Thawing frozen hoses

[Rfreeman]

Well the rolling black outs hit one of my washes here in the ft worth area. Supposedly they couldn't get the power back on since 6 a.m this morning. Long story short took my equipment room heater out and the whole place froze even the chemicals in the mix tanks! This should be fun I hope it's just this one location and not my other locations as well.

 

[Randy]

We use a 10,000 BTU vent Free Radiant natural gas heater in our equipment rooms. If we lose power we still have heat.

 

[Rfreeman]

In order for my heater at my other wash to work it needs electricity for the thermostat and the ignition. Also our gas company is having service issues as well not as bad as electricity providers but still reporting outages

 

[cooll903]

I have used a Forced air torpedo propane heater and tarps and unthawed things in a hurry in the past.

salamander heaters and tarps work wonders fast.

 

[2Biz]

In order for my heater at my other wash to work it needs electricity for the thermostat and the ignition. Also our gas company is having service issues as well not as bad as electricity providers but still reporting outages

Like Randy said, take good advice from guys that live where it can get real cold. This heater doesn't use electricity! I always use it in conjunction with the NG ceiling furnace. Below 40°, I turn one burner on. Below 20°, I turn both burners on. They make 2, 3, and 5 burner models and They are actually very efficient. You get 100% of the heat. I might have paid $100 for this heater. Worth its weight in Gold for piece of mind!

 

[jack954]

2biz can you pass along the name and model number of that heater please

 

[OurTown]

We have a 30,000 btu overhead mounted heater like this. It has a wall mounted millivolt thermostat so it has no electric going to it. It must be some kind of magic.


https://www.reverberray.com/products/commercial-industrial/high-intensity-luminous/dr-series/

 

[2Biz]

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-Corporation-Vent-Free-Radiant/dp/B01DPZ5BPU/ref=sr_1_47?dchild=1&keywords=2+ceramic+burner+wall+heater&qid=1614431755&sr=8-47

I don't know if this is the one I have, mine might be a MR Heater, but they are pretty much the same. Mine does not have a T'Stat. I didn't want a T-stat, just another failure point. Amazon or Lows/Home Depot sells just about any size you want. They make different models of each size for NG or Propane. Make sure you get the right one...

 

[MEP001]

After what happened with this severe cold we had, I'm planning to install a heater like that, but it'll run on propane which I'll keep on hand in 80 gallon tanks. We lost water, power off and on (mostly off) for four days, and a lot of areas lost gas pressure. The only guy I know who had no damage used a patio heater and was close enough to his wash to keep the tanks changed.

 

[2Biz]

Did anyone loose NG pressure? That hasn't happened where I live as far as I know. Propane stand alone tanks might be a better backup if you've ever had NG shortage.

 

[MEP001]

Large areas of north, northwest and west Texas were affected between the loss of natural gas production, the unprotected lines freezing, high home use, and power plants that run on it trying to generate at full capacity. Prices of CNG went from $3 per MMBtu to over $100.

 

[2Biz]

WOW, talk about price gouging! I don't know how they are able to get away with that!! So you are absolutely right about going with Propane...Buy it in the off season and be prepared. I always say, if you have a spare part on the shelf, you'll never need it!

I really don't trust the grid at all! I actually heat my house with Anthracite Rice Coal. All digital controlled and keeps inside the house temp within 1°, no matter how cold out. I buy the bagged coal in the summer and store it until I start heating in the fall. A single pound of this stuff puts out 14,000btu. And its cheaper than anything else you can heat with. I have a battery backup that will run the furnace for up to 8 hrs if I'm away from the house. And a small 1700w sine wave gen that will run the furnace at idle on less than 2 gallons of gas a day. I keep about 50 gallons gas on hand and put it in my mower in the summer if I don't use it in the winter. So I'm not out anything really. This 'ol boy is not going to freeze!

It never hurts to be prepared in more than one way....Just when you think you've got everything under control, Mother Nature smacks you right upside the head!

 

[2Biz]

If anyone is interested in coal as an alternative heating source... BTW, another benefit is it keeps my 1000sq ft shop/garage heated to 62° just from the radiant heat, no matter how cold it gets. So this furnace is basically heating 3500 sq ft on $1200 a winter.

 

[David Rolf]

That's a really cool way to heat your house. Never thought of it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MEP001]

I really don't trust the grid at all! I actually heat my house with Anthracite Rice Coal. All digital controlled and keeps inside the house temp within 1°, no matter how cold out. I buy the bagged coal in the summer and store it until I start heating in the fall. A single pound of this stuff puts out 14,000btu. And its cheaper than anything else you can heat with. I have a battery backup that will run the furnace for up to 8 hrs if I'm away from the house. And a small 1700w sine wave gen that will run the furnace at idle on less than 2 gallons of gas a day. I keep about 50 gallons gas on hand and put it in my mower in the summer if I don't use it in the winter. So I'm not out anything really. This 'ol boy is not going to freeze!

I see nut coal at Tractor Supply for $10 per 40 lb bag. That's pretty cheap.

My plan for home is to install a through-wall AC/heat pump unit in the master bedroom with a gas generator in a shed or in the garage big enough to run it and the refrigerators.