Man, was it COLD!!!

New mountain house is up and running! Terrible ice storm Christmas morning stranded me for 4 days with no power.....picture is from back porch.

 

wow that looks cold

 

That's one hell of a sight to walk out to.

 

Awesome pic. It kinda looks like a postcard. Does the new house have a good genset, or are you getting ready to buy one?

 

Actually, I was thinking about a generator today.....I am having dual MOC whole house surge suppressors installed next week and will discuss a generator with him. It could be installed easily I think on the side of the house near the buried propane tank. With a generator, I would be self sufficient with the exception of propane, but I have a 1000 gal tank. First electrical bill was not good at ~$110 which seems strange given we haven't been in the house but half a month and I keep thermo at 55 when gone.....another photo of sunset attached....

 

if not he will be soon!


that would be one really cool place to stay..... i wouldnt really like what you went through though.

 

No kidding...I was melting snow all day on the oven top to run the toilets for 8 people!!! There IS a downside to being dependent on electricity for your well pump!

 

Beautiful spot! Yeah a generator would be wonderful to have. Especially in areas like that

 

Any thoughts on a good generator? The house is 4000 sq ft, 200 amp service with two Goodman heat pumps (electric main heating fuel with propane auxiliary when it's too cold outside. Propane kicks in below 35 degrees.

 

it is 7 deg out right now... wind chill is -9

Beautiful house and location!!

 

Yikes.....I think the coldest I've been is 5 degrees and probably -20 below.....wheels lost 10 lbs of air overnight at the airport and all the gas station air compressors were froze up!

 

Man, an electric pump like that could be run off a pretty small generator couldn't it?

 

Damn Pete, that's a great thought man! I never thought of that.....yes, I think I could run the well pump with small generator!!! Thanks for the suggestion! I'll discuss with the electrician...he's really good, Unlimited License....he can do anything.....

 

An interesting short read on home back up power alternatives......
http://www.positivenergy.com/backup.html

 

Seemed like it might make sense if you didn't want to get a generator big enough for the whole house.

 

awesome pics, Phil!!

 

How did the truck handle.....................some peeps report that the taco is hard to start below 27 I think?....................

 

God I love your house, beautiful views, perfect house. Congrats again.

 

No thankss...i'll keep my ass in the desert

 

Good question..I was going to discuss this.....actually, the truck started perfectly every time and the battery is at over 3 years old, closer to 4. Now, about stopping....after sliding backwards in 4 Wheel LOW drive about 25 yards on a 12-15% grade I had to rummage around the crack of my ass to find my brain. Shit, I was scared....over the edge and I was a dead man. So.....I stopped trying to explore how my 4 wheel drive handled on ice...it doesn't. Fugetaboutit. I finally got it stuck in my driveway - please don't laugh - but did manage to get it moved 8 feet - SIDEWAYS. My wife will NEVER let me forget this. Damn. I like the passenger tires because I am 90% on dry pavement and freeways, but they aren't worth jack in the mountain snow. Need to invest in a set of snow tires.....thinking about getting an ATV with a snow plow to clear drive, which is fairly steep and long.