It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Oh yes.

25cm and it's wet. That'll be me in a coronary care unit later today.

The roads are a nightmare. As usual, people have forgotten what snow is.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Last Saturday we were driving back from the market with the car full as an egg (two people, the generator on the picture thread, the haul from the cheese shop and half the contents of Costco) when we were diverted due to the road being closed by white out. I tired of the official diversion and went down a side road, ending up next to a car park, barely visible through the blizzard, containing several TR6s and some E types, it was like a dream, nirvana in the snow.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

So you were quite well-equipped for being marooned?

I'm bloody glad we rented that car shelter. Half the driveway does not need shovelling. It's also bang up against the garage door, which means I didn't get hauled out of bed at five to scrape the car.

I will be shovelling multiple times today, however. The snow is wet and it will freeze if left.

Oddly, it only took my missus about ten minutes longer than usual to get to work. I was surprised when she called me so soon after leaving home.

Needless to say, Christmas has come early for the towing companies and body shops, and the tire places will be kept busy over the next few days by folk who are probably now regretting that they didn't put their winters on sooner. There has been a lot of ditch-parking this morning (and one woman was farking lucky that a mobile crane was passing just as she skidded off the road and parked in the Gatineau river).

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Obviously you're not aware of the Canadian initiative of how to make a dishwasher clear snow.







You buy her a shovel !

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I think we have all we need for the next cutting off. Blower, generator, hook up for the generator, logs, food, booze; everything but money.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I'll let you suggest that to her. Then I'll attend your funeral.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I have started to consider getting a generator. I really started thinking about it seriously on Monday, when we had a power cut, on the coldest November 25th in memory.

My MIL on the South Shore has got it sussed. After the great ice storm, which left her without power for, I think, two weeks, she and her late husband had a log burner installed in the basement. It is linked to the forced-air ducting and she has a huge stock of wood. And enough preserved/non-perishable food to last a large family for several weeks.

I'm not sure where she keeps the weapons.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Really....it's snowing in Ottawa/Gatineau? You don't don't see that this time of the year :rofl:

Yes...I remember the amount of times I had to shovel my driveway. Love snow shoeing and snow boarding in Gat park though...my pass is already renewed ;)

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

That's all fine and good but it doesn't make the well pump run, nor does it power the fish tank heater.

My generator investigations suggest that the best deals at the moment (assuming a need for 5,000 watts running) are a Generac for $1200 at TSC or a Champion for $850 at Costco. The Generac brand is highly regarded and that one's made in the USA. Nonetheless, we were on the way to get the Costco one when we came across the scratched and dented one we now have.

Note that the wiring to enable the generator to be hooked up isn't a trivial expense.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

At this time of year, no, you generally don't.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Really....You obviously just arrived based on your previous posts. I was there before you arrived, and lived & worked on both sides

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Snowmaggedon was cancelled here so we only have 12 cm of wet snow. I am bracing myself to shovel.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Just arrived? Try nine years. I struggle to remember it often doing this at this time of the year.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Oh dear.

Ottawa historically has more than 10cm of lying snow for only 1.6 days in November, compared to 16.5 days in December.

Significant snowfall (requiring shovelling of driveways etc) is not the norm in November.

Statistics from Environment Canada, collated and interpreted for your convenience here http://www.currentresults.com/Weathe...n-averages.php

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Oh yeah stats of course...that is like looking at north on the map, and true north on the ground :rofl:

Have you ever lived there mate...if you haven't, then you can hardly comment. Visiting doesn't count by the way

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Exactly my point....you are a Newb. I was living there before that and during the time you were there :D

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Snow is fairly common in November surely.

When I lived in Ottawa (was only for one season mind) the first snow was before halloween. I'm sure we'd had plenty by the end of November.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I'm confused here. Souvy says it's snowing. UR says it doesn't usually. Souvy agrees. UR says Souvy can't know what's usual because he didn't live there when UR did. Oakvillian shows that statistically it doesn't usually. UR repeats that he lived there a long time ago.

What's the point UR? Are you saying that it's not snowing on Souvy's house?

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Orly...Thank you! :goodpost:

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

No, I haven't lived there. I haven't lived in Iqaluit either, but I would be able to say with complete certainty that it would not be unusual to have significant snowfall there in November.

Not sure I understand your map comment. If I intend to navigate from a map using a magnetic compass, I would look in the marginalia to find the grid-magnetic deviation. If I was using a GNSS-based navigation aid, I'd need to know grid-to-true-north deviation. In neither case can I see the relevance to my ability to interpret snowfall statistics...

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I think answered the question from an actual "lived there" perspective, as opposed to looking in from Oakville (which am able to comment about by the way)....

And that Mr Oaky, is all that matters here. Thanks for coming out though as usual to antagonize :D

kids were dropped off at school and all that am guessing, or is it a snow day there too?

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Ah! What Oakvillian needs to do in order gain credibility, is drive to Guelph.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I am not in Oakville at present.

I object to your habit of bringing people's personal circumstances into discussions where they have no relevance. How and when my children get to school is of absolutely no relevance to you and I'd thank you for not including them in your comments.

Why is your having lived in Ottawa "all that matters here"? The dates of first significant snowfall are a matter of fact and public record, not of personal experience or opinion.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I did that once :)

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Object..what is this, a court?

Overruled

Ah...You did make it your intent to antagonize my post Oaky didn't ya. Ignore my posts then, or is that asking too much of you and will derail your agenda?

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

no, I was asking you politely to stop. You're sailing rather close to the wind as regards site rules, and we would hate to see you sent to the naughty corner.

As to antagonism, I hope I'm always pretty measured in my responses. If I've riled you, I suspect that's more because you're easily riled than due to any intent on my part.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Just out of curiosity how did you hook it up ? I always thought it was just a matter of running a cable to your dryer hook up then switching your main breaker off before starting the gen .

Thinking of investing in one myself - there are a lot of rumours going around that the Avalon area of Newfoundland is almost tapped out on the grid and its not going to take much to knock us out for a while . If there is a good deal comes up on the sales this week I may grab it

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Now you are trying to play the sympathy game OAKY...REALLY?
Let it go....and do note that you have an "option" which am sure the Mods will remind you of....."Ignore". Use it on me, unless of course you have a hidden agenda?

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

The power comes on to the property at the garage (a separate building from the house). We had a electrician add a transfer switch there, next to the breaker box. The procedure now is to start the generator, plug in a cable from the new box to the generator and throw the switch that turns off the power from the grid and turns on the power from the generator. It works and has been inspected by someone official.

I don't know if the dryer method would work, it sounds feasible except for the mechanics of running a cable from the generator to the dryer socket. I'd rather try it at your house than mine but then I'm not good with electricity.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I wasn't meaning to sound critical of the way you were doing it sorry if it came across that way - I am not much of a sparky myself

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

That's just to fuel the justifcation for Muskrat Falls (like the climate change tv ads) likely than any real problem? Although the power outage last winter in the middle of a snowstorm when Holyrood went tits up was a bit of an inconvenience to be sure.

We probably should have a generator, given that we are on well water & that the hot water radiation only needs power to the furnace and pump to heat the house. But in 8 years we've never had an outage longer than 12 hrs so it's not felt like an investment we needed to make. I'm sure that if the power does go out for an extended period in the winter, we'll be reconsidering!;)

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Oh, I didn't take it that way. I'd be interested to know if the dryer socket method works and if there's any catch. MikeUK would likely know.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Seems it works going by a couple of youtube videos I just watched but some of the comments at the bottom of the videos makes it seem that it may be dangerous as well as nullifying your house insurance if it goes wrong . From what I can see your way with the switch over panel looks like the way to go :thumbup:

Pity as my dryer hook-up is on the garage wall so it would have been an inexpensive way to do it for me

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

One of the guys I was speaking to used to work with NL power and the fact that he is tighter than tight with cash but just forked out $1000 for a generator got me thinking about it :D

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

I find that quite amusing seeing as how Orly has been here for only a couple of years and lives nowhere near Ottineau - yet you berate another poster for being a 'newb' and therefore obviously (in your opinion) can't have any idea what is the 'norm' when they have lived there for 9 years, because they disagree with you.

Yawn.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Had a read on this. The crux of the difference between using the main breaker and a transfer switch seems to be that the breaker doesn't disconnect the neutral wire while the transfer switch does. This means that the dryer socket method sends power out of the house down the neutral wire. This is hazardous for anyone working on the line, they may check for it, trace it and take some sort of action against the householder. They may not check and be electrified. Of course, it's a slight chance that any of this may happen but I'm reassured that there's good reason to do this the right way.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

More amusingly, I just checked the data back to 1990, which was as far as I could be bothered to go. No November day since then has seen the amount of snow we just had. Precious few Novembers have in total seen what we just had.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Captain Canada's special clearance will provide him with access to data you can't dream of understanding. No doubt the dawn of time had a dump of snow immeasurable by man that he recalls clearing by hand while chewing 6" nails to ensure his iron intake was adequate.

Note: Captain Canada is a fictional character and bears no resemblance to any individual living or deceased.

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Souvy....you actually went to that length? Come on now bruv'er

Oh...I didn't berate you, you and I have our ding dongs every now and then, I have no hidden agenda to go on a manhunt with you

Re: It's a-snowing in Ottineau
 

Lengths? It took about five minutes.