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Prepping for Snowmaggedon


Newstead

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Ok, you Yankees, go ahead and laugh now. TWC and all others are calling for 3 to 5 inches snow here Friday to Sat. Seeing how Charlotte and most of NC is built over the mouth to hell we usually don't get what they say we will, but just in case... we have so many trees here that we often get power outages during snow. We Southerners are required to go crazy if snow is in the forecast, so this just gives us another excuse to run around prepping for nuclear winter the next 2 days.

 

I have 1 battery air pump and am buying more today. I have a 29 AIO and a 75 gal with sump - how many pumps should I buy? We are going to be moving this year so I had planned to buy several anyway for the move.

 

Not too worried about heat as there is a fireplace in the den with the tanks we can keep going. Light shouldn't be an issue if we lose power a couple of days, right?

 

Anything else I should have on hand? Will be doing my regular water change tomorrow.

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I'd just go buy a small gas powered generator; keep it running properly (without lights) and not worry about batteries and air stones.

That being said, I generally recommend 1 battery operated air pump for every 15 to 20 gallons of water. You'll want a separate one for the sump if you have any livestock or a fuge down there.

Lucky that you have a heat source near by! Saves you from that whole mess. Just keep an eye on temps; may need to stoke that fire if things get chilly, or remove a log if it is getting too hot. A swing in either direction isn't going to be good.

Best of luck!
Fingers crossed it doesn't happen :)

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RIP Sebastian

OOHHHH NOOOOO! 3-5 INCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHH! BETTER GET THE MILK AND TOILET PAPER!!!!!!!!

 

Sorry...well, not really... As long as you have 1 for the 29 and 2-3 for the 75, you should be good.

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Ditto on your doomsday prepping here in Roswell (Georgia), Newstead.

 

IF we get a prolonged power outage my plan is pour myself a scotch, kick on the battery powered air pump and light a fire in the living room fireplace. Know for a fact that even a low fire (like a 3-hour firelog) can keep the room at 70F even when it's in the 20's outside.

 

 

EDIT: For all the inevitable upcoming mockery about Southerners freaking out about trivially small snowfalls - keep in mind many towns/cities in the South don't maintain an adequate fleet of snowplows or salters/sanders because it "only snows once or twice every couple of years" and its an easy budget save. Couple that with potentially poorly maintained street drainage and what you get is a pervasive .5-1" sheet of ice that forms as soon as the sun sets on most roadways.

 

Around here, we also get a lot of tree limbs (or whole trees) that come down hard and in large numbers when it sleets & freezes. Pines have very shallow root balls and the needles catch & hold onto ice like nobody's business.

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Ok, you Yankees, go ahead and laugh now. TWC and all others are calling for 3 to 5 inches snow here Friday to Sat. Seeing how Charlotte and most of NC is built over the mouth to hell we usually don't get what they say we will, but just in case... we have so many trees here that we often get power outages during snow. We Southerners are required to go crazy if snow is in the forecast, so this just gives us another excuse to run around prepping for nuclear winter the next 2 days.

I have 1 battery air pump and am buying more today. I have a 29 AIO and a 75 gal with sump - how many pumps should I buy? We are going to be moving this year so I had planned to buy several anyway for the move.

Not too worried about heat as there is a fireplace in the den with the tanks we can keep going. Light shouldn't be an issue if we lose power a couple of days, right?

Anything else I should have on hand? Will be doing my regular water change tomorrow.

Lmao 3-5 :lol:

6F36D00B-8334-48E0-891A-633EDDE06D3C.jpe

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3-5 inches is nothing to us here in the North.

 

I'd run your air stones, light your fire, have extra water made, batteries, and always have prime on hand.

 

No lights for a few days is no biggy. Keep blinds open for natural light

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OOHHHH NOOOOO! 3-5 INCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAHHHHHHH! BETTER GET THE MILK AND TOILET PAPER!!!!!!!!

 

 

You would think people who handle 100 degrees with 95% humidity for a month at a time could handle a few inches of snow ... NOT.

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Ditto on your doomsday prepping here in Roswell (Georgia), Newstead.

 

IF we get a prolonged power outage my plan is pour myself a scotch, kick on the battery powered air pump and light a fire in the living room fireplace.

Around here, we also get a lot of tree limbs (or whole trees) that come down hard and in large numbers when it sleets & freezes. Pines have very shallow root balls and the needles catch & hold onto ice like nobody's business.

Sounds like a plan! And you are too right about the pines - we still have about 20 50 footers on our 1 acre, after losing 12 trees a year and a half ago during a microburst. It is always nerve-wracking during ice or snow storms to hear them cracking and falling. Next door neighbor had three fall on his house during recent thunderstorms. Sounds like bombs going off - and with the severe drought we have been in, they are warning the trees are weakened anyway.

3-5 inches is nothing to us here in the North.

 

I'd run your air stones, light your fire, have extra water made, batteries, and always have prime on hand.

 

 

Our oldest son has lived in Denver the past 5 years. First winter there he was in shock - first, that businesses and schools don't close at 1 inch of snow and second, he wakes up and the residential streets are plowed. Now he doesn't even notice unless its over 6 to 8 inches.

I'd just go buy a small gas powered generator; keep it running properly (without lights) and not worry about batteries and air stones.

 

That being said, I generally recommend 1 battery operated air pump for every 15 to 20 gallons of water. You'll want a separate one for the sump if you have any livestock or a fuge down there.

 

Best of luck!

Fingers crossed it doesn't happen :)

Good tips, especially about the temp swings. We have tons of firewood from the aforementioned downed trees.

I actually have a small generator (dogshows) but husband generally appropriates it for lamp, tv, etc. If batteries run out he will have to give up the tv!

Lmao 3-5 :lol:

6F36D00B-8334-48E0-891A-633EDDE06D3C.jpe

This is truer than you can imagine. Frank just called and said grocery stores are packed ;-)

 

Thanks for all the great tips (and laughs (. Hope to see you all after the Blizzard of 2017! Lol.

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Living just north of you I understand. People are already going nuts here. If they actually prep before we will be fine. The issue is we only have 4-5 trucks and we are a larger city.

 

Buy a couple air pumps and if you don't have a gas stove/burners buy a portable one to make hot water to put in bags. I have done this in the past and everything was just fine.

 

I hope they are wrong! Be safe!

-Dave

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You should try living in the UK!

A light dusting if frost and everyone panics and forgets how to drive.

 

Luckily we never have power cuts though.

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I've lived in Ontario Cda my whole life, I still hate winter and will never enjoy the freezing temps, snow/ice filled roads.

 

I'd prefer warm weather all yr long?

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We should not have power issues. Not calling for Ice or a heavy wet snow. Of course us Southerners will go out and buy all the milk and bread in the stores ( well not this Southerner, I don't drink milk and I bake my own bread.

Oh and that "snow in the south" photo actually happened here in NC ( Raleigh area) less than 6 inches of snow. It fell fast and was cold. roads were covered in a matter of minutes and trust me, MANY folks do not have a clue how to drive in the stuff. Same storm I watched a lady in a BMW SUV ( AWD) slide slightly, never left her lane, What did she do... stopped in the middle of the road ( busy 2 lane highway, lots of log trucks and such travel it at the BOTTOM of a long hill) and proceed to get on her cell phone.

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We should not have power issues. Not calling for Ice or a heavy wet snow. Of course us Southerners will go out and buy all the milk and bread in the stores ( well not this Southerner, I don't drink milk and I bake my own bread.

Oh and that "snow in the south" photo actually happened here in NC ( Raleigh area) less than 6 inches of snow. It fell fast and was cold. roads were covered in a matter of minutes and trust me, MANY folks do not have a clue how to drive in the stuff. Same storm I watched a lady in a BMW SUV ( AWD) slide slightly, never left her lane, What did she do... stopped in the middle of the road ( busy 2 lane highway, lots of log trucks and such travel it at the BOTTOM of a long hill) and proceed to get on her cell phone.

Yep, that's the way Southerners drive in snow - plus tailgating, slamming on breaks, etc.

 

The trees are in such poor shape here now though with the drought, it won't take much to tip them - the storm the other night wasn't that bad and brought down trees all over our area.

 

We love snow, but not the driving nuts and power outages!

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Hey Dave... the impending snow-Yeti rampages won't affect my NanoBox order, will it? :lol:

 

Nope! Heading tomorrow! :D It looks like the snow won't get here until late Friday.

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3-5 oh noes!

 

Seriously though I was living near Charlotte like 15 years ago when we got over a foot. We didn't have power or gas for over a week. We were also poorly supplied because we were from Pennsylvania and just laughed it off. Ended up rationing frozen burritos cooked in the fireplace.

 

Got three feet overnight here last winter on a Saturday and by Monday it was business as usual.

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Ok, you Yankees, go ahead and laugh now. TWC and all others are calling for 3 to 5 inches snow here Friday to Sat. Seeing how Charlotte and most of NC is built over the mouth to hell we usually don't get what they say we will, but just in case... we have so many trees here that we often get power outages during snow. We Southerners are required to go crazy if snow is in the forecast, so this just gives us another excuse to run around prepping for nuclear winter the next 2 days.

 

I have 1 battery air pump and am buying more today. I have a 29 AIO and a 75 gal with sump - how many pumps should I buy? We are going to be moving this year so I had planned to buy several anyway for the move.

 

Not too worried about heat as there is a fireplace in the den with the tanks we can keep going. Light shouldn't be an issue if we lose power a couple of days, right?

 

Anything else I should have on hand? Will be doing my regular water change tomorrow.

Don't feel bad, I'm just outside of Vancouver Canada and people up here are equally stupid when any type of snowfall hits. Keep in mind that CO2 levels can raise if relying on that fireplace for heat, can cause PH to drop a fair bit. You also might want to think about insulating the tanks with a blanket or water tank wraps, depending on how warm the house can be kept.

 

Good luck!

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3-5 oh noes!

 

Seriously though I was living near Charlotte like 15 years ago when we got over a foot. We didn't have power or gas for over a week. We were also poorly supplied because we were from Pennsylvania and just laughed it off. Ended up rationing frozen burritos cooked in the fireplace.

 

Got three feet overnight here last winter on a Saturday and by Monday it was business as usual.

You understand! I bet that was the 2004 snow - we had 18 inches just east of Charlotte and you are right - the city was shutdown for a week. We just don't have the infrastructure to deal with it.

 

3 to 5 FEET? It would be nuclear winter here.

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Don't feel bad, I'm just outside of Vancouver Canada and people up here are equally stupid when any type of snowfall hits. Keep in mind that CO2 levels can raise if relying on that fireplace for heat, can cause PH to drop a fair bit. You also might want to think about insulating the tanks with a blanket or water tank wraps, depending on how warm the house can be kept.

 

Good luck!

Didn't think about CO2 ... glad you reminded me to check pH if power goes out.

Was at a specialty dog show in SC in 2002 with a lot of Canadian friends from the Toronto area. It started sleeting then snowing just before they left - hour later they called and were holed up in a hotel in NC due to icy roads. They all said snow they could deal with but it often starts here as sleet or freezing rain and no one can drive in that mess - the interstates had to close with a total of 4 inches, lol.

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Weather will f*ck you up even if you are used to it......husband rolled his truck coming home from work earlier this evening. Thankful he didn't hit anyone and no one hit him while he rolled and spun across traffic.

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Weather will f*ck you up even if you are used to it......husband rolled his truck coming home from work earlier this evening. Thankful he didn't hit anyone and no one hit him while he rolled and spun across traffic.

Yikes. .. hope he is ok!

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Yep we are expecting maybe snow then freezing rain.........has been 25 to 30 here during the day and sucks........

 

Good luck hope you weather the storm ;)

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