No Ice Storm for Us

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I guess the generator and 18 gallons of gas we have waiting on the deck scared the storm away. There have been three rounds of freezing rain the last three days and the freeze line has always been just a tad north of us.

The final round of precip is just about over.

The ice in the trees starts just across the lake, just a couple of miles.

It is really bad once you get another 50 miles north, the worst ever according to the reports.

We got back from Florida a week ago today and the couple that vacations with us has been on generator for three days now.

There is a lot of flooding, too, and the lake has really come up. We've moved our dock about as far as it will go up the bank.

For some reason, the weather god really has it out for this area, as it is prone to both a tornados and ice storms.

[cathyv Member Find all posts View Profile Close cathyv]

Well, here in Tulsa, we had mostly sleet, which is good. Just to the south of us they had freezing rain and trees and power lines are down. I guess lots of people without power. Our only problem is we live on the middle of a hill. Can't go up, can't go down. Oh well, it could be worse. It will be interesting to see when our daughter makes it home from Fayetteville. Between here and there, only one lane open on the highway. Luckily, she doesn't fly to Jordan until Friday. Stay warm.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

In Cape Girardeau, MO, so far we have only gotten rain, a lot of it. We may be in for some ice tomorrow morning if the temperatures drop.

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

Well, we've been in the mid-20's overnight for a couple of nights now. My pool has a sheet of ice in the middle of it, even with the pump on. Our pipes are wrapped. My neighbor's pipes are wrapped, but the top of the dripper control wasn't, and it blew this morning, shooting up a 20' wall of water. This is a big problem here, cause many people are only part time residents. Our security patrol had to shut water off at 18 unoccupied houses yesterday.

Fern

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

What Now?

We are sitting here with our nephew's new, never-run generator, and 18 gallons of gas, for an ice strom that missed us.

50 miles north, in Springfield, people waited in line yesterday for gas, kerosene, or generators that quickly sold out.

So we are trying to decide what to do.

Jenny is saying that we should buy the generator so that we can lend it to whoever we want, but I think we should either sell the generator to whoever needs it, and the gas if they need it, and then buy one for ourselves when things are normal, like one of the barely used ones that will be on the market when electricity is restored.

Gouging is not being considered, just what to do with it, with our nephew's permission, of course.

We are also considering heading north the gas, chain saws, and bar oil, to help or lend them to someone who needs them. It is now bitter cold and we don't know how hard it is to get around up there.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

I don't envy any of that freezing stuff.

We've been getting a break in Yorktown. Summer is here again today. Going for a high of 75.
We've lucked out so far this winter. Yesterday was the second mowing of the yard we planted, after I returned from Trip West, in mid October.

But then, Wednesday's overnight low is to be 29.
Much of that and I'm heading Florida.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

We are sitting here with our nephew's new, never-run generator, and 18 gallons of gas, for an ice strom that missed us.
...
So we are trying to decide what to do.
...
We are also considering heading north the gas, chain saws, and bar oil, to help or lend them to someone who needs them. It is now bitter cold and we don't know how hard it is to get around up there.

Bless you Jim. Good help is hard to find.

Might I suggest to you, Make sure the generator can be hooked up to support your house in case of a power outage. Many have them, but find out when needed, they don't have the wiring correct for house supply.

While you're out helping those up north, have a trusted neighbor fire it up for you or use it for themselves if need be.

Robert

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I am aware of the dangers of operating a generator. Every power outage you hear about it on the news. Both for carbon monoxide and electrocution if you connect it to the grid, which we would not without being able to switch the grid off. There are have already been reports of problems here.

What we should do with this one is a no-brainer to me. Our nephew has given us permission to sell it or lend it. We called our friends who are without power and they did not seem concerned.

So, I think we should go to the Grainger store in Springfield, where many wanting generators were turned away yesterday. We should sell someone this one, and our gas if there is a shortage of it.

If we or our nephew want a generator, there will be 1000 used ones for sale in a couple of weeks.

But, I am not getting any support for that idea, so without it I will just sit here.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I called our friends who are caught in the middle of it. They were out trying to find a gas station selling gas. They said definitely come to Springfield, park in a parking lot, and sell ours to someone who needs it.

But, still I did not get any support for that idea here at home.

So I called the Greene County Emergency Agency, and when they heard what we have they perked up. They took our name and number.

Now I am getting crap for having put oil in the crankcase so it will be ready to go.

I just don't get it. Am I missing something?

So, I am still going to just sit here. If the generator is still needed up north tomorrow morning, and we still have electricity here, maybe I'll do something then.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The issue resolved itself. Our friends called back, somewhat chuckling, because their generator had blown up. We met them halfway and gave them ours, and our gas.

It's really a mess up that way and all we heard on the radio was reports on where you can go to get stuff, stuff we normally take for granted. Some semis have been setting up on parking lots selling generators, but they seemed to all be sold out.

So, we will be writing a check to our nephew, who had bought the generator when he went to work on Katrina cleanup, but never got it out of the box.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

The issue resolved itself. Our friends called back, somewhat chuckling, because their generator had blown up. We met them halfway and gave them ours, and our gas.

It's really a mess up that way and all we heard on the radio was reports on where you can go to get stuff, stuff we normally take for granted. Some semis have been setting up on parking lots selling generators, but they seemed to all be sold out.

So, we will be writing a check to our nephew, who had bought the generator when he went to work on Katrina cleanup, but never got it out of the box.

I am glad you were able to help your friends.
We will get our first below freezing weather this week.

We used to lose power often when we first came here 12 years ago...and it was not pretty.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Unfortunately we just heard another generator-related problem from this storm. This one was a death. It was not in the lady's house, but the news said it was when she went to check to see if it needed more gas, and she was overcome with carbon monoxide. It did not say where the generator was.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

At least that has been our experience the past few years.

We had been worried about losing power ourselves, after passing the generator on to our friends. That did not happen (yet).

But, the generator crapped out. It blows oil and shuts down after a couple of hours (low oil shutoff protection). So our friends have been without power again since a couple hours after they started the generator last night.

Of course, the generator has a warranty, but only to the original purchaser, our nephew, and it does not help that it sat in the box for a year-and-a-half without being used.

And, of course, now is not the time to hassle with a generator warranty problem in our neck of the woods, woods that are now mostly laying on the ground.

Murphy's Law.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Our friend called to say that his local small engine business is going to repair the generator under warranty, when they can get to it. They are overrun with crapped out generators. That's the second one of our friends have gone through.

In the mean time he is waiting for his brother to bring another generator he found somewhere.

[greenwagonmom Member Find all posts View Profile Close greenwagonmom]

It sounds like there are still quite a few people without power down your way. In St. Louis most of the ice has melted/fallen off of the trees and power lines. Saturday night those lines were sagging and humming with the load of ice that they were bearing. Tree limbs were cracking all over the place, but it wasn't as bad as the storm earlier this winter. There were some electrical trucks in our neighborhood this morning, so hopefully everyone around me has power. Which is good since it is going down to 12 tonight. (We only lost our cable/internet which is a livable situation.) Living without power due to bad weather seems to be a common occurance in Missouri lately.