"Canadian Smalltalk" (weather - all nations included!) Thread

[Opsa]

We awoke to an inch of snow on the ground this morning. Pretty and not a nuisance. Perfect!

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

High 50's today.  Positively balmy (as compared to previously). 

[Opsa]

That sounds nice. I think we're supposed to be like that tomorrow. Then another arctic vortex! I'd better enjoy it while I can.

[Swatopluk]

Quite uncomfortable at the moment. Less about temperature but wind and wetness (caused by drizzle)

[Opsa]

Relatively mild and sunny today. Going out while it lasts...

[Swatopluk]

The ground is below zero, the air above zero and there is drizzle => black ice everywhere

[Swatopluk]

Snow at last but how long will it last?

[Opsa]

Went to the zoo yesterday to see Bao Bao the baby panda. Stood in line over an hour to see just a tuft of fur as she snoozed in a rocky cradle, but since it was in the mid 50F's and sunny, the wait was nice! People were in a good mood, and we got to see the beautiful red pandas climbing their trees and the papa and mama pandas roaming around in their outdoor habitats as we waited in line. Later we got to see the male lion bellowing, very impressive!

Snow started at 8 am. It's 9:45 am  now and we have under an inch on the ground. Total accumulation is predicted to be 3 to 6 inches. Temps are at 28F, but the wind chill makes it feel like 23F. Hunkering down!

[Bruder Cuzzen]

Minus 18°C , very windy . The wind chill makes it feel like - 30 °C. I have not ventured out because of the cold . I must get out soon and look for employment , but this type of weather takes away any motivation . *sigh* . At least it was sunny today !

[Opsa]

Hang in there, BC!

We got about 5 inches of fine powder snow yesterday- easy to sweep. The main problem is the cold. Right now it is 6F(-14C), but feels like -4F (-20C) because of the winds. The snow is not melting.

The heat pump doesn't operate properly under 20F, so we awoke to a house that was 60F (15C) inside. Our little propane fireplace has been on since 6:15 am and has now gotten us up to 63F (17C) four hours later. That's the general house temperature according to the thermostat. Next to the fire it's much nicer!

All in all, it's not too bad. Our washer pooped out yesterday during the last load (thank goodness) and I'm hoping that the repairperson can get here today. I shoveled out a place for the truck and hope to see it here soon.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Today starts with 17degF.   It got up to 20-ish.  Now it's 12.  This would be in the minus on the celcius scale, but I'm too bummed (pieces) to do the math. (sorry)  It's cold, Mmm-Kay?


At least I remembered to put my battery charger in trickle-mode, when I got home, for Friday.

[Opsa]

Very cold here too, Bob. Our dumb heat pump can't seem to get us over 58F in the house, even with the propane fireplace and a space heater. Yesterday the laundry room sink froze, but we were able to thaw it out, and are now running a trickle through it to try to keep it open. It's a frigid nightmare.

Today is Mr. Ops' birthday and it is what he would call a "gyp-off". We feel like we can't leave our house because we'd have to turn off the space heaters, and then pipes might freeze. We had plans to go out to dinner tonight. He's willing to go, but I would hate to come home to a cold house and burst pipes. I don't know what to do. It pretty much sucks.

[Swatopluk]

Forecast is for -15°C over the weekend, then a jump to close to zero. Thermometer on the balcony says -8.5°C (so likely about -10°C on the street).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Very cold here too, Bob. Our dumb heat pump can't seem to get us over 58F in the house, even with the propane fireplace and a space heater. Yesterday the laundry room sink froze, but we were able to thaw it out, and are now running a trickle through it to try to keep it open. It's a frigid nightmare.

Today is Mr. Ops' birthday and it is what he would call a "gyp-off". We feel like we can't leave our house because we'd have to turn off the space heaters, and then pipes might freeze. We had plans to go out to dinner tonight. He's willing to go, but I would hate to come home to a cold house and burst pipes. I don't know what to do. It pretty much sucks.

That's bad.  It sounds to me that your heat-pump was not installed correctly.  If installed the right way, with a correct thermostat, the heat pump just works-- transparently to the user (you).  That is, if the temperatures are below about 28F (max--many stop "heat pumping" at or around freezing) outside, it automagically switches up to the (so called) "emergency heat" mode-- typically, this is electric strip heat, but could be propane, natural gas, butane, oil, etc, etc-- it depends on the install.  

Unfortunately?  If the thermostat isn't made for a heat pump (or is not in "heat pump mode") or the installer failed to use all the correct wiring?  Your 'pump is not able to do this automatically--and needs manual help.  Which is this:  if it's below 28degF (or 32-- experimentation will tell you) then you must change to "emergency" heat mode, and leave it there until the weather warms up.   How to tell?  Well-- one sure-fire clue is that there's no heat coming through the registers... (duuuh... you already figured that one out, right?  <heh>)

Another less obvious clue, is the outside unit isn't running¹, or is full of ice², or is running but you can feel heat coming off of it³ (the worst of the worst case scenerio-- this means the thing is actually trying to be an air conditioner, and is actively cooling your home in mid-winter!!!) That is ... bad.

Reasons why it isn't running at all:  ¹  Most modern heat pumps can sense outdoor temperatures, and will politely shut off when it's too cold outside.  In this case, your thermostat should have automatically switched on the emergency heat.  If it does not?  The thermostat is bad or not a heat pump one, or is improperly wired (or all three).  Indoor symptoms:  the fan is blowing, but no heat is coming out of the registers-- just room temperature air.

Reasons why it's full of ice: ² This one is very common with heat pumps.  Especially ones that were sloppily installed, and the freon/duron gas was not adjusted properly when it was put in.   Another cause, is the freeze-stat is stuck or missing (this is a part of the outdoor unit, which tells it that it's too cold-- making it not run at all--see ¹ above).  

Another cause for the outdoor unit to be iced up, is if the air is just slightly too cold, but also very very humid.  

Whatever the reason why it's iced up-- a modern unit should automatically recognize this condition, and actually reverse itself-- that is, it'll run for 5 minutes or so, in air conditioning mode, while at the same time, engaging the emergency heat mode.   This is normal-- for a short time.  The heat will melt the ice rapidly, and the emergency heat will put warmish air out through the vents.  But it ought to only run in this mode for a short time, then quit entirely, then resume normal operation.  If not?  Something is amiss with the unit.

Reasons why it's running backwards (air conditioning mode) all the time ³.  Improperly wired.  Using the wrong thermostat (or one that's not wired correctly).  A bad control board in either the indoor unit or the outdoor unit or both.   A stuck reversing valve (this one can happen "down the road", after a proper install-- the fix requires a service person to come out and evaluate it-- it could simply be a wire that has come loose).  

But the most common reason for the heat pump to be running in AC mode in the winter?  Is bad wiring, including (but not limited to) a bad thermostat, or one that's setup the wrong way for your heat pump.

---------------------------------

If your pump cannot keep up?  Likely it's either running in defrost mode all the time, or the wiring is not setup properly.   If it works well enough when the outdoor temperatures are above freezing, but then falls behind when it's real cold?  You could also have lost one or more of your emergency backup heat sources.

---------------------------------

What can a home owner do in the meantime?  One of the easiest things, is to simply switch over to emergency heat, anytime the outdoors is below freezing.  If the thermostat is wired correctly, this will override all the automatic stuff, and simply shut off the outdoor 'pump, just using the indoor backup heat mode (be it electric strip heat or whatever).

I'd have someone come and check it out-- it may well have just lost some freon/duron gas (a cheap plastic service cap can be the cause of this--insist on brass metal caps, installed with a wrench.  Or, barring that?  Replace the plastic caps (or metal ones that use rubber seals) every 2 years, regardless if they look okay.

You can evaluate your thermostat yourself--- if it does not say "emergency heat" on it anywhere?  That's your main problem...

[Sibling Qwertyuiopasd]

S'cold. And if I'm not mistaken (which I probably am), isn't there another winter storm system a few days ahead? While the lady and I head up to New York? Might need to buy some better socks...