| Author | Message | ||
     Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1017 Registered: 09-2002 |
Sorry to rant but it's friggin cold here right now. -39*C and tomorrow morning isn't looking any warmer. With windchill, about -49*C...not really sure I need to put celsius since at this temperature IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE!!! My truck is like a block of ice. All others who have similar weather, be safe. | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 659 Registered: 09-2002 |
Damn, that's cold!! It was +38*F camping last weekend during the night. That's cold enough for humans. You need to move South, Dude  SC | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1370 Registered: 02-2002 |
You're right -40 degrees is in fact the same in both scales Does is start? | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1018 Registered: 09-2002 |
Dean - Hehe, yea truck starts fine as long as I plug it in. If I didn't in these temperatures, I highly doubt it would start (not willing to test that theory out either). But it's definitely not happy about it. I have to wait at least 20 or 25 minutes before I even attempt to move it. Steve - If it was +38*F I'd be in shorts. | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1377 Registered: 02-2002 |
So, tell me, do you leave it plugged in all night or just some time before its time to start? Is it a built in thing or a make-shift (light bulb!) version? And do you cover the radiator grill for the winter? | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1020 Registered: 09-2002 |
I leave it plugged in all night. Lately night temperatures have been hovering around -40*C to -45*C so you have to leave it plugged in all the time. If it was warmer say -15*C to -20*C or so, I have a timer (pretty much any kind from a hardware store) that I set for when I want the block heater to come on. Usually about 3 hours before I want to leave but not this week. It's too cold for that (right now it's -37*C) so I by-pass the timer and have the block heater plugged in the whole time. The block heater is standard on all vehicles in Alberta and usually comes from the factory/dealer. I've heard some vehicles out west (BC) that sometimes don't come with the winter package as their winter temps rarely go below freezing but it's always included here in Alberta. I haven't used a radiator grill cover yet (did on my old truck) but it's a good idea or if you're like some of the Ford and Chevy guys around here, they just tie wrap a piece of cardboard across their grill. Same effect. Also, it's not uncommon for people to use battery blankets. Helps the battery out quite a bit but there's so little room in the Disco's battery compartment that it's hard to squeeze one in. Gasline antifreeze is pretty much a standard additive that all gas stations here now include. A few years ago that wasn't the case and you'd have to add it in yourself after you filled up. Some stations still don't have it but all the major brands (Esso, Shell, Petro Canada) do. Beyond that, syn oil makes a HUGE difference to starting so you'll see a lot of vehicles here run it instead of the natural stuff. I've actually been rather impressed by my truck. If I leave it plugged in, it starts up quick and strong. But believe me, the cabin is like a freezer. It is so bloody cold in there that you swear parts of you are going to freeze to something. I have cloth seats and find that it's not too bad but it's still like sitting on a piece of plywood at first. One thing you have to be careful with is the interior fogging up when you get in but just turn the AC on and it goes away. More than anything though you have to give your vehicle sufficient time for all the parts to warm up or you're going crack/break something if you try to drive off too quickly. All in all, one of the quirks of living here but one thing though, we get a lot of sunshine...it just happens to be -35*C though. | ||
| Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) Senior Member Username: Deanbrown3d Post Number: 1378 Registered: 02-2002 |
Well thank you, that was a very interesting read. So whats the coldest you've ever known it there? You know, my antifreeze isn't even rated that low! So what do you just use it neat and not bother diluting it? I wonder what other differences there are, like chill-rated belts, blades, tires, pipes? | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1022 Registered: 09-2002 |
I'm not sure of the coldest it's ever been here (I think some insane number like -60*C) but I can tell you the coldest I've ever experienced. Standing temp, probably about -42*C but if you include windchill then about -51*C or so. It's pretty hard to breath at those temps. But it's not like this all the time. We usually get a cold snap like this for a couple weeks and then it jumps back up to something more normal like -15 or so. I've also experience temperature changes of 40+ degrees in one day before. You can wake up to a temp +25*C, sunny, beautiful weather, have a blizzard blow in 2 hours later, the temp drops to -20, drops about 10" to 12" of snow and by late evening, the sun is out again and the snow has melted (this is in June/July I'm talking here). Doesn't happen very often but I have experienced it before. Kinda screws up your wardrobe for the day. We never dilute antifreeze up here. It's sold in in ratings like -20, -35 or -45 and you use it as it is straight out of the container. We also have windshield washer fluid with teflon in it (the fluid is purple) to help prevent freezing on the screen. It's a bit more exspensive but does make a bit of a difference. If you go to the gas stations around here, the windshield washer containers with the squigee (is that how you spell it??) are filled with antifreeze fluid. Probably mixed with a tiny bit of water but it's primarily antifreeze. I couldn't tell you about the chill-ratings but I'm sure some of our stuff up here is made with consideration of our winters. Some wiper blades here use teflon in them to help survive the harshness of winter but I think tires and such are all the same. Our engine oil is probably a bit different. | ||
| Shawn McKenzie (Shawn) Member Username: Shawn Post Number: 190 Registered: 10-2002 |
Well there goes "Tourism Alberta" Alan! This is at the annual Lake Louise ice sculpture competition just down the road from you.    Dean, if you use antifreeze without dilution at all it won't work either. The mix we shoot for is rated to -45F or so. A bit of water, but not much. When the temperature drops colder than that it goes sludgy, but won't freeze solid and split your engine block. A bigger problem is cars with rubber CV boots. They don't warm up with the engine and crack apart at these temps. Right now it's feeling like -43F outside my window. | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1023 Registered: 09-2002 |
Hehe...yes come to Alberta. It's beautiful, big mountains, snow, rain, sun all in the same day. You can make ice sculptures in the morning and then bathe in it in the afternoon. If you're unlucky, you'll get to share the watering hole with a horny moose but it will make for great vacation pictures. Yea that ice sculpture stuff is pretty cool. In Quebec they have an ice hotel. Never been to it but have seen pictures. Looks pretty cool, not sure how warm it actually is. Yea, I should clarify what I said earlier. I don't dilute the antifreeze beyond what's in the container as it comes pre-mixed for the desired temperatures. Believe it or not Dean, I had a container of -20*C windshield washer fluid in the back of my truck recently and when I went to go check on it, it was not liquid anymore LOL Ended up having to take it out into the basement to thaw out. Replaced it with -35 stuff but I've now gone to the teflon stuff. | ||
| Victor (Vabiro) Member Username: Vabiro Post Number: 173 Registered: 10-2003 |
Alan, A few guys from our club went camping last weekend on the north side of Georgan Bay (Mouth of the French River). The temperature was down to -41* without wind chill. Everything was going fine until they decided to go bombing around on the ice on their snowmobiles. -41*+100mph=frostbite on the face. One of the guys had a bottle of scotch that was laying on its side with his equipment. When he picked it up the contents had frozen inside the bottle. -41 is verrry cold. Victor | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1024 Registered: 09-2002 |
Hehe...no kidding. Hockey pucks break in half too. |
