

I believe some did freeze, but they only get about 10% of their power from wind. Most of it comes from natural gas.

[MR's 2SS]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

I believe some did freeze, but they only get about 10% of their power from wind. Most of it comes from natural gas.

I just read that in the Wallstreet Journal. The problem there is they need constant flow of gas. So if supply is interrupted... seems like it was.... they are shut down. Oil or coal are not just in time delivery dependent. They can stock weeks worth of fuel.
The other problem is the water used for steam generation froze.
All this green new deal stuff is already causing problems even with the fraction of these policies in effect. We are being driven off a cliff.
Price per bbl of crude November 2020... $40
Price per bbl today... $60
Doesnt take long to frig everything up.