We're experiencing Unusual Southern Weather... with pics!

[EdMat]

Engineered to be quick to build at the factory using sub assemblies. When the poor mechanic has to go 2 or 3 deep into those sub assemblies to do what should be a simple job, that's when the #%%^ hits the fan.

 

[Gwolf]

Engineered to be quick to build at the factory using sub assemblies. When the poor mechanic has to go 2 or 3 deep into those sub assemblies to do what should be a simple job, that's when the #%%^ hits the fan.

It's not just that. When I worked at the phosphate mine the engineers would go pull the original blueprints from the headquarters building when they wanted to modify a process. They wouldn't even send anybody into the plants to take measurements. The process they wanted to modify may have already been modified and patched on, and no telling what else, so it would differ from the original blueprints. The engineers would order ductwork, piping, hydraulic gates, pumps, and all sorts of stuff, based on the original blueprints. Half of it wouldn't bolt up when it got there. Then management would pull some of us from the shops to modify the brand new items so they would fit and it was always a rush job. The engineer drawings and measurements would end up being a waste of time and the drawings that had correct measurements and made the parts fit were done in a little spiral rib pocket note pad. Far as I know, none of the final modification details/measurements ever made it into the files, so the process just repeated next time the plans called for another modification.

 

[gbyoung2]

Open cabinets and water dripping here too, Guy. Hang in there.

Sarah

FWIW - the banter about unusual weather continues on that MC forum I mentioned, and something interesting came up yesterday.

In the conversation...

gbyoung2 said:

"Our brick (veneer) single level rancher was built in '58 and doesn't have a lick of insulation in the walls. One of the POs has spread some rock wool in the attic, but that's it. Fortunately, none of our water lines run in the walls, they all go straight down through the floor and are suspended in the overhead of the vented crawl space. We close the vents in the late fall well before the first freeze.

"We used to turn on a single crawl space bulb in the winter but got lazy as we aged 'cause it's such a PITA to get to the pull coed to turn it ON and OFF. With weather like we've been having here lately, we just open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors for anticipated temps down into the mid-20's and allow faucets to drip if temps below that are expected.

"So far, so good."

Another replied:

"Kind of the same situation here. Coincidentally I placed a remote sensor in the unheated area before the really cold weather started and can monitor the temperature from the living room. Heat rises, but there's also heat that escapes downward as well. When it's below zero and windy the temperature ranges between 26 and 30. I heard a knowledgeable professor explain that any structure - say an unheated barn - that shelters from radiational cooling may drop below 32F but not much further.

"AI agrees: " An unheated structure, such as a shed or roof, prevents nocturnal radiational cooling of the ground beneath it by acting as a physical barrier that absorbs escaping longwave radiation and re-radiates warmth downward, blocking direct, clear-sky exposure. This keeps the surface underneath warmer compared to open ground, which cools rapidly. ""

Interesting.

 

[pegasus1300]

What you say is true, Peter ,but it all boils down to whose agenda they are going to design to? It is always to that of whoever signs the paycheck.

 

[gbyoung2]

Ya’ll remember Al Michaels quote/call during the Miracle on Ice hockey game? Well, that’s what’s going through my mind right now.

A huge dump truck with a spreader on the back just lumbered down our road putting salt/sand down. It just made a second pass so it looks like they’re hitting the whole neighborhood. I’m grateful, but that shoulda been done several days ago.

18 deg. here now mid-morning.

We're getting a call for more snow here later in the day, but they're not expecting any significant amount in our immediate vicinity.

We'll see how that works out.