Caring for your vehicle in extreme cold (Anchorage, Fairbanks: 2015, power lines)

[riceme]

This seems like a no-brainer to some people, but I was shocked (shocked, I say!) to learn that some of the guys I work with and respect very much simply start their trucks and start driving. I am simply not capable of doing that and am pretty sure it was somehow genetically determined by my DNA.

Also, referring to the section on alternators, I always turn everything off (heater, stereo, etc.) when I shut off my truck and wait to turn it all back on again until my truck is warmed up. Yes, I get into a cold cab when I leave for work, but the whole point is to take care of my investment and it doesn't take long to heat up the cab after the motor is warm.

Anyhow, this is a good article on the subject.

Alaska auto experts advise brief warmup in winter, despite advice coming from Outside

Tegan HanlonJanuary 3, 2015

“The biggest winter energy myth: That you need to idle your car before driving.”

The Washington Post's Wonkblog recently published that headline, which is being disputed by some Alaska auto shop owners who advise residents to warm up engines, albeit briefly, when temperatures dip significantly below freezing. Better yet, say employees with state and local governments, plug in your car for a few hours when the thermometer drops to 20 degrees or below.

“The worst thing is to just hop in your car and take off,” said John Stoehner, owner and general manager of Alaska Spring and Performance, an automotive repair shop in Anchorage.

While most newer vehicles will start and run in temperatures below zero degrees, that doesn't mean they necessarily should, said Ralph Seekins, owner of Seekins Ford Lincoln in Fairbanks, a city where normal temperatures in January range from 2 degrees to minus 18.

“You’ll wear your engine block out far more quickly,” he said. “(There are) unintended consequences that people don’t think about in the Lower 48.”

Seekins agreed that an engine will heat up more quickly when a vehicle is driven slowly than when it's idling, as reported by Wonkblog, quoting the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. He said, though, that doesn’t stop the quiet wear and tear during travel; nor does it help with visibility through frost-covered windows.

Typically, when temperatures drop below zero, Seekins said, he will start his car and let it run for roughly seven minutes in the morning. At minus 40 degrees, he will start his car for a few minutes every four hours. But at 32 degrees, he said, he will just get in and drive.

“That’s a warm spell,” he said.

In Anchorage, it’s against municipal code to idle an unattended vehicle for more than 20 minutes, regardless of the weather, though that doesn’t apply to police cruisers, fire trucks, ambulances, public utility vehicles and municipal vehicles providing public transportation.

Kurt Adler, owner of A&A The Shop in Anchorage, suggested that at 20 degrees and below, Anchorage residents warm up their vehicles for five to 10 minutes to kick-start the defroster and heater -- what Seekins called "creature comforts." But Adler said it takes only two to three minutes for a vehicle to reach "optimal driving conditions."

“We get in our car and we turn on the wipers, the blower, the radio, and pretty soon our alternator is going from temperatures of 20 degrees to 250 degrees because it's starting to generate all of this electricity and trying to push it into your battery that’s still at 20 degrees and doesn’t hold a charge,” Adler said. “You want a $300 to $400 alternator change?”

When it comes to idling, fuel consumption and emissions also factor in.

Steve Morris, deputy director of the Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services, said the municipality recommends Alaskans plug in block heaters for two hours before leaving in the morning, the crux of the department's Plug@20 program funded by the federal government to cut carbon monoxide emissions

“You might use 15 cents of electricity during that time,” Morris said. “But you can cut your idle time from seven minutes to three minutes.”

According to a 2001 study by Sierra Research Inc. prepared for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, a car in temperatures between 20 degrees and minus 20 emits 59 percent less carbon monoxide when plugged in for two hours and idled for 10 minutes.

The study also identified 10 minutes as the "optimum" idle period. A car idled for 10 minutes and then driven dispenses less carbon monoxide overall than if just driven cold, it said.

Wonkblog, citing a 2009 study in Energy Policy, reports that all vehicle idling, including idling in traffic, contributed to 1.6 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

In Alaska, auto experts advise brief idling in winter | Alaska Dispatch

[6.7traveler]

Thanks for the good info, I have left my car idling the past few days whenever I have to go into fairbanks because at one point it according to my dash thermometer it was -31. So whenever I planned to be inside somewhere for less than an hour, I would just leave the car idling in the parking lot, especially when I couldn't find a plug in.

The temperature inversion has played in my favor. It has been 0-10 degrees at my cabin for the most part and on the way into town in the low spots it hits -20 to -30 pretty frequently. It was -20 up here at the cabin yesterday for a while though.

I had no choice but to cold start the car one time for a surprise work call and it was -15 out. The car started right up, but you could tell it wasn't happy about it ( I did let it idle after that and it was a choice of cold start the car or look REALLY bad for my new job). When I checked the weather last night, I thought the same cold temps were going to happen this morning so I set my alarm to go start the generator at 4 am to plug in the car. Sure enough, with my luck it was a balmy 10 degrees outside when I remembered to do this!

I usually remember to turn the heat and everything off as I am shutting down the car, but will be super conscious about it from now on as I hate replacing alternators.
Thanks.

[riceme]

Yeah it is pretty bad for your vehicle to cold start and especially to drive when it's that cold, but probably worse to be late on your first week of your new job! In general, metal hates the cold but it really hates quick and extreme temperature fluctuations.

I'm surprised you don't have an outdoor outlet at your place. I thought that was pretty standard around here. I have one in a tree by the side of the cabin where I park. You know... so I can dangle my power cord right down in front of my truck where I park and it doesn't get snow in the little holes :-D

[6.7traveler]

I do have an outdoor outlet but only solar panels and generator as a power source, no power lines. Needless to say the solar panels aren't working well right now I run the generator for about an hour to charge up the batteries and run the lights off 12 volt and also turn it on when I have to plug in or use a saw or something similar. I do need a 12 volt coffee maker, the instant coffee isn't doing the trick.

[riceme]

Oh man, if you're on a solar/diesel hybrid system you need a french press

French press - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

or one of those cone dripper thingies

http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Coffee...ywords=melitta

I have actually never seen one that came with its own coffee pot, but damn that's a fine idea. You can buy the cone dripper dealies or a french press at Fred's. I can't believe you've been drinking instant coffee. Isn't that sacrilege or something??

I hope you have a propane stove. Umm... while I'm thinking of it, if you do have a propane stove I'm not sure if you're aware that propane gels up somewhere around -40*F, so don't count on doing any cooking on it when it's cold.

[6.7traveler]

Yes I need a French press or a cone dripper A.S.A.P. , hopefully the coffee gods will forgive me . Thanks or the links, I will try not to hijack the rest of your thread.

[riceme]

I'm the last person who'd care about hijacking a thread. Hope you get your coffee situation resolved. That is muy muy importante!!

[akpls]

If you are going into a store to shop there is no need to leave your vehicle running out in the parking lot. A rule of thumb I was given many years ago is that it takes about 3 hours at 40 below for an engine to completely cool to ambient temperature. I've never had a problem starting my vehicle when coming out of a hockey game or other event where my car has sat for that period of time....even at 40 below... so it seems to work for me. I think most people leave their car running because they don't want to sit in the cold and wait for it to warm up. What you have is a people issue, not a vehicle issue.

[6.7traveler]

^That it good to know. I am not so much worried about the heat but thought the car would have trouble starting up again not plugged in when it's that cold. I now feel silly for wasting all that fuel last week

[riceme]

Originally Posted by akpls

If you are going into a store to shop there is no need to leave your vehicle running out in the parking lot. A rule of thumb I was given many years ago is that it takes about 3 hours at 40 below for an engine to completely cool to ambient temperature. I've never had a problem starting my vehicle when coming out of a hockey game or other event where my car has sat for that period of time....even at 40 below... so it seems to work for me. I think most people leave their car running because they don't want to sit in the cold and wait for it to warm up. What you have is a people issue, not a vehicle issue.

Yup, great point. People don't want to sit in a cold cab. The cab of your vehicle is surrounded by glass, is made of a bunch of foam and doesn't get anywhere near as hot as your motor, so the heat will dissipate much quicker than from your engine. I don't ever leave my engine running.