Bitter Cold

MrChicagoRN, RN · Jan 7, 2014

-15 F today. Car started ok after sitting 11 hrs without a start, but a little sluggish.Did top the tank tonight (10% ethanol), put it on a trickle charger in the garage.Fuel injection is so much better than carburetors of old, that that should cover it

brithoover · Jan 7, 2014

I live in Canada and park outside. Supposed to get -50ish celcius. I have a newer car and don't run out to start it all the time. Every 4 hours is not necessary!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 7, 2014

Last week we had -20 before wind chill......it hasn't been that cold for a long, long time. Don't forget to pack extras in your car(blanket, gloves, hat) just in case you were to break down.

I absolutely cannot convince my husband of this! He grew up in the south, I grew up in the north so you'd think he would trust me on this. But no! He routinely gets in the car to go someplace in the winter without even a jacket because "I won't get cold just going from the house to the car and the car to the store." So if he broke down or slid of the road, he'd be in a world of hurt!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 7, 2014

I live in Canada and park outside. Supposed to get -50ish celcius. I have a newer car and don't run out to start it all the time. Every 4 hours is not necessary!

The cars they sell in Canada are different than the cars they sell in the southern US. I found that out the hard way when my Dad bought a used pick-up truck. That thing would not start in the winter -- Dad had to tow it down the driveway with the tractor while I sat inside and "popped" the clutch to get it to start -- and the "heater" wouldn't even take the chill off the air or keep the windshield clear. After several trips to the shop, we were finally told that it was a car built for sale in the south -- it had a "southern heater."

Fiona59 · Jan 7, 2014

I live in Canada, my cars are made in Detroit and Kansas City.

If the car has a block heater and there is a plug in at your stall use it. Our hospital turns on and off the electric q4h! Antifreeze is good to -50C, battery checked with every service. Usually block heaters are an option but I've never bought a car here without one already in it. My friend brought her car from BC and it didn't have one but it was a Japanese make.

I forgot the gasline antifreeze this year and it hasn't made a whole lot of difference. My seven year old battery is handling it just fine.

It's been winter since the start of November. It's been a long cold winter and it's only January.

itsmejuli · Jan 7, 2014

When I moved from Florida to Alberta I put in a heavy duty battery and remote start.

My little FL car starts faithfully no matter how frigid it is.

I don't bother starting it every 4 hours. It can sit for days and still start.

PMFB-RN, RN · Jan 8, 2014

So, we get our fair share of cold temperatures where I live but tomorrow the high is supposed to be -2 with wind chills at -30 or something like that. I work tomorrow and my car will sit on an open lot for 12+ hours. I'm not used to such extreme cold - pardon my ignorance but should I be worried about my car starting at the end of my shift? .

-2 with wind chill to -30? We would call that a nice day and are hoping it warms up that much. My kids would be outside sledding and playing in the snow. Yesterday morning it was -34 at my house, with wind chill -70. I know cause I was in my driveway changing a flat tire on my wife's car after (yet another) hourseshoe nail puncture (by far the MOST common cause of flat tires in my neck of the woods).

Our cars start pretty much no problem but you need to have HEET in the gas. I wouldn't bother with your warm weather though. Otherwise just make sure you have a good battery.

MrChicagoRN, RN · Jan 8, 2014

Warmed up about 20 degrees since yesterday. 5 degrees feels downright balmy!

HikingEDRN, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2014

Yes it warmed up to 23 yesterday - more what I'm accustomed to :) I had one case of (bad) frost bite. And he wouldn't admit it but I'm pretty sure that alcohol and/or drugs were involved.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 8, 2014

It's pretty cold where I am -- much, much colder than usual. The heat pump we have in our house is great most of the time, but it just cannot keep up with the bitter cold we've experienced the past couple of nights. So last night I was wearing my coat, scarf and gloves in the house. It was so cold overnight that the dog kept pulling the blankets off the bed and on top of himself. I woke up this morning with the goose down comforter in a puddle at the foot of the bed, and no dog anywhere. I searched the whole house, and then I went back to the bedroom to tell DH that the dog was missing. Just about then, I noticed the comforter moving . . . and then it started to rise . . .

Turns out the dog was trapped under the comforter, but so comfortable he wasn't moving until he heard me calling him over and over. And then, when he was willing to stand up, he couldn't find his way out from under the comforter!

Morainey, BSN, RN · Jan 8, 2014

My only addition is to park facing out of your spot... much easier to drive right out rather than try to back out in snow and ice!

HikingEDRN, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2014

Wow, Ruby, it really sounds cold where you live! And you also have a smart dog :) I remember when I was first living on my own in my first apartment without roommates. Something was wrong with the furnace and for some reason, it wasn't going to be fixed until after the weekend. I lived in a very old urban two-family flat so the furnace might have had outdated parts hard to find, can't remember. It was well below freezing at night but my siberian husky slept in my bed with me and I was completely warm - almost didn't miss the furnace.