Snow

[FUJIMO]

7 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

Man I'm always amazed by the stupid comments online. People are complaining that Knox City/County has not plowed or treated certain roads. What limited plows we have are working 24/7 to treat the roads. This isn't Buffalo, NY. We don't have the resources to quickly deal with 10" of snow. 

I'm not going to debate it in this thread but go look up the politics tied to it and it will make sense. That's assuming you don't already know 

[Erik88]

23 minutes ago, FUJIMO said:

I'm not going to debate it in this thread but go look up the politics tied to it and it will make sense. That's assuming you don't already know 

Transplants? I thought that too but some of the comments came from locals. You'd think they would know better. Some people just want to complain about everything. 

[-boatman-]

40 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

Man I'm always amazed by the stupid comments online. People are complaining that Knox City/County has not plowed or treated certain roads. What limited plows we have are working 24/7 to treat the roads. This isn't Buffalo, NY. We don't have the resources to quickly deal with 10" of snow. 

Some people are  self centered enough to think that if only one road was to be cleared it should be theirs. It doesn't work like that.

[Darrell]

58 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

What limited plows we have are working 24/7 to treat the roads

Before I moved here I lived in the Pacific Northwest. The road up to my community was a mile long and climbed 500'. I was the snow-plow guy, as I was the only one up there with a tractor. Some people would complain to me if I didn't have the road cleared in time for the morning commute. After I left they found themselves paying big money IF they could get someone out to do the job. Point being that there will always be entitled elbows out there.

Edited January 17 by Darrell

[Darrell]

15 minutes ago, -boatman- said:

Some people are  self centered enough to think that if only one road was to be cleared it should be theirs.

Same when electrical power fails.

[gregintenn]

I've lived on this road over 20 years now. The only time it has been plowed since I've been here, a neighbor hit it with his tractor and grader blade. I'm fine with that. I knew it was going to be this way from the start and planned accordingly.

[pop pop]

I just told my wife that we are indeed blessed that the temp in our home is 71 and the temp outside was -12 at it's lowest last evening. We have a heat pump only. I learned years ago to let the professional's figure how big of a unit to put in then make my adjustments to their formula. We have a little over 3,200 S F inside to heat. Garage is not heated. All on one level. The house outside dimensions are 100' long by 34' wide. They figured I needed a 3 ton heat pump and and 4 5 KW  back up heating coils for emergency heat. I told him to put in a 3 1/2-ton unit and 4 10 KW back up units. He argued fiercely because they had to install a lot heavier wire to support the 10 KW back up coils. I stood my ground and now I am on my second unit and it is 71 inside and -7 outside right now. First unit lasted 21 years. Guys that is from a heat pump only. The air from my inside vents is blowing very warm air right now. Took me building 3 houses to come to this conclusion. 

[gregintenn]

2 minutes ago, pop pop said:

I just told my wife that we are indeed blessed that the temp in our home is 71 and the temp outside was -12 at it's lowest last evening. We have a heat pump only. I learned years ago to let the professional's figure how big of a unit to put in then make my adjustments to their formula. We have a little over 3,200 S F inside to heat. Garage is not heated. All on one level. The house outside dimensions are 100' long by 34' wide. They figured I needed a 3 ton heat pump and and 4 5 KW  back up heating coils for emergency heat. I told him to put in a 3 1/2-ton unit and 4 10 KW back up units. He argued fiercely because they had to install a lot heavier wire to support the 10 KW back up coils. I stood my ground and now I am on my second unit and it is 71 inside and -7 outside right now. First unit lasted 21 years. Guys that is from a heat pump only. The air from my inside vents is blowing very warm air right now. Took me building 3 houses to come to this conclusion. 

I just let the HVAC guy determine what size we need. I've had no trouble with mine keeping the house at whatever temp it is set for. I have noticed it has been running a lot the last few days, but that is to be expected.

[OldIronFan]

7" at the house in Nolensville, drifts over 12" in some areas. Most snow I have seen here in well over a decade. 
My driveway is extremely steep, like 35º~40º steep. Took a good bit of effort to clear it. Only fell twice, pulled a muscle in one shoulder, and tweaked the already bad knee. 
Took the AWD Subaru out yesterday afternoon and local roads were not cleared but not terribly slick. The packed snow had decent traction even on plain all season tires. I had to force it to spin or slide in most cases. Love the Subaru AWD system. 

Work opened up today so I made my way in at 7am. Took the Subaru again. It was 2º when I left. Local side streets were actually slicker then yesterday afternoon due to the slush and snow pack actually freezing overnight. Still no issues getting into work. Once I got to the interstate it was virtually clear and 70mph+ wide open. 

[DWARREN123]

Heat pumps not really made for these cold temps. Split units are usually needed to keep warm.

May the warmth be with you!

[RED333]

3 minutes ago, DWARREN123 said:

Heat pumps not really made for these cold temps. Split units are usually needed to keep warm.

May the warmth be with you!

I picked up 2 mini split systems. Easy install, very good cooling. Now the unbelievable good news, both heat at these temps we are having! No I do not have the baffles yet. The baffles will make them work at colder temps.

[pop pop]

Our heat pump is a split system. Compressor tower outside, blower and back up unit inside entrance hall closet. My duct system runs the center of our attic from one end to the other. All celling outlets are very close to the main trunk line to cut down on exposure to loss of cool or heat. Also, the main truck line is insulated from within, and the very short offshoots wrapped in insulation and covered with blown insulation. 

[jpx2rk]

I have a dual fuel unit (electric down to 45 and NG below that), the NG part has been working it's backside off, but we are warm and comfy.  When it's 46 or so, I wish I had gone straight NG as the electric heat portion is just not cutting it for these two old folks here at this location.  LOL  We do have and use a NG fireplace for those 46 and up days when we feel chilled.  LOL

[peejman]

8" in Knoxville, 10" in Lenoir City and the street in front of my house has dried in the sun today in Maryville. Figure that one out. 

I finally chipped my way through the 3" of ice on my car. I'm hoping the sun melts most of it today. 

Still plenty cold. Forecast was for 30 today but my thermometer says 24 and it's not going to get any warmer. 

I think we're all getting a little stir crazy being cooped up in the house. The plan is to go to work tomorrow, but that was the plan for today too. And I have to pass through either Knoxville or Lenoir city to get there. 

[jpx2rk]

And the Knoxville area forecast is calling for more "precipitation" for this weekend, a mix of rain, sleet/ snow or whatever depending upon where you are.  LOL  

[Erik88]

A lot of my neighbors chose to shovel their driveways. I never thought I'd see that here and I don't even own a snow shovel. I'm wondering if I should have done the same. 

[FUJIMO]

12 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

A lot of my neighbors chose to shovel their driveways. I never thought I'd see that here and I don't even own a snow shovel. I'm wondering if I should have done the same. 

Schools out tomorrow. Surely one of them has a kid wanting to earn a little extra video game money

[OldIronFan]

19 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

A lot of my neighbors chose to shovel their driveways. I never thought I'd see that here and I don't even own a snow shovel. I'm wondering if I should have done the same. 

I actually bought a legit snow blower last year. I did it for a couple of reasons. First, it was dirt cheap and used the same battery packs my other lawn equipment uses. Second, my driveway is a steep incline and is very difficult to shovel. 

When I bought it I joked that I fully expected to never use it. With my luck once I owned it we would never see accumulated snow again. I guess I was wrong. I looked like a Minnesota local out front with a rooster tail of snow shooting off into the air and into the yard next to the drive. I was glad to have it though and a couple of my neighbors looked fairly jealous yesterday. 

[bubbadavis]

27 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

A lot of my neighbors chose to shovel their driveways. I never thought I'd see that here and I don't even own a snow shovel. I'm wondering if I should have done the same. 

I used my leaf blower to clear the driveway. This was such a dry, powdery snow it did just fine.

[Grayfox54]

I had to get out a bit today. I was a little disappointed with Bartlett. They always did a much better job of clearing the streets. But there was at least one clear lane on the busier roads. Got a new mayor last year. I wonder if maybe he's not so much of  a stickler as the old one was?  

Crossed over into Memphis for a while. Hell, they didn't even try to clear the streets.  

 

[jeff43]

1 hour ago, FUJIMO said:

Schools out tomorrow. Surely one of them has a kid wanting to earn a little extra video game money

They got to come out of the house , work in the cold to do that.

[Scotty]

Cabin fever hit for me and have to leave tomorrow so wanted to scope the roads out. Grabbed the neighbor milk and cruised around. Hit the 300k mark on my 02 frontier. Had a quick pipe dream of really wrenching on her this spring even though I hate working on vehicles.
 

Minisplits/heat pump on an old block barely insulated house aren’t holding up great but that’s fine. 2 pairs of darn tough socks, hoodie, double bathrobe long John’s and PJs. Snow melted enough the dog finally zoomed around like a maniac after being cooped up. 
 

It’s the little things in life and that truck just makes me happy. Also, I’ve appreciated the snack update. I don’t keep snacks in the house. Day 3 and I randomly got a bag of gummy bears. Again, little things. 

[Garufa]

1 hour ago, Erik88 said:

A lot of my neighbors chose to shovel their driveways. I never thought I'd see that here and I don't even own a snow shovel. I'm wondering if I should have done the same. 

Nah, you can just watch them sliding around on their new sheet of black ice tomorrow.

[gregintenn]

We just took the mother in law some leftovers and assorted groceries. The highways are clear here, but the county roads are still slickernchit!

[Ronald_55]

2 hours ago, FUJIMO said:

Schools out tomorrow. Surely one of them has a kid wanting to earn a little extra video game money

Wife told our youngest that she missed him. He replied "Cause I'm not there to shovel snow?" Yep that is what she meant. lol