January Cold Temperature Thread

[onegoodturn]

What a bunch of pussies! I am glad I lived in Alaska so I can say that. Vehicles do not start up there unless you heat the water, oil or all of the above. And you have to use liquid heat to add to the fuel so it doesn't condensate in the tank.

And you need to keep your tank filled up. And...

You've lived everywhere and know everything about everything O'Mighty Windy, I bow down to your intellengence and wisdom.

I'm sure you kept your tank filled up while you lived there...

[windyscotty]

Well partner, here is how it was. I worked for the post office in Anchorage and had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to go down and load up the truck in 35 below. We had to keep our trucks running all the time and it was really great fun out on the loading dock. Really special. So was doing my mail route in 60 below. Yeah, that was quite an experience, too.

There is a reason why Bridgeport is the home of the Mountain Warfare Training Center. No place gets colder than that son of a witch in the lower 48.

Be ye not jealous! It is not where you are coming from or what you have done that is important, rather, it is where you are going to that makes the difference. Are you ready? I got news-hell ain't gonna freeze over. But your pipes will. Ha, ha, ha...

[onegoodturn]

Are you ready? I got news-hell ain't gonna freeze over. But your pipes will. Ha, ha, ha...

My pipes might freeze over but they haven't yet. It's been a battle and I'm winning the war so far. And it should be warm for a few days at least. I hope to be able to play in the snow for a few hours.

Would love to hear about your experience in AK Windy. Your backcountry ski stories from up there have to be like legend.

[SurfnSnowboard]

According to Wikipedia the record low temperature for Anchorage is -39.

[truthhurts]

^ And boom goes the dynamite!

Of course you know he meant wind chill not actual temp. And the route was up hill both ways

[windyscotty]

Wind chill is the correct answer for 60 below. Without a face mask one wouldn't last ten minutes without frostbite.

It is hard to describe what it is like to function in that kind of weather. The only reason I could handle it was, because I was young and was used to the Sierra.

In AK you can't even feel the warmth of the sun coming through the car window. There is a good reason why I came back to the Sierra.

In Anchorage, which is a seedy town, the Eskimos used to come in after working on the fishing boats to party in the bars on 4th street. Sometimes, a poor unfortunate fellow would pass out in the alley behind the bar. They would find him stiff as a board the next morning and cart him over to the coroner.

Anchorage was considered warm compared to the rest of AK. Fairbanks was the real ass biter.

The other bummer up there was the lack of sunlight for long periods of time. It was a scurvy scene.

[windyscotty]

I hope OGT that you won your first battle with the great freeze up. Here are some ideas that might help. In addition to leaving the bathroom sink faucet running ever so slightly before the freeze, you can also put a oil radiator heater (DeLonghi) right in the bathtub on a low setting. Then, close the bathroom door and let it radiate the tub metal and walls. Leave the under sink doors open as well. That takes care of the bathroom.


Same thing out in the kitchen. Leave those cabinet doors under the sink open.

The entire time you need to stoke the wood stove with your best, most powerful pieces of firewood. Keep those pieces aside just for such an event.

Your wood stove may have a fan or you can place a fan near it. You can also use your ceiling fan to circulate warm air if you have one.

When I worked for the Mammoth County Water District, we had to thaw out a lot of frozen lines during winter. Can't use a welder to thaw out pipes anymore, because they are all plastic lines. Sometimes we would use a steam cleaner to thaw out pipes. It was always agony!

[SkierBob]

My buddy who is born and raised in Ak says Anchorage isn't real Alaska, he also says Texas isn't that big.

[windyscotty]

The only way to do AK in winter is to do like the old timers do, because when the going gets tough, the tough go to Hawaii.

You guys know darn well that the real pussy is me, because after two winters in AK, I came running back to the Sierra.

I do recommend that anybody who loves to explore should go there at least once in their life. It truly is the last frontier.

[SurfnSnowboard]

I knew it was going to be warmer today but I wasn't expecting it to be 81 in El Cajon. Forecast for Saturday is 79 at the coast. Nights are still chilly but not nearly as cold as it has been the last week.

[Sierra Lady]

48* in Mammoth town right now. What a difference a few days makes!

[SDsnwbrder]

I knew it was going to be warmer today but I wasn't expecting it to be 81 in El Cajon. Forecast for Saturday is 79 at the coast. Nights are still chilly but not nearly as cold as it has been the last week.

We had a 47deg temperature swing in Santee today, Low of 34 then a high of 81. That's easily the biggest swing I've ever seen in these parts

[onegoodturn]

onegoodplumber finally got the bathroom faucet working. OGC is back up and running. Malolo and Mike will be able to brush their teeth and shave this weekend. Whew.

BTW, I'll never buy the cheapest faucet in the hardware store again.

[windyscotty]

Spirit Tree could have told you that.

I forgot to tell you that the easiest way to insulate the pipes is to use those black, foam tubes about four feet long that slip over the pipes and perfectly insulate them. You need to get the correct size for your pipe and then duct tape. It is so easy and works so well. Forget the heat tape.

[onegoodturn]

My pipes are well insulated WS. Maybe you should start a plumbing thread.