I believe it went down to -11 last night, so it was pretty chilly (-5) when I went out to do chores.
I think we are going to be hauling water for days. Last night Gary was in the barn until 8:45 putting heat tape on the hydrant. He had to drive many miles to finally get the right length.
Still no luck at this time.
How's this for deep snow?
Right after chores I grabbed Phoebe and Gucci and drove over to Holley so I could return the first heat tape Gary bought that was not going to work. Then I hit a heating and plumbing store for a piece of styrofoam insulation to go around the pipe and heating tape.
Got home in time to start a fire in the wood stove before my class arrived.
Attempted to catch a cat nap this afternoon, but it never happened.
I was shocked when I went out for evening chores. There was NO WIND and it felt mild compared to the past few days. Rochester reached a high of 26. A good break for the girls.
No improvement in the water situation, so we hauled out many buckets.
Leftover red lentil soup for dinner with a salad and Wasa crackers. Easy and delish.
Night all.
PS
I spoke to thecrazysheeplady this afternoon and boy! has Kentucky been hammered with frigid weather. They have broken records on a daily basis and the coldest was -23 WITHOUT the windchill.
That soup look wonderful. I am southwest of the Crazysheeplady. We are cold, but not -23 cold!
ReplyDeleteHeat tapes don't really work on hydrants because the shutoff valve is under ground where the tape can't reach. The upper part of the hydrant should not have any water in it so the tape won't help. You have to get the heat to the bottom of the pipe. Pour three or four buckets hot water down around the base of the pipe. The water will get down to where it is needed. If the hole fills with water and does not drain, use an electric bucket heater to keep the water hot until the pipe thaws. Once you have it thawed, bail the water out and cover the ground around the pipe with baled hay to keep it from refreezing.
ReplyDeleteWe are still doing the bucket brigade too. Isn't it nice to be breaking all kinds of records for the cold temps...not! -5 here this morning too. You got a nice boost in temps today. We were stuck at around 13 for the day. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteWe had -14 temps here (a bit north of Kentucky, oddly) but it made it up to 27 during the day.
ReplyDeleteIt was -16 here this morning! Just crazy. But it's 25 now and feels like the tropics! So sorry the water situation isn't sorted out. Hope there's a relatively easy fix on the horizon. Plumbing issues are the worst.
ReplyDelete...What Dancing Donkey said. This summer we are digging out around our outdoor hydrant and adding more rock for drainage, then more topsoil for insulation as ours has 'thinned' out over the years.
ReplyDeleteWhen if froze a couple of years ago, we hooked up 200ft of hose and ran it to the 300 gallon tank to fill it. It was a pain, but saved on achy arms.
I hope it thaws quickly for you.