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Xringer 02-18-14 09:44 AM

Winter Apocalypse! What will you do to survive?
 
1 Attachment(s)
Last night's sudden temperature drop wasn't in the forecast..

I was sitting in the Den watching "Day After Tomorrow" for the 8th time, (Maybe 14th time)
when suddenly, the outside temperature was telling the Sanyos to defrost,
and the nice Asian lady was singing her siren song of doom..
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/35552-post34.html

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1392736796
A pretty sine wave, THIS TIME!! :rolleyes:

So, I started setting up our three space heaters (1 oil filled radiator & 2 noisy fan models),
turned on the oil burner, just before the den Sanyo started blinking defrost.

As I was saying a silent prayer for NStar, for some reason, I looked at the wooden chairs in the kitchen and made a mental note.
Those chairs are made out of hardwood.. They will burn slow..

What if the power went out for a few weeks?


So, I goggled "Eco Bricks" again this morning..

http://www.montemarevilla.com/assets...eco-brick2.jpg

Check em out at: Home | Eco Brick

What do you guys think? How many pallets would be too much? :p

MN Renovator 02-18-14 10:03 AM

This guy seems to like Bio Bricks. Same thing.

Fully LEGAL 252 Sq. Foot Tiny House in Massachusetts (Cabin-Small Home) - YouTube

Ryland 02-18-14 11:04 PM

Drain the pipes and put a coat on.
People go camping at -20F, I think we can handle being in houses that don't have heat, my parents who aren't all that old even talk about being kids and waking up with frost on their bed covers.

The risky part is people who do things like leave a water tap running, the drain was already slow or maybe it froze up and floods the house while they sleep and that happens without the heat going out!

brogsie 02-19-14 04:12 PM

Didn't realize it got that cold last night. The Fujitsu kept up OK. Are the Sanyos just that much older they don't have the technology for temps near zero?

Xringer 02-19-14 05:47 PM

1 Attachment(s)
If it's not too humid, the old Sanyos will work down to about 8F.
My alarm is set for 11F, so I can start getting the back-up ready.
Last night wasn't too cold (the above post is from yesterday).
I don't like to run them under 10F. Space heater efficiency..

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1392853106

But, it was humid around here. My sensor showed 95% RH.

I was getting a ton of defrost cycles. Had to use some space heaters.
They actually did most of the work. The Sanyos didn't hardly came on..

Killed the space heaters when I got up, and the Sanyos worked okay.
They were using about 1/2 the power of those wasteful space heaters..

MN Renovator 02-19-14 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brogsie (Post 35899)
Didn't realize it got that cold last night. The Fujitsu kept up OK. Are the Sanyos just that much older they don't have the technology for temps near zero?

He is afraid of damaging the units if the power use goes up too high and he doesn't run them if they will be defrosting. I'm sure they would probably be able to keep up and be cheaper to run than oil and space heaters if he let them do the work. His units aren't the most efficient but they should be better than his backup heat.

Xringer 02-20-14 01:10 PM

" I'm sure they would probably be able to keep up and be cheaper to run than oil and space heaters if he let them do the work. "


I don't know how many times I've heard that.. Dozens maybe?

Here we go again..
I'm 100% convinced that these particular Sanyos should NOT be allowed to run 3.6 kW.
That's about 15 amps, heading for 20.

When they get up over 15A, the outdoor unit roars for a while, then it will shut itself down.
It normally only takes 40 to 60 seconds.. It's very repeatable..
Just press the button marked "HIGH POWER", or just set the temp up, more than 1 degree.
Moving the setpoint up by 2 or more degrees, triggers "HIGH POWER" mode.

See "High Pressure Switch and OverLoad Relay" at the bottom of this diagram.
http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...CL/outdoor.jpg

It was during one of those power-hogging cycles, that my first Sanyo
blew a pin-hole in the copper line from the compressor.

So, to prevent a re-occurrence of R410a loss, I hacked together a 10A current limiter..
So, 2.5 kW is about as far as they can go.

My 10A breaker auto-resets after 65 seconds and the Sanyo thinks
it was a grid failure and restarts within 5 minutes.
(The remote transmits every 5 minutes).

Whats the deal with Defrost?

Well, if it's really cold out and a defrost cycle goes on too long, the room
temp could drop 2 degrees! (I'm sleeping and don't notice).
So, a few minutes later when the remote squawks, it's going to ask for
a 2 degree increase..
"HIGH POWER" mode, here we come!!




I've learned my lesson. I also avoid driving my Ford Escape up steep hills
with my foot buried in the firewall..
(I know about the factory defect in the transmission).. :p

Xringer 02-20-14 02:39 PM

[QUOTE=MN Renovator;35864]This guy seems to like Bio Bricks. Same thing.


I like the tiny house. It would be great to have one up near a lake in NH..
If I were to build one, I would set it up for solar PV to the max.. :D

Xringer 02-20-14 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryland (Post 35877)
Drain the pipes and put a coat on.
People go camping at -20F, I think we can handle being in houses that don't have heat, my parents who aren't all that old even talk about being kids and waking up with frost on their bed covers.

The risky part is people who do things like leave a water tap running, the drain was already slow or maybe it froze up and floods the house while they sleep and that happens without the heat going out!


It's actually not that easy to drain a forced hotwater baseboard heating system.
The basement loop would be next to impossible to drain..
Have to blow it out with air pressure.

All my best to those people who go camping in -20 deg weather.. May they RIP. :rolleyes:
I'm pretty sure that an old man from Texas would only last a few hours in -20..
It's just not in the DNA..
When I was a boy, camping on the Rio Grande, I woke up with frost on my sleeping bag some mornings,
but the temp was around 25 to 30 F.. Above Zero! And by 11AM, it would be in the 70s.. :D


That's a good point about leaving the water tap on.. If your sink drain freezes, and you still have running water! LOL!!

A while back in Boston, some idiots turned down their heat in some stores, trying to save a few bucks..
When they came in on Monday, and turned on the heat. Flood waters came out of the ceilings!
Those guys aren't from Fargo.. :p

Ryland 02-21-14 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xringer (Post 35944)
That's a good point about leaving the water tap on.. If your sink drain freezes, and you still have running water! LOL!!

Yep, a friend up the street had about $15,000 in damage on three finished floors of their house from a running tap and a clogged drain, the plumber said it happens all the time in the winter.

On my to do list is a 600 watt power supply, enough to keep the furnace running with an anderson connector for plugging in more batteries.

Xringer 02-21-14 10:41 PM

I've got some solar back-up power for running sump pumps during flooding, if the power fails.
I think the system could run my oil burner, but not for very long. (Old batteries).
My main backup for the house is a 5KW gasoline generator.
With fuel on hand, and intermittent running, maybe we could keep
the house warmed up for about a week.
It would be longer, if I wasn't wasting so much gas on the snowblower.. :(

But, if the local stations had power, I could buy more gas as needed.. Maybe.
A few people up in NH had to use generators for a whole month..
Serious ice storm in the NE that winter..

greif 03-07-14 05:36 PM

Just of back from mexico but was able to experience the record breaking 53rd day with below zero temps

Xringer 03-07-14 08:32 PM

2 Attachment(s)
Wow, that might beat Green Bay's 49 days! If they got a warm-up day..

Green Bay sets record for days with sub-zero temperatures | FOX 11 Online | WLUK-TV

I can't even imagine living in a place that cold!
The winter in WI makes MA seem like Bermuda!

I'm sitting here with layers, and I was only outdoors for an hour today..
We got in a nice three mile walk, when it bounced up above 35F ! :D

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1394245850

We only had a few sub 10F days this past week.. :eek:
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1394246062

greif 03-08-14 08:33 AM

I'm just south of green bay and set the new record of 53 days. It was -19 when we left for mexico and 87 when we got there so over 100 degree difference but got back weds night and had -13 Thursday morning.

Thing is northern WI and MN we even worse and then there is Canada brrrrrr
Anchorage ALaska had a warmer winter then we did.

It was a really couldy winter here too so not much solar hot water heat ... bummer.

Well off to go help my parent start to setup for maple syrup season


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