Quick Preps for Arctic Blast -31C

AARGH, here it comes! Inevitable in this season -- the jet stream shifts south and a giant slug of very cold polar air drops down over my whole region. This is just the warm-up act. I've experienced -46C here. It gets freaky; small mistakes bring deep consequences in less than a minute.

Mostly we are prepped for this as a normal thing. Vehicles are ready, ice tires and semi-synthetic oil. The leaky old house is as ready as it will ever be. I've added insulation over the septic system which has been giving us grief, so at least I can inspect it, and I have a Plan B for pumpout if I need it.

But it's still a shock, and it focuses the mind. I've been scrambling to make sure the little Honda genny is ready to go. She fired up with a little help and proved that she's providing power.

I'm going to lay in a bit more winter diesel for the tractor, supreme grade gasoline for the chainsaw and generator, and a few more jugs of RV antifreeze to protect the traps on the upper floor. Now that I have a genny, I can use compressed air to clear out the blue water lines, sort of, if I have to (not fun, but doable).

I'm also looking more closely at how to tie in the generator to the basement furnace if I have to. Natural gas is on a self-powered grid here; it's the electricity that may go out at a critical time. Obviously I would physically disconnect ALL of the furnace wiring from the grid, so I don't fry some poor linesman who has been called out to work in the cold. I think I need to sink a separate ground rod by the back door, so the genny and furnace have a proper earth ground.

Here it comes! Hope everyone is ready.

Good luck!

It looks like it’s not going to come down as far as my neck of northern Minnesota. The coldest bit of our ten-day forecast is -22C at the very end of it. But we’re way overdue.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:........I'm also looking more closely at how to tie in the generator to the basement furnace if I have to. Natural gas is on a self-powered grid here; it's the electricity that may go out at a critical time. Obviously I would physically disconnect ALL of the furnace wiring from the grid, so I don't fry some poor linesman who has been called out to work in the cold. I think I need to sink a separate ground rod by the back door, so the genny and furnace have a proper earth ground.....

I've already set up a box fan at the edge of the north wind-break on the property....am going to blow it all back your way once it crosses the border into Minnesota..

Douglas, how big is the gennie in Watts and have you looked into installing a transfer switch at the mains so that you could switch your property loads onto the gennie and keep the utility linesman safe?  I just turn off the breakers on the electrical hogs like hot water heater and electric range, but a gas-powered 9000W gennie is what we use for running furnace (propane/electric igniter and blower) and well pump in addition to all lights.  I am most concerned about septic this year with lack of snow...Forecast is for single-digit highs (F) by end of the week, so not as bad as your scenario....yet.  Hope El Nino doesn't nap for too long!....

John Weiland wrote:I've already set up a box fan at the edge of the north wind-break on the property....am going to blow it all back your way once it crosses the border into Minnesota..

Douglas, how big is the gennie in Watts and have you looked into installing a transfer switch at the mains so that you could switch your property loads onto the gennie and keep the utility linesman safe?

Haha, hope the box fan works for you.

This is the first time I've had a genny available to me. It's just a little RV unit, 120V/13A, so enough to run one major appliance at a  time. The electrical grid is pretty reliable here, so a transfer switch would be overkill. I'm only planning a "last ditch" option because ... Murphy. The layout of my house means I need some means of forced air to move heat around. The genny makes that a lot easier, and I know how to do it safely.

Update: still kickin' in the big frosty.

Currently -37C, wind chill -42C, and heading downward.

We can mostly operate in these temps, but there is a lot that can go wrong.

Headed for -43C tonight, wind chill -50. It's nasty outside, but I know to dress for it (for a while anyway -- there's a breeze, and it's bitter).

The electrical grid authority sent an emergency alert to all cell phones. Use less juice or face rolling blackouts. Phew.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Headed for -43C tonight, wind chill -50. It's nasty outside, but I know to dress for it (for a while anyway -- there's a breeze, and it's bitter).

The electrical grid authority sent an emergency alert to all cell phones. Use less juice or face rolling blackouts. Phew.

It's lodged in my brain that -40 is where C and F are the same.  We haven't seen that in several winters, but I can recall the 'razor effect' on the face if not protected properly.   Shivering just thinking about it!....

John Weiland wrote:It's lodged in my brain that -40 is where C and F are the same.  We haven't seen that in several winters, but I can recall the 'razor effect' on the face if not protected properly.   Shivering just thinking about it!....

You're right John, -40 is where both scales converge, and jointly agree that it's damn  miserable outside.

Well, we survived. The dangerous cold is on the verge of breaking and now it's only bloody cold, at -28C/-18F with a cheeky little breeze to make it interesting.

We're getting a little stir crazy though. Once it gets to -21C I'll be running around outside in a Hawaiian shirt and flip flops.

Does make me wonder how people coped with it 200 years ago!