OK, enough with the rain already

[Jess from VA]

Monday, it rained and monsooned off and on constant all day and night long (might have gotten a couple 10 minute lulls).  Then yesterday evening it monsooned again.  The inch-an-hour stuff.

My old home had foundation trouble in the past (cracked slab, failed drain field, leaking basement, and the one story side of my split level trying to separate from the two-story side, two sections of sidewalk outside my basement walkout eroded and dropped on one side, and a new roof long ago).  The VA soil is hard pan clay and water doesn't get absorbed, it just goes where gravity takes it.  All that damage is pretty much fixed, but I worry like an old woman every time it rains like this.

I skinny into the narrow space between my basement utility room refrigerator and wall, and pull the cover off my sump pump hole (half covered by the heavy fridge), so I can keep an eye on that pump operation.  The hand bailing equipment and battery operated pump is stored back there.  Ordinarily, the water just trickles in, but monsoons increases flow to a waterfall.

Then, I wake up in the middle of the night, and we've lost power, and I'm up like a flash, but the rain has finally stopped and the sump isn't running.  More sleep eludes me. 

I like regular rain, monsoons not so much.

[LadyDraco]

we  are up to 3".3 tenths  of  rain in the  gauge..
I will take  it. Even thou I need  to get the  gardens  in.
I can wait , the dry will come!

And it can get dry fast on the mountain..
The hay is  really looking good..

At least  the rain  has  given me a chance to get Strawberry jam  made ;
 and canned  some mandarian oranges . And  today I  make the last batch of BloodOrange marmalade.

[Jersey mike]

Yup. We got dumped on yesterday. Some more today and tomorrow. Maybe see the sun on Saturday but thunderstorms are in the forecast.

[Serk]

Here in The Republic we're in the annual transitory period between "I just saw an old man building a boat and rounding up animals two by two" and "The thermostat's broke, Satan's belching heat non-stop"

So.... send some of that rain back here, if we're gonna have the humidity, might as well have some cooling rain with it!

[Jess from VA]

Tracy, I can see rain interfering with your planting, but I don't see much possibility of it flooding out your home on a mountainside.


Brian, I'd happily send it your way.  Gentle hours of routine rain weekly is a godsend, but biblical rain isn't.

Everything fared well.  All my gutter/downspout, waterproofing, roof repair, concrete/foundation, and sump pump work paid off.  I've just had too many episodes of 'oh nooo' to ever rest easy about it. 

Now I await a call from an outfit to repair my truck wiper channel from leaking gallons down on my engine and electrical.     Dodge built a great truck, but this leaky wiper channel is a nightmare affecting millions of owners.   

[RP#62]

It varies depending where you are in the county, but Gilbert has had 0.65" total since October of last year, according to our rain gage.  Of course, we're in the Gilbert exclusion zone - we see rain all around us, but not here.

RP

[old2soon]

     Well Jess boo hoo!  Here in SoMo over the next day or two heavy rain baseball size hail and as an extra special added attraction tornadoes Are also in the forecast! Would that I could have the hail and tornadoes bypass me BUT like you I have NONE/NADA/NO/ZERO control over Where and how Much of what weather shows up here! And this is no ones problem but mine I can not git the cage in the garage cuz there is currently 2 trikes in residence in said garage! So should this hail forecast actuall come to be the ol Pontiac Vibe could be pummeled to kaka! And another interesting factoid here where I reside the drainage head stright for the garage!  All this construction here was Never meant fer the biblical amounts of rain! And i will Add-hope ya keep on pulling through these Naturan and unatural weather happenings! All we can ever do is clean up afterwards!  RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Dennis if hail damage is possible and no garage, then buy a sheet of 1/4 in plywood (or super cheap paneling) and tie it over the car.  With a little padding for the paint.

[Hook#3287]

We had a frog choker come through yesterday afternoon. Streets were flooded quickly and all the people at the Brimfield  antiques show (we call them fleabaggers) were completely drenched.

I imagine several tents collapsed.

Looks like it might repeat today and Saturday.

[f6john]

Just saw the radar update for Kentucky this morning. The weather forecasters are getting better and better at their jobs. Well, I got the yard mowed late yesterday, edged the side walks, but I didn’t even blow the clippings off the concrete. With the storms coming today, that job should be taken care of nicely. All my vehicles fit inside, just barely, so no worries with them. My new patio door installation in the basement is pretty well weatherproofed, lacking some brickwork and trim on the outside. My biggest concern is hail. There has been some serious hail events in our neck of the woods this year already but I would like to enjoy my new roof and gutters a little longer before they get beat up again.

[old2soon]

    Got the rain and hail and high winds and tornado warnings! Moved on East at approx 55 MPH. The hail was Mostly about an inch in size B ut my neighbor across the street showed me some bigger than golf balls but smaller than baseballs. NONE/NADA/ZERO broken glass or mirrors on my cage. I have zero idea about dents as there are too many leaves and twigs on the cage. I'll update later either way. And YES this system IS headed East!  RIDE SAFE.

[LadyDraco]

Yesterday   we   a had a  hellova Rain ! One set of gutters can't keep up!
The sky is pitch black! With a tint of green!
It would be real scary IF I was in Oklahoma !

I did a checking of the grounds in between round 2.
Got the mail and locked up. Checked the water fast. Shop isn't flooded but water laying around the edge.
I darned my Drover long coat and hat.. Sure does keep legs dry on the Quad!
They said to stay awake tonight from midnight to 3am .. That shouldn't be a issue

it's now 57* the rains did come around 2am and it's still coming down. at 5am
There is 1.5" in the gauge from yesterday's storms and now I'll leave it till this rain event is over.
We have had a great deal of rain this week.!

Up to almost  5" for  the  week 
Dang glad  it's NOT SNOW !  It would  be  over  my head ! 

[f6john]

Tornado 60 miles south of me in London Kentucky. Lots of boomers and light shows all around me but Richmond dodged any significant damage. Probably a lot of limbs and debris on the ground. The sun sure looks good this morning.


Worse than I thought, 9 people dead in London due to tornado last night!

[Jess from VA]

Big storm through 2 days ago.

High winds and rain like an inch an hour.

Power out.

First thing, I got down in my sump pump hole and got it bailed with a 2-D cell battery little liquid transfer pump.  It's anemic (like an old man peeing), and doesn't like pumping uphill, but it worked before overflowing my basement.  Did it 3 more times too.

I go outside after the storm and my neighbor shows me on his cell Phone me there are like 50 power outages all over NoVA, so it's going to be out a LONG time.

Limbs, branches and deadwood all over the place, but nothing through my roof.

Our particular outage was a tree down on a car that killed a woman, and trees damaging 3 poles.  So a police investigation halts any repair for nearly 18 hours (I suppose they are considering prosecuting the offending tree).

I'm tired, no food or shower, and I go to bed hoping my 2 fridges of food don't spoil.  Can't sleep much in 80 degrees upstairs, even with window open.  Get my big Honda generator going early the next morning and power the fridges (all food saved).  It won't power 220 AC, but it will power my little bedroom window unit, and I run that too all day.  Cleanup the storm mess, all day.

Later I power my cordless (only) phone and computer/internet, but no service.  I get in my truck and drive around the neighborhood to find and talk with the repair crews (I haven't done that in some 20 years) and see both VA Power and Verizon hard at work.  Verizon promises repair in an hour... but power and Verizon don't work until sundown yesterday.  I go outside after food and shower and hear neighbors all over the neighborhood cheering and honking horns like the 4th of July.

I highly recommend this little battery liquid transfer pump to sump pump owners, and multiple little headband LED lights, and big rechargable spot lights. 

Why I walk into dark rooms and continuously hit the wall light switches I have no idea.  Muscle memory and slow wittedness.

What an ordeal.  The fun never stops.

I may get out for a ride today, if I have the energy.   



 

[LadyDraco]

WOW Jess..
   Glad  you are  OK..

sad about the lady in the car ,Yikes

I did throw myleg over TheBeast  yesterday .
It was windy as all getout.

The  house is chilly here today ,I have a fire  going. It's 48* ...
Ya got to love the mountains of VA.

[Jess from VA]

Well, it was a beautiful mostly cloudy cool day, so I got the hour on the treadmill done, and some breakfast, and took a nice ride in the countryside.  A great stress reliever after all the hard work and storm cleanup.  I found it noteworthy that there were not trees down and storm damage all over as I expected.

I had left all my cords, electrical and equipment out, so when I got home, I cleaned and put everything back where it goes, came in and pushed the fridges and other furniture back where it belongs, and now it's back to normal.

I decided not to tempt fate and left the good fresh fuel in the generator against any more storms.  I'll get the fuel out and winterize it later.

By the way, anyone interested in the little liquid transfer pump I used to drain my sump hole, here's a link to it (Harbor Freight) (cheap).  https://www.harborfreight.com/battery-operated-liquid-transfer-pump-63847.html

[scooperhsd]

We're having a line of T-storms coming through overnight. Out in NW Kansas - the town of Grinell got hit by a tornado. Out by Colby Kansas  (along I-70) if you want to get an idea of where.

We are supposed to have something tomorrow night as well.

[Jess from VA]

Any electricians here?

My big generator to house breaker panel hookup is powered by a heavy 8 gauge flexible wire with a male 4-prong locking 220 twist plugs on each end (called a suicide cord for obvious reasons).  Plug to house panel (first), plug to generator LAST.

So both female connections require a twist plug with the one (of 4) spades with a locking angle in it  that angles inward.  But one of my male plugs has the L spade angled out.  This small problem cause me to have to run extension cords in the door and all over the house (instead of just powering the whole house 200 amp panel).

I thought long and hard about just filing the offending outward angle off that spade and stabbing it in the female receptacle, but not being a qualified electrician, I didn't do it.

I'm just back from Home Depot (who didn't have the right male replacement plug), and Lowes (who did have it).  This happens often enough, I should just go to Lowes first, but it's miles farther down the road.

The question is:  Why in the hell do they have two different 220 L shaped 4-prong locking twist plugs (an inny and an outy)????

   

[sandy]

Any electricians here?

The question is:  Why in the hell do they have two different 220 L shaped 4-prong locking twist plugs (an inny and an outy)????

   

It’s probably one is for 30 amps and the other is for 50 amps.

[Jess from VA]

Any electricians here?

The question is:  Why in the hell do they have two different 220 L shaped 4-prong locking twist plugs (an inny and an outy)????  

It’s probably one is for 30 amps and the other is for 50 amps.

Thank you very much Sandy.  

The first time I tried to discover why on the computer I got nothing.

Later I tried again, and discovered the inny is for 30 Amps, and the outy is for 20 Amps.

I get that for amp ratings.  And the female receptacles on the generator and the outdoor plug to backfeed the house circuit breaker (200 Amps) are innys for 30 amp service.

The electrical supply house or contractor who did my 200 Amp service heavy-up built that cable for me (I can't remember which) gave me a cable with double male plugs with a proper inny (30A) on one side and an improper outy (20A) on the other side, which could have caused me problems.  You can go higher than needed (within reason) with no trouble, but you should never go lower than required for the power supply.  Though I had never used it until I tried the other day.  The fact I could not get a 20A plug into a 30A system shows why they make those twist plugs differently.  To protect people from wiring troubles and maybe failures or smoke and fires.  

It now has a proper 30A plug (inny) on both sides after my trip to Lowes.   Wiring up a 220V four prong twist plug isn't rocket science, but I was damn careful to get it right (green, red, white, black wires) (2 hots, a ground, and a neutral).  

And after all this, I will be happy as Hell if I never need to use it again.  
Just like my car, bike and homeowner's insurance.

[Rams]

Jess,
In that it seems you're starting to dry out some, thought we could send you a bit more moisture.   Should be there in  the next couple of days.  

Rams  

[old2soon]

     What Ron mentioned about the rain IS correctamundo! We had a couple gully washers and toad drowners thru here last night and early A M! Just over the line in Arkansas lotsa folks reporting 5" ++ in some areas. And Looks like it's headed East.
      Jess when I was doing electrical work had an older gent told me iffin yer worried That MUCH keep 1 hand in yer pocket!  Glad ya gotta er sorted out!  RIDE SAFE.

[scooperhsd]

We had 3 lines of thunderstorms pass through within 16 hours here in KC. First water in the basement this year.

[Jess from VA]

Jess,
In that it seems you're starting to dry out some, thought we could send you a bit more moisture.   Should be there in  the next couple of days.  

Rams  

Ron, if it was you sending it, we wouldn't be friends anymore.  

Another all day rain, not in a couple days, tomorrow, half inch or more.  Wonderful.  

Let 'er rip, just no power loss please.  But if it does happen, I'm all wired, gassed and ready (to burn my house down).  

[Jess from VA]

We had 3 lines of thunderstorms pass through within 16 hours here in KC. First water in the basement this year.

Sorry for your troubles Scott. 

Overflowed sump or leaky foundation? 

[scooperhsd]

We had 3 lines of thunderstorms pass through within 16 hours here in KC. First water in the basement this year.

Sorry for your troubles Scott. 

Overflowed sump or leaky foundation? 

Leaky foundation , at least partially caused by FIL misguided work...

[old2soon]

    In about 48 hrs here in SoMo my rain guage showed right at 3" of liquid sunshine! Flood warnings All over the Ozarks and a Lot of Missouri. Some areas around and a bit South and West of Springfield Mo are Expecting 7 to 10" and Maybe a mite more!  As of this moment flood watches and warnings go to 1930 HRS on Tuuesday the 27th!  Oh just might be some hail and high winds mixed in to raise the ol fun factor doncha know!  RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Well, it just happened again,  Like over an inch in 45 minutes.  And a tornado warning for my County, which is rare (they happen up in MD and South and West of me in VA).  Though I don't think one happened, just the warning.  Thank goodness.  No high winds, no loss of power, just a ton of water.

I watched the weather all day.  I wanted to mow so maybe I can ride (and not work in the mud) tomorrow. So I got out and knocked out the whole yard, just as the drops started (perfect timing).

I got out after and cleaned up, so the rain gods just sent another ten minute deluger to mess up my work.  Little more tonight but no big deal.  ENOUGH WITH RAIN ALREADY!!

I need a meeting with Noah.