The AM Forum

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
313 PM MST MON NOV 22 2010

...A MAJOR WINTER STORM WITH HOWLING WIND BARRELS DOWN ON WESTERN
COLORADO...

.IN THE SHORT TERM THE SNOW WILL DIMINISH IN THE MOUNTAINS AND END
BY MORNING. RELATIVELY CALM CONDITIONS ON TUESDAY MORNING WILL BE
SHORT LIVED AS A MAJOR WINTER STORMS BEGINS TO MOVE INTO THE
CENTRAL ROCKIES TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WINTER STORM WILL BRING
VERY STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...THIS
WILL BE FOLLOWED BY INCREASING SNOW TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING. COMBINED WITH FALLING TEMPERATURES...SNOW AND WIND WILL
CAUSE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS.
ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL TAPER OFF WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...BUT BLOWING
SNOW WILL PERSIST INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. THIS IS A MAJOR WINTER
STORM WITH POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS IF
SNOWBOUND AND CAUGHT OUTSIDE.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT. SNOW WILL THEN REDEVELOP
  TUESDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION...6 TO 12 INCHES OF NEW SNOW IS EXPECTED
  TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* WINDS...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS 30 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS REACHING
  75 MPH OVER EXPOSED MOUNTAIN PASSES WILL BE LIKELY TUESDAY
  NIGHT. THE STRONG WINDS WILL TAPER OFF WEDNESDAY...BUT WIND
  CHILLS WILL PLUMMET AS MUCH COLDER AIR ARRIVES. CONSIDERABLE
  BLOWING SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

* VISIBILITY...EXPECT PROLONGED DURATION OF WHITEOUT CONDITIONS
  AFTER MIDNIGHT TUESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS...HAZARDOUS WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED DUE
  TO SNOWPACKED AND ICY ROADS AND WIDESPREAD BLOWING SNOW. DEEP
  SNOW DRIFTS WILL BE COMMON WITH SOME EXCEEDING 6 FEET.


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

Hey, been in the 20s most of the day, west winds gusting to near 50 and ground blizzards of snow out there. Bird baths frozen solid and snow covered. Roads ice glazed. Damp and the wind chill sucks.

But I have these primitive solutions to deal with it. A paid-up electric bill and 2 cords of bone-dry split pine.

Caveman is good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

My my  - what a forecast!

Roger on the nice fire there, Bill.  Looks hi hi XYL/OM approved.


Reminds me -  I finally got to use the new coal stove for a few weeks.  I'm amazed at the level of heat and efficiency it produces. Very controllable too.

I've had it running 24/7 for a few days now and barely have to touch it. With temps about 30-40 degrees outside, I leave it running low at about 300-400 degrees. I fill it at night and it will run almost until the next afternoon. Shake it down, fill it back up with 40 pounds of coal and good to go for another 16 hours or so.  What a difference compared to wood. Real pleased. Hope to keep the oil furnace off most of the winter.   There is no sign of smoke from the chimney when running. Amazing.

I installed a duct with a blower into the shack room....warm..aaaaaahh.

Hope to work ya soon on 75M, Bill!

T

That's quite a message. Be thankful for you heating system!

I will be thankful for my air conditioning. High today 72. It's still 60. And the humidity is rising.

Tom,
300 to 400 degree stack temperature is quite hot. There is a lot of heat loss. You can back it off another 100 degrees. You don't have deposit issues like wood so there is no need to blast heat up the exhaust pipe. Also a good idea to run a CO detector. I used to heat this place including the basement with 2 tons of coal a year.  Yes, coal is so much easier than wood as long as you have good high quality hard coal. When I first fed the stove the temp would go up to around 300 as the gas boiled off then dropped back to around 200.
I also used about 40 pounds to fill it and easily went 12 hours between fill ups.

OK Frank -

Yes, the coal burns so clean there is just powdered ash left in the ash pan. I use to have lots of solid coal left behind with the old stove, but this one is quite efficient.

I measure the temp on the TOP of the stove where the hot gases first enter the stove channel on its way to the chimney. Not sure if that spot reads a lot hotter, but should I put the gauge on the insulated exit stove pipe instead?

Good point about running the stove low and not worrying about deposit issues.  Hmmm.... maybe I should pile some heavy aluminum plate on top of the stove for heat sinking. The time I tried it with a wood stove it clogged up the chimney... but coal might work... :-)  


I hear a lot of storm static on 75M when listening out towards Colorado tonight, Bill.

T

Tom,
I had my gauge about two feet above the stove on the stack. Also I would put a pan of water on the top of the stove to put some moisture in the air when it gets to real low humidity. I put a damper in the stack and would close it about 1/2 to 2/3 to slow down air flow. You have to experiment with it depending on draft efficiency. Be careful with a damper a leaky stove could belch CO. You can get the same effect by adjusting the minimum air intake valve/slot. You want the air to move as slow as possible for best efficiency while maintaining a draft. You choke out the fire if you cut off the air too far. 

That static came from a line of thunderstorms that forced me off the air last night, Tom. It moved west to east across the western Great Lakes. We got some heavy rain when it went thru Lorain along with some nasty flashes!!

A good QSO till then with W8RPW, W8BX, WA3VJB and W1GUD. Warren actually had a great signal from Tampex, Floriduh with his Ranger and SB221 amp.
Alas, by 8:30PM I had all the ants grounded and systems off.

I'm grateful,  that there isn't an "SS" contest every nite.  What a mess that was....

That weather forecast sounds like ours...

We regularly see 80-90 mph winds up here on the mountain during the winter, 3 feet of ice / snow accumulation overnight isn't that unheard of.

Needless to say, coming from the beach areas of Southern California and Northern California, I've had to learn some new antenna and tower tricks having moved to 6000 feet above the Mojave Desert.

Makes for nice, quiet receive conditions, though.  And 6K feet HAAT is GREAT for 160 :)


--Shane
KD6VXI

CQ WW DX Contest is this coming weekend.  ;D

Good, I'll be at the cabin deer hunting so I won't miss anything on the radio.

Pete, you just spoiled my week......looks like it 3900-4000 kcs CQ time.    ::)    Gotta find a new project to start on....

you lucky guys with the blizzards and snow - -a good excuse for a roaring fire and hot tubes.. days spent in the shack, idyllic.