Mother Nature doesn't want to see me retire from being a wood burner it seems!

[Nick Mystic]

Last month I made a post saying goodby to the forum after more than 50 years of burning wood to keep warm. I never bought a single stick of wood; every split that went into my stove was worked up by hand. I live in Western NC and if you've been following the weather here you know that last weekend we had a big ice storm with brutally cold temperatures in the aftermath. Monday night following the storm we dropped to 6 F overnight. I had to fire up the Woodstock Classic in the lower level of our home to supplement the Jotal 600F in the living room. I have the propane furnace set at 58 F and managed to keep the place warm enough that it never came on. However, this morning the bedroom was 54F and that was with a space heater running on medium all night.

My wife has moved into our new place in town while I remain here at our country home to keep the fires burning. The snowstorm we had on Saturday dropped six inches of snow on us. Our paved driveway is 150 yards long up a steep slope. It opens up to an expanse of pavement 80 feet wide in front of the garage where it eventually goes around to the back of the house where the ground is level. Yesterday I was out shoveling that pavement and made it about halfway down the drive after 3 hours. I came in around 5:30 p.m. when the wind started picking up. It was down to 16 F by then. I dropped down to 11 F last night, but today it is clear and sunny, so when I finish this post I'm bundling back up to bring in more firewood and then it's back behind the shovel again. Once I make it down to the the private road we live on I have to shovel another 50 yards of the road leading up to the driveway because that section of road is an upward hill and doesn't get any sun due to tree cover. Left unshoveled it won't melt off and becomes a sheet of ice when the neighbors (just one family up the road) attempts to drive in and out without shoveling and packs the snow down into ice. She slid off the road yesterday and has left her truck partially blocking the road.

So, I guess Mother Nature heard of my retirement and wanted to give me one last gift to remember country life before she let me go!

 

[begreen]

Maybe just wait it out and let it melt? NC is getting some serious winter right now. My sister's dealing with frozen pipes. Hopefully this all is a memory in a few days.

 

[Eman85]

So you're the one to blame! I lived on the NC side many years back now I'm on the TN side of the mountains. Not enjoying the weather at all. I hadn't burned much at the start of the winter but making up for it now. I did buy logging truck loads of wood when I lived on the NC side as I didn't have a wood lot but I've fed a lot of wood I worked in the 40 years of burning.

 

[SteveKG]

My sister and bro'-iin-law recently built their retirement home down south and, after having both a fireplace and woodburning stove their entire lives, decided on an all-electric home. They said, we love the wood heat but we don't wanna mess with ash and cutting and etc. firewood and can't wait to never have to worry about it again.

You can guess who's singing the blues right now: all electric home with...no electricity. No stove. And so on.

I told them they are welcome to come stay with us in the Rockies: three wood stoves and five cords of cut and stacked wood and that is our only source of heat for the past fifty years. All our elec power comes from solar panels, as does our hot water. Brother-in-law says, "What a mistake I made giving away my chainsaws and stove."

 

[begreen]

Duke Energy just sent this out to customers in NC and SC

Extremely cold temperatures – 10 to 20 degrees below normal – are driving unusually high energy demand across the East Coast, including the Carolinas. As a result, power supplies are limited.

We take every possible action to manage the available power supply and work throughout the year to prepare for this type of constraint. Energy conservation can play a critical role to protect the energy grid from damage and avoid the possibility for temporary power outages.

You can help by cutting back on energy use tomorrow from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.

§ Set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting and put on additional clothing layers.​

§ Electric space heaters may provide comfort but use a lot of energy. Avoid their use until temperatures rise.​

§ Avoid using your electric washer/dryer and dishwasher during winter’s high-demand hours in the morning.​

§ Open blinds and curtains during daylight hours to help warm your home naturally.​

§ Avoid using an electric oven and/or stovetop during periods of peak demand.​

§ Turn off any unnecessary appliances and lights.​

§ Avoid charging electronics in the morning. For those with electric vehicles, charge midday when demand is lower.​

We recognize that reducing your energy use, especially when temperatures are well below normal, is challenging. We appreciate your assistance and understanding.

 

[bigealta]

Duke Energy just sent this out to customers in NC and SC

Extremely cold temperatures – 10 to 20 degrees below normal – are driving unusually high energy demand across the East Coast, including the Carolinas. As a result, power supplies are limited.

We take every possible action to manage the available power supply and work throughout the year to prepare for this type of constraint. Energy conservation can play a critical role to protect the energy grid from damage and avoid the possibility for temporary power outages.

You can help by cutting back on energy use tomorrow from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.

§ Set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting and put on additional clothing layers.​

§ Electric space heaters may provide comfort but use a lot of energy. Avoid their use until temperatures rise.​

§ Avoid using your electric washer/dryer and dishwasher during winter’s high-demand hours in the morning.​

§ Open blinds and curtains during daylight hours to help warm your home naturally.​

§ Avoid using an electric oven and/or stovetop during periods of peak demand.​

§ Turn off any unnecessary appliances and lights.​

§ Avoid charging electronics in the morning. For those with electric vehicles, charge midday when demand is lower.​

We recognize that reducing your energy use, especially when temperatures are well below normal, is challenging. We appreciate your assistance and understanding.

Hmm i guess the smarty pants homes are gonna get a C or D or maybe even an F in class this semester.

 

[EbS-P]

Duke Energy just sent this out to customers in NC and SC

Extremely cold temperatures – 10 to 20 degrees below normal – are driving unusually high energy demand across the East Coast, including the Carolinas. As a result, power supplies are limited.

We take every possible action to manage the available power supply and work throughout the year to prepare for this type of constraint. Energy conservation can play a critical role to protect the energy grid from damage and avoid the possibility for temporary power outages.

You can help by cutting back on energy use tomorrow from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.

§ Set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting and put on additional clothing layers.​

§ Electric space heaters may provide comfort but use a lot of energy. Avoid their use until temperatures rise.​

§ Avoid using your electric washer/dryer and dishwasher during winter’s high-demand hours in the morning.​

§ Open blinds and curtains during daylight hours to help warm your home naturally.​

§ Avoid using an electric oven and/or stovetop during periods of peak demand.​

§ Turn off any unnecessary appliances and lights.​

§ Avoid charging electronics in the morning. For those with electric vehicles, charge midday when demand is lower.​

We recognize that reducing your energy use, especially when temperatures are well below normal, is challenging. We appreciate your assistance and understanding.

And all the solar in the region is covered by snow I’m not going on the roof to clean them off! I Don’t have a snow rake. I guess could go get one but they don’t sell the here best I could do is a long pole and a squeegee.

Edit. Past days usage.

 

[bigealta]

You can try to use a rope to under cut the snow if your roof is steep enough it will slide off, Maybe.

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[EbS-P]

You can try to use a rope to under cut the snow if your roof is steep enough it will slide off, Maybe.

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It’s not that steep. It’s going to freeze hard tonight. And get to 50 on Tuesday and Wednesday the. A chance of rain. Not worth the effort. If the utility need my battery they will charge it and discharge it.

 

[EbS-P]

Duke Energy just sent this out to customers in NC and SC

Extremely cold temperatures – 10 to 20 degrees below normal – are driving unusually high energy demand across the East Coast, including the Carolinas. As a result, power supplies are limited.

We take every possible action to manage the available power supply and work throughout the year to prepare for this type of constraint. Energy conservation can play a critical role to protect the energy grid from damage and avoid the possibility for temporary power outages.

You can help by cutting back on energy use tomorrow from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m.

§ Set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting and put on additional clothing layers.​

§ Electric space heaters may provide comfort but use a lot of energy. Avoid their use until temperatures rise.​

§ Avoid using your electric washer/dryer and dishwasher during winter’s high-demand hours in the morning.​

§ Open blinds and curtains during daylight hours to help warm your home naturally.​

§ Avoid using an electric oven and/or stovetop during periods of peak demand.​

§ Turn off any unnecessary appliances and lights.​

§ Avoid charging electronics in the morning. For those with electric vehicles, charge midday when demand is lower.​

We recognize that reducing your energy use, especially when temperatures are well below normal, is challenging. We appreciate your assistance and understanding.

I just got this message. These aren’t record breaking low temps. These “events” show just how close to edge technology has allowed the grip operators to run. My heatpump is off. Until it hits 45-50. So all tomorrow and most of Tuesday. School is canceled for kids and professors tomorrow so we’re home. I’ll let the pipes trickle tonight. Calling for a low of 16. We should be ok. It’s above freezing now.

Backup resistive strips will be running in lots of home through the night into the morning

 

[Whitenuckler]

Avoid charging electronics in the morning

Give me a break, 5V 2A Max per device? I sure hope folks have heat and lights. Very unusual to have weather like that down south on the coast.

 

[begreen]

Give me a break, 5V 2A Max per device? I sure hope folks have heat and lights. Very unusual to have weather like that down south on the coast.

Multiply that times a million. The gist is to conserve power and only use it for necessities for that 6 hr period.

 

[begreen]

Meanwhile, North Carolina's road crews are having to innovate a bit.

 

[EbS-P]

Multiply that times a million. The gist is to conserve power and only use it for necessities for that 6 hr period.

Duke progress and Duke Carolina (soon to merge if they get their way). probably serve more than 10 million customers.

I raked my rocked driveway and it’s now free of snow. The road under all the trees will freeze to a solid sheet of ice. Where there is no tree cover it will be rutted ice tracks.

 

[Osage]

Meanwhile, North Carolina's road crews are having to innovate a bit.

View attachment 345913

I remember when our youngest son was in the Coast Guard and transferred to Bellingham Wa. in 2008. Bellingham had a big snow that winter and apparently they had got rid of their snow removal equipment because of lack of use. This photo could have been taken there.😄