[Blondie621]

Originally Posted by wannabetterlife

I am sooo sick of the snow and ice and being stuck in this house for days on end...I wish I could move to Florida...Id take a hurricane over this crappy weather anyday.

I will trade you....I am sick of sitting in the house day after day, no family or friends here. I wish I could move back to my hometown of Jersey. I would take Connecticut in a minute too!

[Blondie621]

Originally Posted by trishguard

Where in CT do you live and why do you stay in the house when it snows? Go out and build an igloo or make a snow angel for goodness sake!

I agree...make a huge snowman and an igloo! The cold hurts but the snow is fun!

[Alex2009]

I'll take snowboarding or snow machining at 0 degrees over florida's humid 80+ degrees ANY day.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Eyesys

It's Jan 12 and we haven't even turned on the heat!!

That's exactly why I could never live there...

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

Having a bit of a background in climate science - let just offer this before the hype of this coming cold wave reaches epic proportions…

While it may not rise above 20 F late this week for perhaps two days…bitter cold is very short lived in the Atlantic States south of Massachusetts. The pattern that pushes that arctic here down to the East Coast also pushes weather quickly behind it. The National Weather Service forecast mentions by Saturday the highs will back near 35 - 40 F. There is even some evidence that a ridge will build in after the cold high moves east and it will tun mild…perhaps into the 50’s. You know the media, they love to hype it to the max. Listen to GraniteStater above, he/she knows what real sustained cold is.

It’s Connecticut, not Minnesota.

Exactly...take a pill folks.

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I will be turning up the heat for the first time since I turned it on mid-November.

I just tossed few "extra seasoned" logs in the stove for tonight. :shrug:

Seriously though, I only used about 1/4 tank of oil all season so far but I'm not sure I could live without a wood stove anymore. Something about that warm radiant heat pouring off and seeing the fire burn (Glass door) just makes you cozy.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JViello

Seriously though, I only used about 1/4 tank of oil all season so far but I'm not sure I could live without a wood stove anymore. Something about that warm radiant heat pouring off and seeing the fire burn (Glass door) just makes you cozy.

A lot of people don't like them, but radiators are better than baseboards and a lot better than warm air heat for this reason: they continue to emit heat after the furnace has kicked off!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

A lot of people don't like them, but radiators are better than baseboards and a lot better than warm air heat for this reason: they continue to emit heat after the furnace has kicked off!

Heck yea! I've got those cast iron hybrid radiators that are recessed into the wall and love em! When I bought the house, friends were like "you gonna get rid of those"? I said something along the lines of "um...NO!" lol All I did was strip and repaint and put some nice trim work around them and they actually look nice.

The only downside is I have a new zero fire Buderus furnance. It starts from a zero temp to be very efficient but it's not really designed so much for big radiators...it takes about a 1/2 hour to get the house and radiators warm after it fires up. I even went 40,000 btu over the recomendation to help get it up to temp quick.

[EllieKate]

We are looking at a house that has radiators and I too consider it a negative only because I associate them with OLD homes. Are radiators inferior to the more "modern" alternatives? My mother has radiators in her home and its always sweltering in there. Seems to me there is a lack of temp control. Not good when you are prone to hot flashes already!

[EllieKate]

Oh and about the weather. I love all four seasons. My kids have not yet been on a frozen lake or pond. I"m looking forward to getting them out there this weekend somewhere. Does anyone have any recommendations? We live in Milford. My neighbor thinks I"m nuts and that its totally unsafe. Does anyone else agree? I figure a good 4 to 5 days of weather under 20 degrees should be okay for a small pond. But maybe I"m wrong. I use to go out on the ice as a kid and I don't think I ever was told to worry about the temp.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by EllieKate

We are looking at a house that has radiators, and I too consider it a negative only because I associate them with OLD homes. Are radiators inferior to the more "modern" alternatives? My mother has radiators in her home and it's always sweltering in there. Seems to me there is a lack of temp control. Not good when you are prone to hot flashes already!

On the contrary. It's expensive to install. Nowadays, most builders prefer the dreaded warm air heat (previously known as forced hot air heat) since it uses the same duct work as central air. I have it and am prone to nosebleeds as a result.

The best combination is probably central air and baseboard heat.

Once you have radiators, you become aware of the setting at which to set the thermostat to get the desired temperature (usually a few degrees lower than desired!).

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by EllieKate

Oh and about the weather. I love all four seasons. My kids have not yet been on a frozen lake or pond. I"m looking forward to getting them out there this weekend somewhere. Does anyone have any recommendations? We live in Milford. My neighbor thinks I"m nuts and that its totally unsafe. Does anyone else agree? I figure a good 4 to 5 days of weather under 20 degrees should be okay for a small pond. But maybe I"m wrong. I use to go out on the ice as a kid and I don't think I ever was told to worry about the temp.

As a person with an extensive background in climate science…I can tell you that your neighbor is 100% correct…and he/she is only looking out for families safety!

From my understanding… pond, lake, and shallow river ice, is only safe whenever 24 hour mean temperatures go below 18 F (meaning the daily high was roughly 28 F…and the overnight low was roughly 8 F…. for a minimum of 10 days.

This means a night that even hits 0 F, but rises to 40 F the next day, breaks this minimum 10 day safety threshold. NOWHERE in Connecticut will this occur in 99.9% of the winters. In general, any ice that forms in this region is shallow surface ice. One of the reasons ice forms and last all winter in places like say Maine or Minnesota is not only because it’s so much colder…but the cold is sustained. So the ice is frozen down to very safe depths. This is nearly impossible in the up and down winter temperatures on the East Coast. …especially from southern Connecticut south. In places like the Dakota’s, Minnesota, Wisconsin…ect – they even drive cars and trucks right on to ponds and lakes with no fear of collapse because of the great depth of the freeze.

At a mininum…ask your local Fire Department which spots in your town are safe (if any). Most local Fire Departments know where shallow and safe spots are. This cold snap is quite typical of how tradgey occurs – for four or five days there is very cold temperatures, then the snap is over and temps during the day are near 40 F again and it even rains. It only takes one softened spot… to create a family tradgey.

Finally…NEVER SEND YOUR CHILDREN OUT ONTO A VERY DEEP LAKE OR POND IN THIS AREA ….NO MATTER HOW STRONG THE ICE MAY SEEM TO BE.