Toronto Ice Storm

[Steve_in_Florida]

Kev,
Sunny Florida feels for ya', Mon! (actually, it's kind of overcast today, but I'm still in shorts.)

I'm carefully watching the weather up north so I can run up and get that 1990 FJ from NotALib's friend. It's DEFINITELY getting ridden back here!

Keep us posted.   

Steve

[Travis398]

What a time to be without electricity !!!! On Saturday Dec 21st....Sothern Ontario was hit with one of the worst Freezing rain storms in centuries.... They are calling it the worst storm (of its kind) to hit Toronto ever.......
Kev
 

Glad you guys finally got to experience what winter is all about. 

[rktmanfj]

Kev,
Sunny Florida feels for ya', Mon! (actually, it's kind of overcast today, but I'm still in shorts.)

I'm carefully watching the weather up north so I can run up and get that 1990 FJ from NotALib's friend. It's DEFINITELY getting ridden back here!

Keep us posted.   

Steve

This weekend would be pretty doable, but not after that for several days. 

Wanna borrow my electric vest?

[CanDman]

What a time to be without electricity !!!! On Saturday Dec 21st....Sothern Ontario was hit with one of the worst Freezing rain storms in centuries.... They are calling it the worst storm (of its kind) to hit Toronto ever.......
Kev
 

Glad you guys finally got to experience what winter is all about. 

Thx Trav....I'm glad you're glad......

[CanDman]

Day 8

still no power......where's a tree surgeon when you need him....* I have never laughed or made fun of a tree monkey......sorry tree surgeon.....in fact I known a few in my time...I already mentioned Dr. Chainsaw......but I also had visits with Dr. Mapleripper as well Dr. Oakdown  and Dr. Beaver .......each time they all wanted me to cough...and I was adamant that there was no need to see my trunk....and that it did not require felling of any kind....not from them anyway....I told them only the nurse could chop down that wood.....

Cantakeitman !!!!!!

[Bob]

Day 8
still no power......

Wow. I'll bet the subdivision across the street has power. Maybe they forgot about you; your place is kinda hard to find 

[CanDman]

Day 8
still no power......

Wow. I'll bet the subdivision across the street has power. Maybe they forgot about you; your place is kinda hard to find  

You're right Bob....the houses all around me have had power since Sunday.....Power stream won't hook up the power until a certified arborist comes into the property and removes the fallen branches and trees that created this situation in the first place.....Power Stream is the worst company in the world for customer service....but that will always be the case when you have a monopoly. They have come to the property and left...without so much as a phone call to inform me what needs to be done or how I am able to locate the right (licensed) people to do it. I was able to make some phone calls to at least find out what is going on.......but as you can see from Travis's post .......winter can bring out the cold in people........  

[roverfj1200]

Day 8
still no power......

Wow. I'll bet the subdivision across the street has power. Maybe they forgot about you; your place is kinda hard to find  

You're right Bob....the houses all around me have had power since Sunday.....Power stream won't hook up the power until a certified arborist comes into the property and removes the fallen branches and trees that created this situation in the first place.....Power Stream is the worst company in the world for customer service....but that will always be the case when you have a monopoly. They have come to the property and left...without so much as a phone call to inform me what needs to be done or how I am able to locate the right (licensed) people to do it. I was able to make some phone calls to at least find out what is going on.......but as you can see from Travis's post .......winter can bring out the cold in people........  

WOW I work for the supply company here and if you where off that long all hell would be raised in the news and on media. Hope it gets better soon..

Cheers

[Travis398]

....but as you can see from Travis's post .......winter can bring out the cold in people........  

When your power outage gets close to a month, then we can talk ice storm. 

Until then suck it up like everyone else................... I found a car battery useful for hooking up an old car radio/cd player for my entertainment. during my 3+ weeks of no power.

You probably don't need that though, because them drums don't need power. So go let some steam off, it may help heat the house up.

[Pat Conlon]

Hang in there Kev. Inconvience aside, it's a shame the damage done to your beautiful trees.
Do you have future plans on setting a LP tank on your property? You don't have to worry about piping your home, for emergency use you can run hoses to your heaters, stove and backup water heater.
That and a  hose to your dual fuel generator would be the ticket.
If you wanted to get fancy, a PV solar system with a battery set would be handy.

Your house is all electric? Ouch. How much do your pay (per kWh) for juice? Is it a tiered rate structure?

[The General]

Hang in there Kev. Inconvience aside, it's a shame the damage done to your beautiful trees.
Do you have future plans on setting a LP tank on your property? You don't have to worry about piping your home, for emergency use you can run hoses to your heaters, stove and backup water heater.
That and a  hose to your dual fuel generator would be the ticket.
If you wanted to get fancy, a PV solar system with a battery set would be handy.

Your house is all electric? Ouch. How much do your pay (per kWh) for juice? Is it a tiered rate structure?

Interesting question Pat. I too am interested in energy costs in your neck of the woods. I`m in the solar industry and downunder am really concerned at the proliferation of poor quality PV systems (manufacture, installation, warranty integrity, output promises etc) and resultant variations of system outlays up to 300%.
Here the cost of battery back up systems with PV is not economical, (but handy as you say) and in Kev`s environment may indeed be of value. Meanwhile battery technology is changing rapidly, so that viability here is only 2 years away, (subject to Government whims.)
The return on investment here for a PV solar system starts at 18% per annum. (bigger return of course as electricity costs rise per kwh used)

[rktmanfj]

Here's something else to chew on, at least for US solar fans:

http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-clouds-over-hawaii-39-rooftop-solar-growth-121006876--finance.html

[CanDman]

....but as you can see from Travis's post .......winter can bring out the cold in people........  

When your power outage gets close to a month, then we can talk ice storm.  

Until then suck it up like everyone else................... I found a car battery useful for hooking up an old car radio/cd player for my entertainment. during my 3+ weeks of no power.

You probably don't need that though, because them drums don't need power. So go let some steam off, it may help heat the house up.

Day 9


uh oh.......looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't get a visit from Santa..... maybe it was because you don't play nice with the other kids.... ...maybe you scolded another member for dropping their bike........... maybe you didn't send any money to the Philippines.....or maybe you invited the Grinch and Scrooge over for the Holidays. Not to worry....Santa's list for next year is still a few days away....so you have an open ticket to swing that hammer at any and everything you want. I should remind you, however, (being a carpenter and all) that the hammer was initially designed for building things not for breaking....but you may not know that fact....since you're an electrician (who was without electricity for a month   ).....and that's the difference between you and I Trav....I never demanded you to learn how to swing a hammer before I said you could use one.....so I never thought twice about getting it from you...permission to speak that is...about electricity.... I would wish you a Merry Christmas but it's obvious that yours never arrived. Ohhh......and I wouldn't worry about anyone stealing the belt from you....I'm sure that whatever anyone has ever gone through in life......you've gone through 10 times worse  



I found this tribute to your Manly State and the Manly Men who inhabit it.......now I see why you're not a Real Man....unless you're a Maine Man ......


Maine Man Song - Rhett & Link



Now.....all that testosterone aside.....I finally have some good news to report......tomorrow an arborist, a municipal representative, a real electrician (from the Maine office... ), a representative from the Health and Safety Board, a building inspector as well as a crew from Power Stream will all congregate on the property to fix this minor problem....finally...


Now since I have never gone through something like this before and was at the bottom of the priority list, I must admit that this caught me completely off guard......but I am giving myself full marks for riding this one out. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me through a very strange Christmas Holiday. I will ring in once the fix is completed.....

Kev    

[The General]

Here's something else to chew on, at least for US solar fans:

http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-clouds-over-hawaii-39-rooftop-solar-growth-121006876--finance.html

We`ve had that rule in place for some time in Qld. We have a direct portal to the Electricity distributor for the applications and will not proceed without it`s acceptance. But yes the Electricity suppliers hate cheap systems that release "dirty" power on to their grid. Also they limit the applications in a given area to approx. 30% of nearest transformer rating. As we reach closer to saturation the application acceptance will be worth money - and yes it will limit the industry growth..our consumers have not woken up to this fact generally. (yet).   (thanks for the link..I will use it in my consultencey work) 

[Pat Conlon]

Hey Doug, we have the same requirements (as Hawaii) over here in Calif.
Where I live in SoCal we have a 'for profit' Investor Owned Utility (as opposed to a non profit Public Utility) and our rates are steep in the top tier at $0.34 per kWh.
That, coupled with a severe climate zone on summer cooling, means that on even modest sized homes it is not uncommon to see $ 800-1000 a month electric bills in the summer months. With the proper low interest financing, the federal Investment Tax Credit (33%) a 'properly sized' PV system has about a 8 year payback.
Not too bad.
Indirectly, I too am in the business. To get an idea of my shenanigans just Google: Pat Conlon Palm Desert.
I'm proud to say that my Energy Efficiency/Solar financing model (PACE) has been adopted by many juristrictions throughout the nation and have proven to be a viable option to going to the bank to get a second/third trust deed loan to finance PV solar.
My beef with PV solar contractors is that they want to sell the homeowner the largest system they can...instead of educating the homeowner on Energy Efficiency 'FIRST'....it's been proven over and over (ad nausem) that every dollar invested by the homeowner in energy efficiency upgrades will save $3 to $4 off the cost of a PV system. In my climate zone, high efficiency a/c systems are particularly cost effective.

Australia is the home to Outback Power, one of my favorite off grid solar companies.  Cheers Doug.....Pat