Texas power issues. Windfarms getting iced up. 67

[Alistair_Heaton]

That's a lot of capacity that's been lost. Must admit being Aberdonian we always associate Texas with hot and humid... Not snow storms.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...nd-turbines-texas-power-outages-b1802596.html

 

[LittleInch]

Preppers!

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/we-should-all-be-preppers/611074/

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

What sort of water pipes will they normally use in Texas?

BY the looks of it things will start warming up today.

 

[cranky108]

I believe the thing with the water pipes, is not what they are made of, but the depth they would be buried at.
The typical frost line in Texas is very shallow, and likely in many places it would be desired that pipes be above the first water.

 

[RedSnake]

Well in this reportage it's seems to be metal pipes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVB5SIUxCus

One thing I do not get, is, if I where in their situation I would have turned of the incoming water and opened the taps.
But they suggests that you are going to let the water flow constantly and try to heat the pipes.

In one video there where water coming like rainfall from all the ceilings.

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/burst...storm-misery-for-texas-residents-101214277767

If the pipes burst in the ground it is not much you could do in moment, but what is happening inside your house is someting else.

Best Regards A

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

its a bit of both.

Cast iron pipes just explode if they are frozen plastic can take a bit of stretching.

We put our pipes 2 meters down or have a back flow to the pump to empty them.

Bet the hourly rate for a plumber is going to be record breaking as well next week.

 

[RedSnake]

They changed the incoming water tube in my summer house, to PEM tube PN10 they say it can not burst by freezing.
If something breaks its more then likely the connections or fittings, we are not allowed hidden or buried ones.
Easy to fix ones the crises are over.

Best Regards A


“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.“
Albert Einstein

 

[Spartan5]

I believe water mains are breaking due to thermal stresses unrelated to complete freezing. It’s not thermal shock per se. But there are miles upon miles of metal pipe that’s contracting in ways it hasn’t experienced before or since it has handled many thermal cycles in the opposite direction. It’s a subtle, but effective means of damaging things.

On the household side, shutting off the incoming water and opening the taps is only effective if you have bleeders at the low points to drain off the water within the pipes. Otherwise you still wind up with enough confined water, that when it does freeze, it splits the pipes quite effectively.

As for Texans having adequate firepower on hand to be able to defend themselves from marauding bands of thirsty, dehydration-crazed poor people... as I understand it, most people of means have fled to the beaches of Mexico, leaving their supplies and poodles unprotected. I’d be more concerned in the potential for a surge in firearm suicides during all of this with roughly 70% more people who take their lives with a gun every year in the us than are murdered by one. Goodbye, cold cruel world.

Personally, if society collapsed to the point that I’d be in a position to have to shoot someone who needed a drink of water, I’d probably eat a round myself. But that’s just me.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

In some ways that's even worse than I was envisaging Spartan.

 

[dik]

I sure hope you're correct... rather than, "This used to be a rare weather event,"

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[LittleInch]

This thing over pricing is quite something. $9000/MWh equates to $9 per KWh which is what domestic customers get charged.

Don't know what extras get added but lets say $10/kWh. Normally it is what? 10c or 15c?/kWh

So about a hundred fold increase - WOW. So instead of maybe $10/day to heat your house etc it was $1000/day

I think gas prices did something similar.

To allow that much price gouging is just mind boggling.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[SnTMan]

...if I where in their situation I would have turned of the incoming water...

RS, it is unfortunate but, the fact is a) many people do not know how to turn off their water or other services for that matter, b) many people do not know why turning off their water would be useful, c) some people are not able to turn off their water.

My own service valve is very hard to turn, I do not have the sufficient tool operate it. Getting one is moving up on my priority list

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[1503-44]

No worries. "They can put you on a payment plan."
You can be sure that the seller of that contract did not educate the client in all the risks involved.
If the client was made aware of such risks and bought anyway, then pay up. No payment plans for you.
Greed has its price.

 

[SnTMan]

RE Texas, it seems the hunt for the guilty parties has begin. That'll fix things

The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand

 

[IRstuff]

But, that is the nature of the supply/demand curve. If you had 1 kWh to sell in normal times, you'd only get your $0.13, but if it's the only kWh available, the market bids up the price. We saw that happen just a couple of weeks ago, when a bunch of "investors" dinked with the GameStop stock, and the shorters were forced to pay 100x the original stock price.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[1503-44]

Turning off the water will blow the pipe. Running water is not so likely to freeze as still water. If you can leave the tap on without aggrevating the supply problem, like you have your own well, leave the tap a bit open.

 

[dik]

I wouldn't hold my breath... that's Texas, you recall...

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[waross]

Well to be fair, every Texican has the right to rip-off his fellow man for exorbitant prices when he gets the opportunity.
Most Texicans never get the opportunity, but they are willing to pay the price for that right, just in case.
In practice it is the average supporter of unbridled free enterprise who gets ripped-off.
The capitalists have done a great selling job on the huddled masses.
Is this the same mind set that leads to watching your inheritance disappear into grandma's medical expenses in her declining years instead of supporting a decent universal medicare plan?

Bill
--------------------
Ohm's law
Not just a good idea;
It's the LAW!

 

[JohnRBaker]

Some have blamed the loss of the renewables as being a big part of the problem with the failures across the Texas grid, claiming that they accounted for 25% of the state's power production. However, that was very misleading. Granted, under ideal conditions, DURING THE SUMMER, the renewable sources in the state did often reach 25% (Texas in fact has got the most renewables) with most of that coming from wind. However, in the winter, this typically drops to around 10% at best, so even if they lost 100% of the renewables, that could not have caused the shortfall that occurred. And the irony is that once the ice started to fall off the wind turbine blades (they were only inoperable for about a day), due to the recent higher winds, the wind farms were the first to be 'fully' back online and actually are now producing MORE power then was typical during past Winter months. So in a way, they're actually helping to keep the grid powered-up while more traditional fossil- and nuclear-fueled facilities work to come back online.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[CWB1]

The current crisis in Texas should be viewed as an example of what could happen anywhere...

Yes, sadly the phenomena of talking heads and hot air worrying the masses continues to pop up everywhere. The bit that needs to be addressed is the amount of unethical "professionals" intentionally trying to incite panic and/or make political statements.

What sort of water pipes will they normally use in Texas?

The same sort the rest of the country uses. My first giggle for this morning was a radio DJ speculating about how many sillcocks froze due to not being frost-free down south. Apparently he was unaware that most in the north aren't frost-free, decades old, and commonly viewed as better quality than the modern variety. My second giggle was hearing mention of a lack of snow plows in TX. During the 5 am broadcast, I was cruising 80 mph down the freeway in a FWD econobox through overnight snow deeper than what TX received without a plow in site for the entirety of 140 miles around our city.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

I don't have a clue what you use normally in the USA.

It varies country by country round Europe.

And BTW I could see this happening in Europe as well. If a big freeze came down to Belgium. They are about as screwed as well with energy production. A big lump of it is by two dodgy Nukes and a large % of the rest is imported.