Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How's your Winter?

For those of you that are new here this is all in fun. We know each other pretty well and like to kid each other.

Cecil, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around your previous post about YeeHaw, cold, snow, and ice coming. I've been thinking about that for a couple of weeks.

To us, snow tires and chains, specially built shovels, snow plows, etc just doesn't compute. Of course, it gets hotter than the deepest depths of hell here during the summers so I guess it all evens out.

We rarely get winter snow but generally get a couple of ice storms that paralyzes everything. But, it's temporary.

My heating bills aren't all that high and my fireplace is mostly ornamental. But, my summer A/C bills certainly equal Northern heating bills.

I think it was Ken who had prepared for winter with 20 cords of wood.
I get by with a cord of wood for both places.

And then, there is rain vs lack of rain. Boy, do I envy you guys on that one.

Bob I learned the last time that we are to take our own drinks to the golf coarse. Up here that is forbidden to take your own beer to the coarse. In Florida if you want to drink golfing you better take some with you. So Laid back there is no beer cart.

Please feel free to call me Don.

The handle was created from my name and one hobby.
DonOudekerk Big Block Dart.
Sold a few and currently working on a 1969 valiant two door post with a big block and four speed.




Love the snow tires. Really worth their weight in gold. Even drop a set of 20's on the wifes Aspen for safety.

I really like the Blizzacks as well. Not a warm weather tire they will burn off fast when its warm but they stick like glue.

Cheers Don.

P.S. looking for a pro streeted 1967-1969 cuda notch back not fast back. Back halfed roller would be great with title.

I'll put some feelers out. Used to build a number of cars in the mid to late '80's. Some full chassis cars, but mostly back halved. How big of a big block?

I used to run Green Diamond Tires, but had to buy this set of Blizzaks when the last set wore out and I couldn't get a set in time for a trip. The GD's work better than the Blizzaks, epecially on ice. http://www.greendiamondtire.com/ You're right about the tires wearing out fast during warm weather.

Wow picked up the wife and a road I had passed by earlier that was fine has a section where the snow is blowing so badly you drive blind for about 100 yds. Be careful out there!

I agree with esshup. More like winter when I was younger.

I'll never forget when I was 12 years old we did not go to school for one single day in the month of January. Seems like we missed a total of 32 days that year.

Also remember pictures in the newspaper of people walking across the Ohio river. An a VW bug out on the ice driving around. Not this guy.

It has been very cold for us, but low on snow. We don't get much lake effect here, just far enough away and between bands. A true winter, without getting buried. It is the shortage on propane which is concerning, as we are in the middle of switching suppliers. Luckily we should have enough wood to last though to spring if our new supplier cant come through.

It is like the 70s when I was a kid. Solid harsh winter.

My winter? Most days have been in the 70's with a couple of chilly days in the 60's. I've been hitting the beach almost every weekend!

From the suburbs of New Orleans...

Coldest winter I can remember! Got a mix of snow, sleet, and rain on Thursday and expecting more mix tomorrow and snow tomorrow night. Predicted temps in the mid to high 20s next three nights; that will make about 10 days in the 20s this winter when it normally only gets in the 20s once per winter.

32 with a 45 mph wind. About -35 wind chill.

Here's one of the entrances to a middle school that is nearby my house. Not necessarily a huge amount of snow has fallen but with high winds this is the kind of thing you can get.

My driveway is buried in snow for the fourth or fifth time this winter. Sure glad I have a snow blower vs. hiring someone to plow my 400 foot driveway. That can get expensive.



Photo by West Noble 5th grade teacher Alissa Baumgartner

How's my winter? I suppose that depends on your perspective. From a business standpoint, not so good....the combination of frequent snows, arctic temps, and an underfunded county highway dept. means that I can't get equipment brought into the shop. That makes for a skinny bottom line.

One thing that isn't skinny however, is our ice this year. Fantastic! The best I have seen in many years. Think I have most of my winter projects wrapped up, so hopefully I will be able to fish pretty heavy from now on, provided the temps don't flip-flop.

No snow blower repairs? I just got mine back from local shop.

A few, but my southerly, (and more importantly, rural), location means that snowblower sales and service is a hit or miss proposition. Take right now...it got up to 47 degrees here yesterday. Except for areas where the snow was pushed into piles, our ground is bare. I'm looking out the window at grass right now. Roads and sidewalks are dry and clear. I'm scheduling mowers for later this week.

On an average, I probably do a dozen snowblowers a winter?

Bad timing…our second polar express hit us last night and then on the local news this morning they announced the propane shortage is at emergency levels and prices are doubling. The fireplace will be getting a workout for the rest of winter. I feel sorry for the old folks that are on a tight budget.

I just called a local supplier and they're at $5.61 a gallon and won't lock it in. It'll be charged the current price on day of delivery. And as I stated earlier, it was $1.34 on 9-11-13.

I now have 3 infrared heaters in the house, and burning a ton of firewood in a very inefficient fireplace. Next year I WILL have a fireplace insert so I can actually get some heat out of the darn thing.

And even though I'm on a tight budget, there are many worse off than me that I wonder how they'll manage! This is awful!

Lovinlivn,

I have a fireplace like that. It's fueled by gas but most of the heat goes up the chimney. We only use it for looks I guess. At least the wife does. The most expensive insert the company made and the blower doesn't even make much of a difference.

One of these days I'm going to get someone over here to take a look at it.

Lovnlivin,

If you have 3 4 bulb infrared heater units going be sitting down when you open your electric bill.

OTOH on the west coast with their mild temps and continued historic drought I thought I'd post this pic of reservoir near San Jose called Steven's Creek reservoir.

This was posted on another site I frequent.


She (the poster) says skiing in the Sierra's is a bust with mostly man made snow.

Jim, the two I've had haven't been bad at all (one Comfort Furnace I bought 3 years ago, one Life Smart bought this year), less than $40 per month to run them both. The Comfort furnace in the room I'm in at the time, the Life Smart in the kids' room in the basement. They leave theirs on but cycles at 68 and stays comfortable. The third one stays in my bedroom (coldest room in the house), turning it on 1 hour before bedtime and stays comfy at 63 throughout the night.

Running them the way I do they've been pretty efficient, compared to 100 gal per month of propane, now over $5 per gallon.

I'm way ahead!

BTW, I have a gadget called Kill-A-Watt that you plug the (120v) appliance into to tell you what it will cost you to run it.

"Simply plug your applicance into the device and then plug the device into the wall. -- The LCD readout will display energy consumption by the Kilowatt-Hour and will forecast electricity costs by the hour, day, week, month...even an entire year."

Double L, good info but as usual I'm a bit confused. Where did you get the life smart unit? Also if you have two that ya can run for $40 per month, what does the third one run?

The LifeSmart heaters came from Menards.


I just bought it Saturday so I haven't had a chance to check it. I'm still looking for where I might have put the "Kill-A-Watt" gadget

The best one I have heard so far:

We are well into the third January of this season...

Lovnlivin:

I have a fireplace insert. Pretty much the largest one that is made - enough to heat a 2500 sq. ft house (so the literature said). It uses outside air for combustion, and a fan to circulate air around the unit.

For the amount of wood that I burn, I would have gotten more heat from a stand alone wood stove, and probably burn less wood. My sister has one in their basement, and it heats the whole house with less wood than I use. Their house is insulated about the same as mine, and is about the same square footage.

If I had to do it again, knowing what I know now, I would have figured out a way to make room for a stand alone wood stove instead of an insert.

Cecil, I would think it would/should be more efficient but I don't know much about the gas ones.

My brother's wood burning insert was going when I got there, and he put only 3 split logs in it during the 3 hours I was there. It warmed the entire basement and put off a tremendous amount of heat. His is a round cast-iron unit with most of it sitting outside of the fireplace.

The next night at home I went through 2-20 gal plastic totes full of split logs in 2 1/2 hours with very little heat.

I will go through all of this this winter, where it would last my brother probably 3 years. Right now this stack is about 2/3 gone and I burn it only 2-3 times per week, max.



Regarding a new insert, I believe the right one will easily pay for itself, the operative word being the "right" one without breaking the bank!