Just a few minutes ago.
One of the things I had to get programmed in my head was the concept of water pipes freezing. My BiL is a plumber and he told me to keep small heaters strategically placed in a couple of locations where the waters flows, including the crawlspace.
The idea of getting out in the freezing weather to plug and unplug the heaters was not very appealing to me, so last winter I added Cold Weather Thermostatically Controlled Outlets to the devices. Truthfully I never found out if they clicked in or not because the really cold spell did not last that long and temps at the heater locations apparently did not drop enough to activated them.
But today? Holy crap, you can see it did go down enough to freeze the sun. I donned my cold clothes and went to check on the heaters: Working like charm (Yes, I figured they were working before ’cause the water was running).
One small but important detail: Make sure the load of your heaters does not overwhelm the outlet. This one is rated for a max of 1,200 Watts and thankfully the heaters I use come with a setting at 750 W which is more than enough to keep the pipes from “popsicling”.
The high for today is going to be just 13 degrees, but since it is my day off, we are planning on do nothing but binge Jack Ryan and get fat.
And you guys, stay safe and warm.
Currently a bit over 8°F here, and maybe getting somewhat colder. Sounds very blustery outside. In another few minutes, I’ll need to bundle up and go let the chickens out of their coop (and give them some liquid water).
The pipes here are in the basement, which doesn’t have large temperature excursions. Most of the neighbors don’t have basements, so there may be some surprises. I have been making a point of keeping hoses, and especially hose-end nozzles, drained.
Ugh. Humidity in here is 27%. Better go see if the humidifier is out of water already.
Current temp 43, rain, wind… gonna be 17 tonight. Yall bundle up.