The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Hazcat on January 01, 2009, 09:46:43 AM
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The Citrus Parade from Orlando is on ABC right now and you can see how the rest of us are 'suffering' this winter. ;D
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The cat is back....spreading joy and good will among all.
Going shooting today Haz?
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The cat is back....spreading joy and good will among all.
Going shooting today Haz?
No :(
Going to have some friends over for a champagne brunch.
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The cat is back... spreading... whatever he didn't bury. :)
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The cat is back... spreading... whatever he didn't bury. :)
Good one.
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The Citrus Parade from Orlando is on ABC right now and you can see how the rest of us are 'suffering' this winter. ;D
We're firing up the snowblower again ... Get your furry butt up here and check it out!
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We're firing up the snowblower again ... Get your furry butt up here and check it out!
Strech is already missing fur on both his front legs. He was sick a couple of days before I went to Universal. We put new carpeting in the house and the smell of it got to him. Took him to the vet who put him on IVs to flush his system. She had to shave his front legs so now he looks like he has 'poodle legs'. ;D
(http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p78/hazcater/Universal/IMAGE_058.jpg)
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Got to be careful about that, My Dad got a new carpet to surprise my step mother, the formaldahyde it was made with almost killed her her lungs haven't been right since.
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Last week I was in Spokane Washington. I arrived in 30" of snow and left in 53" of snow. Probably the worst year to drive from Illinois to WA and back, but we would not have made it if we flew. Needless to say, training people to drive in snow and wind is a good survival skill.
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60 degrees here in good old south Georgia...we're planting pecan trees on New Years Day.
Oh well, I'll feel better about it in 15-20 years.
;D
Haz, get your cat some stockings. ;)
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Two weeks ago we set a record here in Seattle. I had 16 inches of snow at my house. And it was before freezing for almost three weeks straight. We actually got all the way down to -5 with the wind chill. For some of you mid westers you are scoffing at this. But since the most snow I have ever seen at my house is 6 inches we pretty much were in "social dislocation" around here. Our garbage didnt get picked up for 2 and half weeks and our recycling still hasnt been and its been over three now for that.
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We just had our second moderate storm in New England. About 6-12 inches depending on where you live, maybe a bit more up in Down East ME. No big deal, I'm from MI, lived in Iceland, CA, skied in UT, CO, VT, NH, ME, etc.....big wooop....
A report this morning had the local towns already complaining that their snow removal budgets are running out. Makes you wonder who sets these budgets. Do these people not realize that in New England, it will snow, every year, without fail, come hell or high water! We average about 50-60 inches yearly (southern MA), if they can't remove 1 or 2 feet without running out of money, maybe they need to buy a different calculator!!!!
I would'nt live in a southern state though, my English, Irish, Norwegian heritage doesn't care for direct sunlight....
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Two weeks ago we set a record here in Seattle. I had 16 inches of snow at my house. And it was before freezing for almost three weeks straight. We actually got all the way down to -5 with the wind chill. For some of you mid westers you are scoffing at this. But since the most snow I have ever seen at my house is 6 inches we pretty much were in "social dislocation" around here. Our garbage didnt get picked up for 2 and half weeks and our recycling still hasnt been and its been over three now for that.
Poor Baby!!!!!
Yesterday morning, it was 24 BELOW zero, and we had our third snowstorm of the last few weeks. I have no clue how many inches overall, but the plow drifts along the street are 4 feet - and that is residential. My cul-de-sac has a 2+ story snow pile in the middle of it - no place else to put it.
Just got back snow blowing out the mailboxes - the city has now demanded that we do that or no mail and maybe a ticket. There are times when less gummint is more - like always. I hate living in town!
As for snow removal budgets failing, they are just getting in line for Federal cheese handbouts bailout money.
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We just had our second moderate storm in New England. About 6-12 inches depending on where you live, maybe a bit more up in Down East ME. No big deal, I'm from MI, lived in Iceland, CA, skied in UT, CO, VT, NH, ME, etc.....big wooop....
A report this morning had the local towns already complaining that their snow removal budgets are running out. Makes you wonder who sets these budgets. Do these people not realize that in New England, it will snow, every year, without fail, come hell or high water! We average about 50-60 inches yearly (southern MA), if they can't remove 1 or 2 feet without running out of money, maybe they need to buy a different calculator!!!!
I would'nt live in a southern state though, my English, Irish, Norwegian heritage doesn't care for direct sunlight....
Not saying that you're a 'tad bit' pale are you? ;D
Don't ferget tha' 'skeeters, too. ;D
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Not saying that you're a 'tad bit' pale are you? ;D
Don't ferget tha' 'skeeters, too. ;D
Yea PegLeg, just a tad...I went to boot in Orlando in Sept, first duty in Key West, spent a year there in the South FL broiler and that was about all I could take...them skeeters and them cockroaches (palmeto bugs), fire ants, friggin gaters, panthers, water mocasins, hurricanes....WHAT the F*%$...!!!!!! Then theres all those old folks!!!!!! (now that I'm over 50, I can say those things!)
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We're firing up the snowblower again ... Get your furry butt up here and check it out!
My snow blower got fed the landscaping extension cord leading to my red and green Christmas spot lights. Apparently, it was not where I left it before the snow came. :-[
I'm looking forward to cutting the rest 25 ft of 16 gauge heavy duty from the shaft and blades. It's on so tight I think the plastic melted together! And, yeah, the little brass bolt holding the blades to the shaft snapped off. ::)
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My snow blower got fed the landscaping extension cord leading to my red and green Christmas spot lights. Apparently, it was not where I left it before the snow came. :-[
I'm looking forward to cutting the rest 25 ft of 16 gauge heavy duty from the shaft and blades. It's on so tight I think the plastic melted together! And, yeah, the little brass bolt holding the blades to the shaft snapped off. ::)
I see you have that problem at your house too.
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Here's another fun one for you
suckers....snow bound idiots....err....folks!
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=8203
;D
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In the summer when people down south are dropping like flies I'll try not to LMAO at you. ;D
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Here's another fun one for you suckers....snow bound idiots....err....folks!
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=8203
;D
Funny...and some of the boobs actually tried to stop the cars by dragging their feet on the ice......ain't momentum a bi*ch?
;D
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In the summer when people down south are dropping like flies I'll try not to LMAO at you. ;D
Why would we be 'dropping like flies'? The heat?
We have a 'cure' for that...................
AC and Ice Cold Beer! ;D
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I guess that works if you never go outside. Some people have jobs or hobbies.
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Well, it may get hot here but you don't have to shovel sweat or scrape it off the windshield. ;D
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Well, it may get hot here but you don't have to shovel sweat or scrape it off the windshield. ;D
And, heat doesn't cause my truck to slide uncontrollably into a line of vehicles. ;D
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That video shows why people who move to Florida should stay there. When they come back they don't remember how to drive in snow. If I crash into another vehicle there's a good chance I did it on purpose. I don't like being cut off.
I love having four seasons in the year and only one of them is hot. When I was in Florida it was too cold to do summer activities like swimming in winter, and too hot to do any activities in summer. It was "vacation" time so I got to come home where we can snowmobile in winter and do whatever we want in summer. :) The time Uncle Sam made me endure in Louisiana was pure hell. 100% humidity for 700 days straight. It rained more weekends than not and was hot and muggy during the week. I could barely breathe that hot wet air.
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And, heat doesn't cause my truck to slide uncontrollably into a line of vehicles. ;D
The human brain has a switch, when it snows, the switch changes a relatively poor driver into a complete dumb-ass!!
Jump out of the car, use your feet????? I learned very early on in life that a tire that is not rotating, cannot steer the vehicle...STAY OFF THE BRAKES!!!!!
I gotta agree with JumboFrank...I worked outside of New Orleans two weeks a year for some time...I say make that city a landfill..
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I'm picturing the Flintstones and that video at the same time. Oh $h!t. Lock 'em up Fred! ;D
P.S. As long as the dog poo is covered I don't have to pick it up so I say let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And I like white Easters almost as much as white Christmases. :)
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I'm picturing the Flintstones and that video at the same time. Oh $h!t. Lock 'em up Fred! ;D
P.S. As long as the dog poo is covered I don't have to pick it up so I say let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And I like white Easters almost as much as white Christmases. :)
Makes for a nasty smelling yard minefield comes spring, lol. Have you considered walking your dog late at night in the winter? Say, on a deserving neigbor's yard? Near the windows?
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The human brain has a switch, when it snows, the switch changes a relatively poor driver into a complete dumb-ass!!
Jump out of the car, use your feet????? I learned very early on in life that a tire that is not rotating, cannot steer the vehicle...STAY OFF THE BRAKES!!!!!
I gotta agree with JumboFrank...I worked outside of New Orleans two weeks a year for some time...I say make that city a landfill..
Heck I have no desire to live in Louisiana either. ;)
It don't get that bad here in Georgia (heat-wise, anyway). As long as it stays under 100 I'm OK.
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I'm picturing the Flintstones and that video at the same time. Oh $h!t. Lock 'em up Fred! ;D
P.S. As long as the dog poo is covered I don't have to pick it up so I say let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. And I like white Easters almost as much as white Christmases. :)
+100
I've driven 35 years in winter weather and have never hit anything! Take it slow and in control and I've never owned a 4wd vehicle...
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As long as it stays under 70 I'm okay. :) 80 gives me a headache and 90 makes me nauseous. I don't even want to know what happens at over 100. My head might explode like the guy in the Scanners movie.
WARNING: Click this link only if graphic movie gore doesn't bother you. http://www.epix.de/images/scanners4.jpg
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As long as it stays under 70 I'm okay. :) 80 gives me a headache and 90 makes me nauseous. I don't even want to know what happens at over 100. My head might explode like the guy in the Scanners movie.
WARNING: Click this link only if graphic movie gore doesn't bother you. http://www.epix.de/images/scanners4.jpg
I had that scene on a loop as an avatar on another forum several years ago.
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The special effect was done with a shotgun to the dummy's head. A real head isn't that bad when blasted with a shotgun. I've seen it as an avatar at another forum too. Mine's a picture of real shrunken head. 8)
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No, it was a (now defunct) motorcycle forum.
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I changed my other post. No use talking about that place.
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"The recent snow and ice storms in the northeast left hundreds of thousands of residents without power. In Harvard, Massachusetts, however, one Prius owner found a way to keep the lights and electricity going by using his hybrid as a backup generator.
John Sweeney ran his fridge, freezer, wood stove fan and even his television and lights using his Prius for three days while the power was out in his town. By using an inverter to convert the car's DC power supply into household AC, Sweeney was able to generate 120 volts
The New York Times wrote about this a year ago. The battery in the Prius is able to provide an uninterrupted power supply as long as the engine turns on and off periodically to recharge it. Any car battery can be used this way, but only hybrids start automatically when they need to recharge their battery. As long as the Prius has enough fuel, it can produce three kilowatts of continuous power. That's enough to maintain the basic household electrical needs.
After three days, Mr. Sweeney's Prius used up a mere five gallons of gas to power the electricity in the Sweeney household - a bargain and a real smart grid solution."
A really expensive battery but pretty bright idea! 8)
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New marketing genius. As well as being good for the environment, the Prius is a survival tool.
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Works better as a back-up generator than it does as a car.
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"The recent snow and ice storms in the northeast left hundreds of thousands of residents without power. In Harvard, Massachusetts, however, one Prius owner found a way to keep the lights and electricity going by using his hybrid as a backup generator.
John Sweeney ran his fridge, freezer, wood stove fan and even his television and lights using his Prius for three days while the power was out in his town. By using an inverter to convert the car's DC power supply into household AC, Sweeney was able to generate 120 volts
The New York Times wrote about this a year ago. The battery in the Prius is able to provide an uninterrupted power supply as long as the engine turns on and off periodically to recharge it. Any car battery can be used this way, but only hybrids start automatically when they need to recharge their battery. As long as the Prius has enough fuel, it can produce three kilowatts of continuous power. That's enough to maintain the basic household electrical needs.
After three days, Mr. Sweeney's Prius used up a mere five gallons of gas to power the electricity in the Sweeney household - a bargain and a real smart grid solution."
A really expensive battery but pretty bright idea! 8)
I'd need 5 Priuses (Prii??? lol) 4 for the 12kw heat pump, the other for everything else.
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I'd need 5 Priuses (Prii??? lol) 4 for the 12kw heat pump, the other for everything else.
25K x 5 = a really expensive generator........ ;D
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I only paid 2K for my 15KW gen but to run it for 3 days would take 75 gallons of fuel.
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I only paid 2K for my 15KW gen but to run it for 3 days would take 75 gallons of fuel.
Maybe you shouldn't run the AC, pool pump, wet bar, Hazaritta maker and the disco ball off the generator! I think in FL, you should get a wind turbine, it would make more sense... ;D
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Finally fixed the snow blower today. 1/2 hr of nipping the tangled extension cord and pulling it out one small piece at a time, followed by a trip to home Depot for a new shear bolt. BTW, if you tip the blower back on the handles that nasty odor and cold, slick feeling around your knees is the gas pouring out of the carb and/or muffler... ::)
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LOL! Only got to 76 here today and going all the way down to 58 tonight. 8) ;D
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LOL! Only got to 76 here today and going all the way down to 58 tonight. 8) ;D
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! ;D ;D
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I only paid 2K for my 15KW gen but to run it for 3 days would take 75 gallons of fuel.
Assuming that you would be running at full capacity and using $2.00 fuel, this would equate to fourteen cent electricity (not including equipment and maintenance). Our average wholesale price is 5.1 cent and we are charging nine cents. However, in periods of high demand and average of $0.25 is not uncommon with spikes of nearly $0.50 (wholesale). I know people in California that are installing solar (w/o batteries) to provide at a cost of $0.22, and that is break even with buying retail.
Depending on your fuel costs and power costs, your generator may not be that bad a deal.
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I'm thinking of haved it set up for LPG. Do you have any idea of consumption rate based on 25 gallons of gasoline per 24 hours?
Reason I ask is I have a big LPG tank for my stove and drier that I could use.
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I'm thinking of haved it set up for LPG. Do you have any idea of consumption rate based on 25 gallons of gasoline per 24 hours?
Reason I ask is I have a big LPG tank for my stove and drier that I could use.
Too bad it's not diesel. You could run it off of used cooking oil for nothing.
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Haz,
Here is a link to fuel comparisons: http://www.propanecarbs.com/propane.html (http://www.propanecarbs.com/propane.html)
When we farmed we had three straight trucks, and one was LP. Over the three years I tracked it, the LP (Chev 396) was cheaper than the IH (39?) and higher than the Ford (360) in terms of fuel costs. However, two important points: 1. The Chev and the IH both had boxes that held 375 bushels and the Ford only held 250; and 2. The Chev (LP fueled) was the only one that was tarped, so it ran out down the road at 60 mph all the time, while the other two were limited to 40 mph when loaded (have their road time).
We always figured it was a wash in fuel costs between the two bigger trucks. However, for a home generator you would save road taxes by buying LP rather than purchasing gas or diesel at the pumps. I had 1,000 gallon tanks by the grain dryer where I filled, and I paid road taxes annually based off miles driven.
You won't have issues with temperatures down there, but up here the LP truck needed to be preheated in cold weather to start. When temps got in the teens and lower it the fuel would not vaporize if the engine was not warm.
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I have natural gas in my house and if I had a standby generator I could run a line out to it. No LP tank to buy and no worring about the fuel tank ever running empty since it doesn't need one.
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Thanks for the info M58! I will also need to look into price per lb of LPG as I have never yet had to refill my tank.
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I have natural gas in my house and if I had a standby generator I could run a line out to it. No LP tank to buy and no worring about the fuel tank ever running empty since it doesn't need one.
In other words you have no control at all over your gas supply, just like with electricity.
In the event that the system breaks, ( pipeline rupture etc.) you're cold.
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Pipelines don't rupture around here and I've lost electricity for a total of just a few hours in the past 18 years. If there are power lines down somewhere there's usually just a blink when it's rerouted. If a pipeline ever does rupture I have a propane heater and camping stove. I can fire them both up and I have enough propane to last a week. I'll sit here in my arctic clothing and only run the heat for 5 minutes at a time if it looks like a permanent situation.
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Pipelines don't rupture around here and I've lost electricity for a total of just a few hours in the past 18 years. If there are power lines down somewhere there's usually just a blink when it's rerouted. If a pipeline ever does rupture I have a propane heater and camping stove. I can fire them both up and I have enough propane to last a week. I'll sit here in my arctic clothing and only run the heat for 5 minutes at a time if it looks like a permanent situation.
When the SHTF nothing is certain!
We have four diesel generators for our community, and they are large enough to energized the entire city (2,000 people and four large industries). We maintain 10,000 gallons of diesel in our own tank, plus we have a contract with the local supplier for another 40,000 gallons "on demand." This is done to meet our contracts with our main electric supplier and governmental requirements.
We typically run thirty days per year (one month if done continuously). The reasons for these "runs" are storm damage to infrastructure supplying our community and peak loads that the large generation facilities can not meet. Our community has never faced a long term blackout or brownout, because we maintain these generators and what it takes to run them.
Sadly, I do not live in town. I have a small generator and fuel supply to carry us through for about a week in "conservation" mode.
Bottom line - If you have a generator because you don't or can't trust the grid, you also need to realize that the fuel supply cannot be trusted either, so you must have a way to store a supply. Don't forget to exercise your generator and keep your fuel fresh.