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Icepocalypse watch 2022/2023

185,085 Views | 1531 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by Jock 07
Sea Speed
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Serotonin said:

htxag09 said:

Can't wait for all the Texags and social media posts….."only in Texas can I wear shorts then it be freezing 12 hours later" or some stupid ass **** like this is a phenomenon the rest of the world doesn't see fairly often….

"If you don't like the weather in Texas just wait a few minutes."

Which, you know, applies to every part of the continental US except maybe a small strip on the west coast.


Which never made sense to me because starting about June, you have to wait about 3+ months for something different.
Charlie Murphy
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SJEAg said:

Duck Blind said:

Is it better to drip outside faucets or wrap them really well?

Probably 2 schools of thought here. Like brisket and the fat side.

Thanks!

Even during Feb 21 freeze, wrapping was enough for me. But I wrap really well. Insulation/cloth wrap followed by a bib cover, then I wrap that heavily in plastic/duct tape. I always fear dripping outside faucets will just result in an icy mess?

Indoors I definitely drip.
Been wondering the same.
Ryan the Temp
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Sea Speed said:

Serotonin said:

htxag09 said:

Can't wait for all the Texags and social media posts….."only in Texas can I wear shorts then it be freezing 12 hours later" or some stupid ass **** like this is a phenomenon the rest of the world doesn't see fairly often….

"If you don't like the weather in Texas just wait a few minutes."

Which, you know, applies to every part of the continental US except maybe a small strip on the west coast.


Which never made sense to me because starting about June, you have to about 3+ months for something different.
Or that period from late April to early October where the temperature never drops below 75 degrees.
Seabreeze
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Unless you have like 3 ft of exposed pipe coming out of your brick or exterior facade, just wrap well. No drip. I just use a thick towel duct taped, with a plastic covering on the outside faucets.
aggiedata
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Dimebag Darrell
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aggiedata said:




Fun
AlaskanAg99
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Good thing all of Houston's pipes are currently busted. No one will even notice.
aTm '99
Al Bula
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Lina Hidalgo prepping with Harris County Emergency Management today:

aTm2004
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Agasaurus Tex said:

Even if ERCOT is able to provide power, 40 mph wind gusts are going to take down some tree limbs causing outages.

That's my worry. Some will lose power due to infrastructure being damaged, but they'll be too stupid to understand that the government can't do anything about that. Dipchits like Beta will stumble outta Whataburger and all of the fat women and estrogen heavy men will be on the news crying about Abbott.
Fitch
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Ridge14
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First winter in Houston with a setup like this, don't have in ground sprinkler isolation valve as far as I can tell.

Two blankets and a bag hopefully good enough to get the job done?
aTm2004
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Should be. I survived '21 with a towel and a garbage bag.
Ridge14
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aTm2004 said:

Should be. I survived '21 with a towel and a garbage bag.
RC_57
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Ridge, I'm going to assume you have the back flow valve for your sprinkler system under that bag

Go to YouTube, plenty of videos on there showing you how to drain it (which you should)
RenoAg
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Yeah if you've drained it, you're probably good. If you didn't drain it, good luck. Might be fine. Might not.
Ridge14
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RC_57 said:

Ridge, I'm going to assume you have the back flow valve for your sprinkler system under that bag

Go to YouTube, plenty of videos on there showing you how to drain it (which you should)


Some of the videos I watched online said it was useless to drain unless I had an in ground isolation valve as I'd still be holding some water (small column) in the system. Maybe I chose the wrong ones to watch.
aggiedata
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Most of those videos are for northern states. I'd still drain without that in ground value turned off.

That said look in those green covers in the middle of the yard for a faucet. I bet it's somewhere.

Also wrap a moving blanket around the legs and put a large garbage bag for leaves over the entire unit.
Ridge14
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Certainly possible, looked around a lot yesterday, could be buried under some grass somewhere
Ragoo
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Ridge14 said:

RC_57 said:

Ridge, I'm going to assume you have the back flow valve for your sprinkler system under that bag

Go to YouTube, plenty of videos on there showing you how to drain it (which you should)


Some of the videos I watched online said it was useless to drain unless I had an in ground isolation valve as I'd still be holding some water (small column) in the system. Maybe I chose the wrong ones to watch.
there is an isolation valve on the inlet. Close it. There should be two small valve on the side. Flat head screw driver. Open them to release the pressure. Good to go.
tk for tu juan
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Without isolation valve upstream of the backflow preventer


With isolation valve upstream of the backflow preventer
aggiedata
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Other tips from my past mistakes and my neighbors

1. Put an incandescent flood light under your outdoor sink.

2. Wrap the water main pipes flowing into the house.

3. Put some blankets over exposed pipes in attic, especially where attic is over a non heated area like a garage
aggiedata
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Ug

Seabreeze
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People really poopoo on the Icon during hurricane season, but it was dead on as far as forecasting the '21 freeze.
Ag_07
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Nice graphic from SCW

RynoAg
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Quote:

Quote:

redag06 said:
Yes, they work great.


Do you know if they are okay to wrap around insulated pipes?
Wondering the same thing. Picked one up to wrap around the intake of my water softener, but the pipes in/out are already wrapped. Thinking I might just wrap the manifold with a blanket and throw a tarp over the top as I have before.
Jackal99
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That looks steeper than the drop on the Texas Cyclone.

RIP, Astroworld...
Seabreeze
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58 degree temp drop is the record in Houston. Think it was in '81. This will come close if we get over 70 Thursday.
schmellba99
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cone said:

correct me if i'm wrong

so long as we don't lose power and drip faucets, this is just a deal where the plants die and undrained sprinkler systems rupture

it's cold and you stay inside where it's warm
It's only going to get cold for a couple of days, not even really any need to drip faucets except exterior if you don't have them insulated already.

Water doesn't freeze the second it gets to 32, it takes a pretty decent amount of time before there is enough heat loss in piping to freeze. The ground won't get cold enough to worry about buried pipes, even in you rattic it won't be that big of a deal.
AustinCountyAg
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I wish I had your confidence
aggiedata
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My pipes burst in the attic over the garage in February 2021. We didn't lose power that long. Take extra care of those as they don't get the heat coming up from the house. I suspect they would burst again this week if I didn't do anything to prepare.
Charlie Murphy
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I assume these pipes bursting were not PEX?
98Ag99Grad
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I'm dripping faucets like I did in 21. Live in conroe and pipes in attic above garage. No issues then so figure repeating what I did will work now.
cone
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yeah that's cool and all but we're going to drip pipes at night
AlaskanAg99
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Shut the water off to the house, drain the lines. That's full proof, but inconvenient.

We have pex and I'm kicking myself for not installing shutoff valves in the attic for the runs to the garage and hose bibs.
aTm '99
AustinCountyAg
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Family friend of mine who was in charge of our city's water dept for over 30 years recommends trickling the pipes to a stream (think size of a string of yarn). My house is old and we did this Feb 21' and came out good, so I will be doing it again. Our house is just old and not insulated the best so I still get worried regardless of the precautions I take.

I also trickled all faucets in the house as well as shower/tub's.

Hopefully temps get out of the teens quickly and at least get close to 30 on Friday.
 
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