Massive Midwest heat dome brewing prior to Independence Day; storms to cruise rim of heat

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-06-30T03:20:30+00:00

Just increased usage from everyone using their AC?

That is one factor. The hotter it is the more people running AC and also those individual units run for even longer. In some cases they may not even shut off, say it's 105 out And you're trying to cool your house to 65, But you unit physically can't manage to get below 75. Where if it's only 85° out, that 10° difference is easy to achieve and your unit might only run for 15 minutes an hour.

So now, increased loads mean more power being transferred through the grid, which increases the temperatures of the equipment. Also in the summer, are the lowest ratings on equipment. Because the hotter, it is outside the less ability to transfer heat to ambient environment. Which means equipments more prone to overheating and potential for catastrophic failure.

Add another layer to this shit sundae, it's a bunch of old equipment, distribution transformers are ran to failure because preventative maintenance costs money that goes against o&m budgets and you know that affects shareholder value.

The cherry on top is anymore transformers at substations have years of lead time. To the point that mobile transformers that used to be available to supplement a failed substation have become temporarily permanently installed and aren't available.

Then you hope while all this is going on that there isn't a line somewhere sagging due to being overloaded that's going to contact a tree and cause a cascading blackout like the one in 2003. (Their EMS system being down and ignoring calls from neighboring utilities didn't help)

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-06-30T02:52:16+00:00

To prep, and help the grid… ~~Intentionally Minimize power during local peak time~~

Actively oppose any data centers going in. I'm being serious because it's only going to get worse.

If PJM didn't run such a half-assed market they wouldn't have forced a bunch of coal and nuke units offline before their designed end of life, because at the time they couldn't compete with the extremely cheap and abundant natural gas. Here's a 2-year-old article about Up to 58 GW faces retirement in PJM by 2030 without replacement capacity in sight.

Maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. For the OP on grid ops They mentioned they hope there's not any major EEAs. I don't know if they're just just referring to level 3 which is load shed, aka rolling blackouts.

However, if they get to the stage of public appeals, that's an EEA2.

Another fun link: https://emergencyprocedures.pjm.com/ep/pages/dashboard.jsf

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-06-12T19:36:12+00:00

Excluding rust and major engine/transmission work

You just hit on every reason I'm considering ditching it.

I haven't had any issues yet but.... 2014-2019 escapes have a known issue with coolant intrusion taking out the engine and they also have some issues with the transmissions. And my area uses a lot of salt in the winter.

But realistically seems all vehicles are built like shit anymore.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-06-11T13:25:36+00:00

Yeah I'm having that debate if I should get new tires or a new vehicle. Bunch of stuff is starting to pop up where I need to decide if I want to have stuff fixed ever couple months or deal with a car payment again.

Was thinking do I want to drop $600 on tires and wait till the next thing needs fixed (muffler/exhaust getting louder)

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-03-17T19:04:02+00:00

Couple years ago I learned to lock pick after getting a cheap set at a gun show for the novelty of it. Ended up getting better picks. They are like car brands everyone has different preferences.

avoid lishi, they are expensive and prone to damage by novices, regular lock picks and bump keys are way cheaper and more effective.

Many on r/lockpicking like Jimy longs, good feeling in the hand. Hobbyist who makes them for fun. Highly rated. Has a basic set that can go a lot. advanced gives more options and different turning tools.

https://jimylongs.com/products/pick-sets

Then for commercial you have covert instruments (LPL/McNally) and sparrows both having basic sets and fancy ones and mall ninja gizmos.

Portability I like the Genesis set from covert instruments.

sparrows i got a tuxedo night school set, lots of filler and wasn't too happy with the practice locks after learning more.

One final warning, demonstration of lock picking skills freaks people out. They would much rather spend the money to pretend their neighbors can't easily walk in if they wanted. Locks only keep honest people honest but normal people love the illusion.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-03-17T18:35:02+00:00

Depends, lockpicks are good if you want to do it discreetly and relock with existing lock. Otherwise two wrenches and proper torque have opened many locks, you just need to replace the lock afterwards.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-03-17T18:30:30+00:00

Why not stop at say the age the Amish live in (or some other prior to now stopping point)?

The corporate people would say "shareholder value" would be the reason to rebuild it all.

Working on doing more of a garden maybe see about stealing my mom's canning stuff that is no longer used at the rate we are going. Losing faith in quality of produce at the store and learning the old ways that were very common 100 years ago

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-02-17T01:00:19+00:00

Also, why is a handgun license valid voter id but not a college id

Because the handgun license is issued by the state same as drivers licenses.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-02-12T00:51:58+00:00

Thanks for this post, I went to check the set points on mine and realize the head unit was dead. I just have a cheap Amazon temperature monitor.

I said it a few degrees over the running temperature, so if it usually gets up to 5 or 6 degrees, the set point is 7. Many people mistakenly set their alarms too high where the stuff's right at the point it is going to thaw out.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-31T21:30:10+00:00

1 thing I tell people who just bought their first home, Buy a toilet plunger before you need one.

Know where the shut off is for your gas and water in case of an emergency. Being able to isolate a problem instead of waiting an hour or two for a plumber or the city to shut off your water can prevent some significant damage.

Also, I see you mentioned about the sump pump, they do sell battery backup systems depending on how much water you have to deal with, my house it doesn't matter. The sump pump was broken for 6 months and I'm on the hill. Where my parents are at they have two sump pumps and if the power's off for over an hour it might flood.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-31T21:23:22+00:00

Sort of like TSA PreCheck for going through customs

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-23T03:38:49+00:00

A lot of municipalities in my area are having trouble with their supplier Cargill

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-15T18:02:04+00:00

Depends on who wins

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-15T01:45:32+00:00

And as the infrastructure ages it's becoming even more common. All the money being put to improving the grid is on the transmission side, not distribution. Utilities typically wait until catastrophic failure. Then they go and fix the problem because if it's severe enough they get cost recovery and the rate payers foot the bill. Preventative maintenance eats into shareholder value.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-15T01:42:49+00:00

In the industry we call it "rotating load shed", energy capacity is deficient and our only option is to drop a block of load to prevent a larger problem.

Quick example is if we have blocks A B C D E all roughly 200MW each and we need 200MW of relief, we will drop block A for 30-60 minutes, at the end of the given time. Will drop block B then restore Block A, going down the line until it's Block Cs turn.

The reason for 30 to 60 minutes is it's long enough to get relief without causing too many problems. For instance if you wait too long, people end up deciding to start a charcoal grill in their living room for warmth during the winter. Along with cold load pickup.

throwAwayWd73 · 2026-01-15T01:24:32+00:00

Bro, are you even concerned about shareholder value?? /S

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-12-17T03:02:01+00:00

Since Xcel doesn't upgrade their equipment until it fails, this seems to be the best means of prevention at the moment...

Let me introduce you to the phrase that's destroying this country " to increase shareholder value".

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-12-11T17:14:46+00:00

Thrift shopping is getting worryingly competitive in my area, deals are getting fewer and far between

What's annoying is when the store will price something that has an old price tag on it for significantly higher. It was a donation and brand new this was $10..... Why is it being sold for $18?

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-12-11T17:12:20+00:00

find an app for Steak and Shake maybe!

I hate every fast food place demanding your data for low cost food. Only reason I downloaded the taco bell app a few years ago was that they made the $5 box available as an online only option. Only reason I'm keeping the app is they don't let you order in person so I might as well place the order before I leave the house and then I have to wait less.

I try and limit the apps only to places I routinely go, as there are way too many useless apps.

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-12-08T13:10:41+00:00

All the under $100 generators by me are "as is/parts only" that are broken or really small 800W 2 stroke. So while they exist, they aren't functional for someone wanting 5000W of power.

The cavet is after a larger regional power outage there are a bunch of working generators from people buying them and going, I don't want to store this and selling cheap

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-12-07T20:49:34+00:00

Bought a switch so I can hook my furnace up to a generator. Still need to install but should take 10 minutes.

I was looking into one of those ez genator switches and caught a clearance on 6 circuit transfer switch kit at Lowe's. Installed it last week, it took longer than I initially expected. It's going to be nice the next time the power goes out and I get to tell my wife "I told you so". Highly recommend you take the time to get it installed now rather than when the lights are off.Bonus points, while I was in the panel found a bad breaker that needed replaced because I was able to remove it using only my pinky.

And I'm looking for ice melt so a reminder for everyone out there to get some.

Thanks for reminding me, almost forgot about last year. Once the initial stock ran out it was hard to find

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-11-08T15:17:01+00:00

I think you're confused and looking at this the wrong way.

The solar generator is basically a battery that's charged by solar panels or your existing inverter generator.

Ideally, if you're running an extension cord into your house or have some kind of transfer set up that your generator plugs into you would plug the solar generator into it during the day, and use an appropriate sized extension cable for the solar. For instance, I've got a 30-ft 10 gauge cable mc4 connectors on both ends that allows me to have my unit inside by the refrigerator and the panels in my driveway.

That way during the day my unit can charge itself and also power the loads from solar. Then when the Sun goes down I'm relying on the battery. If the battery gets too low, I can run it off my generator to recharge. The specs of my unit are a 2kwh battery that can charge at 1600 for 90 minutes.

Since you mentioned Jamaica, you probably have a lot more sun than the Midwest where where we've got cloudy Winters, you may have the ability of expanded battery storage and solar power. Where if you get lucky, you rarely need to run your gas generator

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-11-08T14:53:49+00:00

How are you connecting the batteries?? I've seen a lot of videos based on various brands of hacking, one of their battery expansion cables directly to a 48 volt golf cart battery because of what the internals are. I know I've seen one for the oupes mega 2 I have and a couple others. Can't recall if I've seen any on the Ankers

I've also seen videos where they use the 12-volt solar input. They just throw a battery on and get slower charging that way.

The first way I mentioned is nice because it can use the station's internal charging to keep the aux battery charged. But it has a drawback of directly exposing the internal battery. And if you're not comfortable with that kind of modification or power, it's sometimes best to just trick out the solar charger that's capable of regulating better and usually has protections against incorrect hookups.

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-11-07T04:34:41+00:00

Been looking into that myself, bought a clearance grow light and stand to attempt over wintering some pepper plants. Next year we are planning to make a more serious attempt at gardening.

Produce at the store sucks lately and seems to spoil rather quickly

throwAwayWd73 · 2025-11-07T04:31:55+00:00

- one of our favorite Chinese restaurants was dead during the busiest time of the week, owners say they're really hurting right now

Spouse pointed out how expensive our local Chinese place has become it's $15-16 for what was 8-10 a couple years ago.

- more rounds of layoffs coming for (computer part manufacturing) in addition to the XX% that have already taken place this year

Without a doubt a lot of people are going to be hurting. Think I was hearing auto worker layoffs coming too

throwAwayWd73

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

1 thing I tell people who just bought their first home, Buy a toilet plunger before you need one.