Weather Forecast And The Annual Closing The Cabin Debate

[PSU]

Hello Friends:

Well, it seems ever few years or so, we debate on when to close the cabin depending on the weather forecast. I know a number of the members on this board are fairly knowledgeable on weather forecasts. We are hoping to keep the cabin open until after MEA weekend (ending 10/21), but the extended forecast looks fairly questionable. We are on an island in Frazer Bay with exposed plumbing pipes, filters, and water heater under the cabin. Our plumber who closes up our cabin each year indicated our exposed pipes should be fine (plastic "trex" (sp?)), but he indicated he may be concerned about the plastic filter cases (blue) in the event of below freezing weather for up to 8 straight hours at any one time. Looks like this week should be fine, but mid week next week and the following weekend may have some consistent colder weather.

 

Anyone else having the same predicament on when to close up?

 

Thanks for any insight!  

 

[leech~~]

I would say better safe then sorry. You probably had a nice summer already up there so why chance coming back to cracked plumbing next spring and start off next year badly.  You could always haul in some water and plastic bag the toilet for one weekend.  Good Luck. 

[delcecchi]

1 hour ago, PSU said:

Hello Friends:

Well, it seems ever few years or so, we debate on when to close the cabin depending on the weather forecast. I know a number of the members on this board are fairly knowledgeable on weather forecasts. We are hoping to keep the cabin open until after MEA weekend (ending 10/21), but the extended forecast looks fairly questionable. We are on an island in Frazer Bay with exposed plumbing pipes, filters, and water heater under the cabin. Our plumber who closes up our cabin each year indicated our exposed pipes should be fine (plastic "trex" (sp?)), but he indicated he may be concerned about the plastic filter cases (blue) in the event of below freezing weather for up to 8 straight hours at any one time. Looks like this week should be fine, but mid week next week and the following weekend may have some consistent colder weather.

 

Anyone else having the same predicament on when to close up?

 

Thanks for any insight!  

 

I guess the question at this point would be how much lead time to you need.   I am not a big believer in forecasts more than a few, maybe two or three, days out especially up on the lake.    If this is an ongoing issue, insulating the filters might be worth considering in order to get a little insurance for the late close/early freeze situation.    A box made of that pink/yellow foam they use for sheathing would be easy and inexpensive.     

[Fish Head]

I always close mine down on MEA weekend.  I'll still come up to the cabin for another couple weekends.  We get water from the lake to work the toilets etc.  I feel you are taking a big risk going past that weekend. 

[PSU]

Good thoughts, thanks!

 

Our plumber also advised to keep the heat on at 50 degrees while we are away and when leaving open the kitchen faucet after turning off the water heater and pump to drain the water and air out

[redlabguy]

We’re islanders, too. And draw lake water. We left Tuesday. Less because of the cold- more because my wife had cabin fever. I had the best fishing of the season in the past week so it was tough but good to know we are battened down for whatever comes. What is MEA? I’ve seen several references but don’t have a clue. I feel like I’m missing something obvious!

Off the lake,

Dick

[Bigfatbert]

1 hour ago, redlabguy said:

We’re islanders, too. And draw lake water. We left Tuesday. Less because of the cold- more because my wife had cabin fever. I had the best fishing of the season in the past week so it was tough but good to know we are battened down for whatever comes. What is MEA? I’ve seen several references but don’t have a clue. I feel like I’m missing something obvious!

Off the lake,

Dick

MEA is a teachers workshop weekend always around the 20th of October. So the students are off from school , and it’s a 4 day weekend . Thurs , Fri , Sat ,Sun .

[SkunkedAgain]

PSU - unless there is something new out there, you've got PEX plumbing lines in your place. It's the plastic stuff that has some bend to it, usually blue for cold water, red for hot water, and white for return/sewer. It does have more give than traditional copper or galvanized pipes when it comes to freezing. Leaving the taps open will give more room for water to freeze/expand if it does get really cold.

 

Luckily I've only got a water pump but I already drained that. I put it in too early about five years ago and there was a hard freeze after fishing opener. It cracked the iron casing on the pump. Luckily it was only $160 or so for a new pump!

 

If I were you I would close down the cabin but you could also watch the forecasts. I don't trust them to predict rain or snow, but you have to admit that they are pretty darn good at predicting temperatures. It looks like a lot of lows in the 30s over the next ten days. The coldest nights are tonight and tomorrow around freezing. If you want to chance it, just make sure that you've got the ability to go up next weekend if needed. 

Edited October 4, 2018 by SkunkedAgain

[leech~~]

2 hours ago, Bigfatbert said:

MEA is a teachers workshop weekend always around the 20th of October. So the students are off from school , and it’s a 4 day weekend . Thurs , Fri , Sat ,Sun .

 

MEA is suppose to be for teachers workshops, but you will find most of them up north on a girls weekend partying and in gift shops. Or at the Mall of America!  

Edited October 4, 2018 by leech~~

[jgrimmz]

If I were you, I would add a future project to enclose the exposed areas with plywood sheathing and insulation. Insulate the inside of the sheathing and you could create a simple access panel or keep one panel removable. That way you can use the cabin to the end of October with less worry.

 

Also, Pex pipe can swell to roughly the size of a softball before failure. Not saying you should test that, but I wouldn't be (too) worried once the exposed plumbing has been covered. 

[chucker1101]

For the blue plastic filter units built into the water line...

 

Usually a plumber puts a shut-off valve in before and after, on the water delivery line.  This is done so the filters can be changed without draining water from the system. It is really easy (assuming the shut-off valves are there) to shut-off both valves, then unscrew and empty the water in the filters. This will stop them from freezing.

 

When you come back the next weekend, just turn the valves back on.

Edited October 4, 2018 by chucker1101
clarify

[PSU]

This is excellent (and thankfully very specific with my very limited skills) insight friends. Helpful indeed!

 

Thanks

[delcecchi]

17 hours ago, jgrimmz said:

If I were you, I would add a future project to enclose the exposed areas with plywood sheathing and insulation. Insulate the inside of the sheathing and you could create a simple access panel or keep one panel removable. That way you can use the cabin to the end of October with less worry.

 

Also, Pex pipe can swell to roughly the size of a softball before failure. Not saying you should test that, but I wouldn't be (too) worried once the exposed plumbing has been covered. 

 

I might be a little concerned if it is actually PEX and exposed to sunlight.  PEX is quite vulnerable to degrading in sunlight so needs to be covered in some way.   My water line, and most of the folks around me that have shallow wells or lakewater is that black polyethylene stuff.  It seems to not have a sunlight issue.

[jgrimmz]

^Very good point. I guess in my mind I was picturing the Pex pipe under the cabin only and connecting, after the filtration system, to a different pipe material. 

[delcecchi]

4 hours ago, jgrimmz said:

^Very good point. I guess in my mind I was picturing the Pex pipe under the cabin only and connecting, after the filtration system, to a different pipe material. 

 

I would surmise, depending on age of cabin that the plumbing might well be copper pipe, which was very common up until fairly recently, and is cheaper for the do it yourselfer types since no crimping tool is needed.   Or are there connectors for pex now that don't need crimping?   I am not really up to date on Pex, since our house and cabin are both copper.   

[PSU]

Still trying to make a final decision whether to close or not this weekend. Should be easier, but always sad to close for the winter. One question I have is the forecasts. I always use Cook for my reference on weather.com, but it really seems to differ significantly from what I see on my thermometer, which is elevated (perhaps this is the reason) on my deck positioned correctly. For example, at this moment, Cook temperature on my phone is 36 degrees, but my thermometer reads 43 degrees. I notice these fluctuations throughout the summer as well, meaning thermometer shows warmer here on the lake than in Cook.

 

Any thoughts to why this would be?

[AlwaysFishing23]

Hate to state the obvious here. But cook isn’t on the lake while your thermometer is on your deck assuming your deck is whithin a close distance to the lake? The water is still 48-52 degrees so the lake is keeping the temps warmer than off the lake. 

[delcecchi]

Yep, there is a zone of "warmer near the lake" in the fall.   Probably pay it back in the spring.

If you look at the "wundermap" on weatherunderground.com it shows all sorts of private weather stations that forward their data via the internet.   The differences in temp and wind and precipitation can be pretty interesting.

Edited October 6, 2018 by delcecchi