tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Probably good advice if you're in the path of what we're going to get Wednesday (be safe) - I own a heating company and wanted to share this for all. Monday night through Thursday we all will experience temperatures and wind chills that our homes' heating systems are NOT designed for. -20 to -30-degree temperatures with wind chills into -40 and up to -50+. Newer homes will struggle to maintain temperature and older homes will NOT maintain temperature and the temperature WILL drop while the heating system is working at full capacity. 1. Please raise the temperature in your home on Monday, 2 to 4 degrees above your normal setting. 2. Take all programmable thermostats out of setback mode and set on a permanent HOLD. 3. If you have a furnace; replace the filter. 4. Keep garage doors closed. 5. Limit opening exterior doors. 6. Make sure air vents and radiators are not blocked or obstructed. 7. If you have a 90%+ furnace and boiler: You must keep the intake and exhaust clear of ice and snow. During these cold temperatures, ice can build up. A 90%+ furnace and boiler have 2 white PVC pipes; an exhaust pipe and an intake pipe that are generally on the side or back of your home. In some instances, they are on your roof, do NOT go on your roof to clear the pipe. If the temperature in your home is dropping and your radiators are HOT with boiler systems or you have HOT air coming out of your vents with furnaces DO NOT PANIC. Please make sure that your heating system continues to operate. If the temperatures drop in your home, it will not be able to recover until temperatures rise and the windchill diminishes. Our heating systems cannot overcome temperatures -20 to -30 with wind chill up to -50+. They are sized to operate at 0 degrees outdoor. Put your thermostat on hold 70 degrees or higher. To help minimize temperature loss you can boil water, make soup, or stews; they help introduce humidity and warmer temperatures into your home. DO NOT USE YOUR OVEN or a GRILL TO HEAT YOUR HOME. Please check on neighbors and elderly residents during these extreme temperatures. Stay warm and safe this week and share this email with any of your family and friends. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillies Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 its might be up to -45 here with wind chill. Thats kind of fucking scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillies Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 We have 2x 1500 watt electric space heaters here in case anything bad happens to main heating system. Each one can cover 400 square feet so if we have both on full blast during the worst day of it this should keep us alive . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillies Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 -45 degree wind chill means anyone outside could ACTUALLY FUCKING DIE if they stay out for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mewn Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 My tits are gonna fall off 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poof Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 THE COLDENING 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codename: Jackass Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Come to Texas, y'all can chill in my spare room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Also... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Similar warning as the OP, but this time from our local PD - Wed Jan 30th high is -12 -12 degrees for high! This has never in the history of weather happened here. Understand that if these temps hold true it's very likely many homes will experience heating issues. One of the most common furnace calls is that something is wrong with your furnace because the house temperature is falling at the thermostat. That won't necessarily indicate an issue. Furnaces are not designed for the load your home is going to experience this week. If your furnace was designed to maintain 70 degrees at an outside temperature of 0 then anything below that temperature and your furnace will not be able to keep up. It will run non stop but you will continue to lose temperature. Many people should expect home temperatures to fall into the mid to lower 60's during the 96 or so hours of an extreme arctic blast. Also if you set your furnace temperature back while sleeping or at work to save energy DON'T do it this week. Put your thermostat into a “hold” mode because your furnace might be able to barely maintain in these extremes but it will not be able to catch back up! Put on a sweater, throw an extra blanket on your bed and buckle down for some scary cold weather! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 10 hours ago, Phillies said: We have 2x 1500 watt electric space heaters here in case anything bad happens to main heating system. Each one can cover 400 square feet so if we have both on full blast during the worst day of it this should keep us alive . Yeah, we've got a couple too. Provided a powerline doesn't snap, they should help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/01/28/chicago-colder-than-siberia-antarcitca-mount-everest/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hooray climate change slowing the jet stream! In a few years we won't have so much a winter as a "vortex season" running from jan-april/may during which it will be common for people to freeze to death in their homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 https://wgntv.com/2019/01/28/faucet-furnace-fingers-easy-tips-for-keeping-your-family-safe-in-the-cold/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Chicago Uber - 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juice McKenzie Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Also keep faucets on a drip to help prevent pipes freezing. Although I don't know if it will help with how cold its supposed to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 For the past hour, the temp has been -22°F with a "RealFeel" of -53°F...and there are towns colder than us. I think they said there are 18K without power. The creaks & pops sound like doors slamming in the house (temperature contraction). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmod_Luna Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Geeze I can't imagine not having power in this. My furnace has been on almost constantly as the temperature dips down no more than 5 minutes after it gets up to temperature. My bathroom door didn't want to close last night and I'm guessing the temperature is the reason. I live in an older building but it's insulated pretty well and I'm on the 2nd floor. It's not even THAT cold here. Never thought I'd say that when there's a high of - 1 but here we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 My uncle ran out of propane. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 my parents woke up to -30F with a windchill of -56F. might get even colder tonight, but with less wind. we're struggling to make any gains on our low of -17F at 8am. house was noisy when that wind started around 2am. furnace kept up just fine, but with forced air heat, it wasn't keeping anything warm besides the air. objects (floors, furniture, FUCKING TOILET SEAT) were a good 10-20 degrees colder than the air due to radational cooling. but we're on the downhill side now, as the wind is supposed to lighten up over the next few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 I had never heard of these - but I experienced them all night long last night. We have the potential for more tonight. I kept wondering who the heck was slamming doors or was my roof coming off? https://wgntv.com/2019/01/30/loud-booms-reported-in-the-chicago-area-could-be-frost-quakes/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpgamer Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Y'know, the whole "real feel" thing sounds pretty dumb at this point. Ain't nobody out there that can tell the difference between -5 and -50. At a certain point, it all just feels like "fucking cold." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacky1980 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 6 minutes ago, rpgamer said: Y'know, the whole "real feel" thing sounds pretty dumb at this point. Ain't nobody out there that can tell the difference between -5 and -50. At a certain point, it all just feels like "fucking cold." i disagree. -5F with no wind hurts after a few minutes. -5F with 20mph wind hurts after a few seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsar4 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) Had to take the trash out & made the mistake of trying to breathe through my nose in the -17° F air. It was sniffing a bottle of ammonia. I'd have to assume that -53°F would be like this... Edited January 31, 2019 by tsar4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackNoir Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I refuse to live where that's happening....I'ma jump the wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts