old man emu Posted January 3 Posted January 3 Mid-afternoon today it was 40.3C in the shade on the back porch. Lots of small Cu, but nothing grey. 2
facthunter Posted January 3 Posted January 3 There's a bit west of you but I don't know what will come of it. Nev
old man emu Posted January 3 Posted January 3 56 minutes ago, facthunter said: There's a bit west of you but I don't know what will come of it. Nev 1800: It's pouring in the rising country east of the Newell toward the Upper Hunter. The winds are all over the place, but currently calm at my place 1
old man emu Posted January 3 Posted January 3 Again, no thunder, no rain, but the power is still on to run the cooling fans. Gone to bed. 1
spacesailor Posted January 4 Posted January 4 We have POWER ! . We will watch T V . " Goodnight " . spacesailor 1
willedoo Posted January 4 Posted January 4 I've got power but I don't know for how long. Went for a drive down the driveway today and the property power line is damaged. The comedian that installed the poles quite a few years ago used substandard timber cross pieces at the top of the poles. It's 3 phase power, so 4 wires suspended from the crosspieces. The end of one cross piece broke off and that cable is only hanging by a thin thread, namely the small diameter connecting wire. The cable is now only a few feet off the ground and the other three are hanging much lower than usual. I found the broken piece of the cross member on the ground. It was treated but contains almost no heartwood, mainly just sap. Tomorrows job is to find a powerline contractor and find out how many thousands of dollars I'm up for. The way it is now, the next bit of decent wind will snap the wire, or the weight of it eventually do that anyhow. I don't know whether the storms did it or if it was just the rotten timber's time. 1 2
willedoo Posted January 4 Posted January 4 The above photo is a bit deceptive as the cables don't look like they are sagging, but the ground rises up the hill from there, so those wires should be angled upward. The dislocated cable is only 4 or 5 feet off the ground in the middle of the sag. I hope no passing kangaroos get zapped. 1 1
old man emu Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Useless bloody Bureau of Meteorology!!! Couldn't forecast the date on tomorrow's newspaper! Woke up this morning to 10/10 overcast, and thought the predicted "substantial" rain was on the way. Come midday and the skies are clearing. Look at the wind direction. 1
facthunter Posted January 7 Posted January 7 You "Might" get some tonight, but I wouldn't BET on it. Nev 1
old man emu Posted January 7 Posted January 7 1 hour ago, facthunter said: You "Might" get some tonight, but I wouldn't BET on it. Nev What's the date tomorrow?
old man emu Posted January 7 Posted January 7 49 minutes ago, facthunter said: 08/01/2024. nev Stupid written conversations! Nev, if we were sitting in a club enjoying a bit of banter and a beer, you would have seen that this: 1 hour ago, old man emu said: What's the date tomorrow? was a response to this: 2 hours ago, facthunter said: You "Might" get some tonight, but I wouldn't BET on it. Nev referenceing this: 3 hours ago, old man emu said: Useless bloody Bureau of Meteorology!!! Couldn't forecast the date on tomorrow's newspaper!
facthunter Posted January 7 Posted January 7 Haven't bought a newspaper since 1973. I've been watching the Weather info in your area trying to give you good news. Flying 24/7 In Australia gives you first hand knowledge of how accurate some forecasts areN'T Nev
old man emu Posted January 7 Posted January 7 6 hours ago, facthunter said: You "Might" get some tonight, but I wouldn't BET on it. Nev Who'd a thort it? 1900 7-1-24 2
red750 Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Some centres in Victoria have received the highest rainfall in 90 years of records. Towns flooded in 2022 are being evacuated again, including Echuca and Rochester. 1 1
onetrack Posted January 8 Posted January 8 It's not quite as bad a flood, as the 2022 flood, though. A mate has a rural property at Strathallan Rd., Strathallan, adjoining the Campaspe River, and he emailed me today with the news his property was all set to get flooded out again. In the 2022 floods, the water went through his house and sheds to considerable depth, and ruined a lot of his stuff, and left him pretty depressed. But he had previously showed us photos of floods a number of years before, where the water was lapping the floorboards of his house. The bottom line is, if you build and live on a floodplain, you have to expect to be flooded out, sometime - and probably a lot sooner than you might think. A lot of these people seem to think they're immune from the forces of Nature, and complain bitterly when they get flooded out - or worse, end up on the wrong side of hastily-erected emergency levee banks. I wouldn't build on a floodplain even if I was given major enticements, and many developers should be held responsible for developments on floodplains, that eventually get flooded out. https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2022/echuca-levee/ 2 1
facthunter Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Sometimes what is done upstream of you alters the situation you are in but a lot of it is local Councils fault for not studying the flood history of the locality when THEY approve a subdivision. Maybe MONEY changes hands behind the scenes?? Nev 2
willedoo Posted January 8 Posted January 8 On 04/01/2024 at 8:49 PM, willedoo said: I've got power but I don't know for how long. Went for a drive down the driveway today and the property power line is damaged. The comedian that installed the poles quite a few years ago used substandard timber cross pieces at the top of the poles. It's 3 phase power, so 4 wires suspended from the crosspieces. The end of one cross piece broke off and that cable is only hanging by a thin thread, namely the small diameter connecting wire. The cable is now only a few feet off the ground and the other three are hanging much lower than usual. I found the broken piece of the cross member on the ground. It was treated but contains almost no heartwood, mainly just sap. Tomorrows job is to find a powerline contractor and find out how many thousands of dollars I'm up for. The way it is now, the next bit of decent wind will snap the wire, or the weight of it eventually do that anyhow. I don't know whether the storms did it or if it was just the rotten timber's time. Just when you think something's really bad, you take a step back, look at it rationally, and then realise it's actually very good. It's great when all your ducks line up in a row. Duck # 1: This power line has been heading for a breakdown for a long time and I was lucky it happened now and not in a couple of months or three when I'm either getting or recovering from a hip replacement. At least now, I'm relatively mobile and could do something about it. Duck # 2: Due to lot's of people experiencing similar storm damage to age weary power lines, it's not easy to find a contractor. I was fortunate enough to be the first to call the contractor who had been on holidays for two weeks. After my call, he was bombarded with calls about jobs. Duck # 3: Although the wire was dangerous and near the ground, I didn't lose power between the time of the breakage and the contractor getting on the job to fix it. Duck # 4: The job was done in one day, so the fridge and freezer were ok. Duck # 5: The contractor proposed an alternative of doing away with the dodgy crossbeams and four bare wires and replacing it with an insulated 4 wire bundled cable. It was only $600 dearer than getting the old poxy setup repaired and much quicker to do. Duck # 6: Thanks to Duck # 5's bundled cable, the power line is not only fixed but upgraded to a far better and more future-proofed line. Any future problems will be far easier and cheaper to fix than the four bare wires on cross arms that were there before. This post is coming to you via brand new electricity lines. Good ducks and a good outcome. I also found out today that if you grab that low hanging live wire, the fuses on the main street pole won't blow, so you will end up as well done beef jerky. The contractor said the street fuses are designed to blow at a heavier load such as a tree falling and bridging wires. 2 1
willedoo Posted January 8 Posted January 8 There's no more bare wires on the whole line. Energex run up to 30 metres to a property pole for free, 4 wires insulated and bundled as one. That connects to 100 metres of overhead private line, now the same, insulated and bundled. Then all underground from there. 1
spacesailor Posted January 8 Posted January 8 And probably easier to see , from afar , than four thin wires . spacesailor 1 1
nomadpete Posted January 8 Posted January 8 7 minutes ago, spacesailor said: And probably easier to see , from afar , than four thin wires . spacesailor That probably only helps pilots flying through his trees 3
onetrack Posted January 8 Posted January 8 It'll be good for the possums when they fly from tree to tree. No more possum stories around the fire about how Grandpa Possum met a dreadful, blazing end, when he collided with some unseen, bare wires on his last flight. 1
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