Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery
| [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340412] |
Sun, 27 January 2019 13:25  |
BobDunahugh
Messages: 2465
Registered: October 2010
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Karma: 11
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If your car sets outside this coming week at night. The battery is affected more by cold then your engine. This next week. We're expecting highs of -11. Lows in the range of -25, to -30. ( Wind chill temps down to - 50 are also expected ) When you get home. Your battery is being kept warm from the engine heat. Get an incandescent 75 W, or 100 W light bulb. Place it close to the battery. Get a white trash bag to place over the battery, and light. Open the trash bag to fluff it up. This will give you a dead air space between the sides of the bag sides. Then put the bag over the light, and battery. Make sure that there is nothing with in 3 inches of the light. Check after the light has been on for the first 30 minutes. This will help the battery to put out more amps to start the engine. Bob Dunahugh
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340416 is a reply to message #340414] |
Sun, 27 January 2019 14:34  |
jimk
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
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Back then jumper cables were not plentiful .
On Sun, Jan 27, 2019 at 11:34 AM Emery Stora via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:
> When in college I had a battery that was going bad and it would not start
> the car on very cold days. It would start fine on warmer days. I could
> not afford to replace the battery. So my solution was to boil a pan of
> water on the stove and then go outside and slowly pour the water over the
> battery. It would then give me enough chemical reaction to start my car.
> I did this for a couple of months one winter until I could save up enough
> money to replace the battery.
>
> Emery Stora
> 77 Kingsley
> Frederick, CO
>
>> On Jan 27, 2019, at 12:25 PM, Bob Dunahugh wrote:
>>
>> If your car sets outside this coming week at night. The battery is
> affected more by cold than your engine. This next week. We're expecting
> highs of -11. Lows in the range of -25, to -30. ( Wind chill temps down to
> - 50 are also expected ) When you get home. Your battery is being kept
> warm from the engine heat. Get an incandescent 75 W, or 100 W light
> bulb. Place it close to the battery. Get a white trash bag to place over
> the battery, and light. Open the trash bag to fluff it up. This will give
> you a dead air space between the sides of the bag sides. Then put the bag
> over the light, and battery. Make sure that there is nothing with in 3
> inches of the light. Check after the light has been on for the first 30
> minutes. This will help the battery to put out more amps to start the
> engine. Bob Dunahugh
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>> GMCnet mailing list
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--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340419 is a reply to message #340414] |
Sun, 27 January 2019 14:41 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030
Registered: January 2004
Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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There are 2 main ways to keep a battery warm to prevent loss of efficiency ad the outside temperatures drop. Heat from the inside out or heat from the outside in.
To heat from the outside in, Bob's light bulb will work but is not very efficient and you always run the risk of the bulb burning out or catching the bag on fire. I prefer a battery warmer that wraps around the battery. There are several brands out there in the $20 to $35 range. Kat and Zero Start that come to mind. You can find them on Amazon.
The second method is to heat from the inside out. I like this the best. Simply install a small battery charger, 2 amps or less will do. Turn it on, and the charger will heat the electrolyte (battery acid) keeping the internals warm. If you wish you can also add a wrap of reflective foam insulation like the stuff from Northern Ohio Foam Products (NOPF.com). Reflective bubble wrap will also work but it is highly flammable. What isn't under the hood.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340434 is a reply to message #340428] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 07:04 |
Dave Stragand
Messages: 307
Registered: October 2017
Karma: 0
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I always had great success with block heaters — the kind that replace a freeze plug. It’s easier to crank a warm engine, and you had instant heat. Plus, if I left the HVAC on defrost, convection current through the heater core was enough to stop the windshield from icing. I recall the box stated it only cost like $2 of electricity per month to use.
> On Jan 27, 2019, at 7:20 PM, David H. Jarvis wrote:
>
> The battery blanket works good.
> I was up north in Prince George when it dropped to minus 41.
> My propane powered truck would not start. It has to be a bit warmer than -41.
>
> _______________________________________________
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1978 Transmode (403)
Pittsburgh, PA
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340437 is a reply to message #340434] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 08:41 |
GatsbysCruise
Messages: 261
Registered: January 2017
Location: Waukegan, Illinois
Karma: 3
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Dave Stragand wrote on Mon, 28 January 2019 07:04I always had great success with block heaters -- the kind that replace a freeze plug. It's easier to crank a warm engine, and you had instant heat. Plus, if I left the HVAC on defrost, convection current through the heater core was enough to stop the windshield from icing. I recall the box stated it only cost like $2 of electricity per month to use.
> On Jan 27, 2019, at 7:20 PM, David H. Jarvis wrote:
>
> The battery blanket works good.
> I was up north in Prince George when it dropped to minus 41.
> My propane powered truck would not start. It has to be a bit warmer than -41.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
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--- ---
I recall many years ago, a roomie had a Triumph Spitfire, small sleek convertable, straight 6. Nice car, ran good but it
didn't like the cold. WHen it got bitter cold, it wouldn't turn over.
One day he asked for an idea because it was going to be ZERO deg F outside for a couple days.
We took a 100 watt spot light and aimed it at the engine block. By golly, it kept it warm enough that
it would start in the morning.
with that thought in mind, a fellow work mate told me that he used those oil pan heaters. Once the oil is
heated, the heat will waffle up to the engine.
These heaters come in a couple of designs,
One model gets stuck, with glue, right on the oil pan, you don't have to take it off to drive.
The other model is a magnetic unit that you can use on different vehicles.
Down side is you have to take it off before you can drive off.
https://www.surpluscenter.com/shop.axd/Search?keywords=engine+heater
With the cold being such a concern, we have to try to keep the car warm
best we can.
It helps to keep the back end of the vehicle in the wind, blocking the
wind from blowing into the engine compartment.
others have told me to put a blanket over the hood/front end which has the
same effect. ( https://www.harborfreight.com/72-inch-x-80-inch-movers-blanket-66537.html )
There is a oil stick that goes into the dip stick port that heats the oil also, I
don't know where you can find that one, and it may be a problem with the long
oil port access to the oil pan in a GMC motorhome.
I have not seen this for years now, but there is a heater that goes into the radiator hose.
They come with just a heater in it, and another comes with a small pump in it to slowly recirc
the heat to the block. This worked well in my 76' Chevy 350 block way back then.
Disclaimer:
I am not associated with this seller nor do I receive any money or product from them.
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO - UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
[Updated on: Mon, 28 January 2019 08:44] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340439 is a reply to message #340437] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 09:01 |
k2gkk
Messages: 4452
Registered: November 2009
Karma: -8
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Senior Member |
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I believe that technically, "chill effect" applies ONLY to exposed flesh. It is a result of moving air removing a small "dead zone" of insulating air close to the exposed skin.
A blanket such as those sold by Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc. CAN help somewhat to retain the heat in an item that has already been heated (e.g., engine block).
In REALLY cold temperatures below say 10 degrees F, you really need to provide an external sort of heat to keep oil and batteries warm for improved starting and reduced engine wear.
D C "Mac" Macdonald
Amateur Radio K2GKK
Since 30 November '53
USAF and FAA, Retired
Member GMCMI & Classics
Oklahoma City, OK
"The Money Pit"
TZE166V101966
'76 ex-Palm Beach
k2gkk + hotmail dot com
________________________________
From: Gmclist on behalf of slc
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2019 08:41
To: gmclist@list.gmcnet.org
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery
Dave Stragand wrote on Mon, 28 January 2019 07:04
> I always had great success with block heaters -- the kind that replace a freeze plug. It's easier to crank a warm engine, and you had instant
> heat. Plus, if I left the HVAC on defrost, convection current through the heater core was enough to stop the windshield from icing. I recall the box
> stated it only cost like $2 of electricity per month to use.
>
>> On Jan 27, 2019, at 7:20 PM, David H. Jarvis wrote:
>>
>> The battery blanket works good.
>> I was up north in Prince George when it dropped to minus 41.
>> My propane powered truck would not start. It has to be a bit warmer than -41.
--- ---
I recall many years ago, a roomie had a Triumph Spitfire, small sleek convertable, straight 6. Nice car, ran good but it didn't like the cold. WHen it got bitter cold, it wouldn't turn over.
One day he asked for an idea because it was going to be ZERO deg F outside for a couple days.
We took a 100 watt spot light and aimed it at the engine block. By golly, it kept it warm enough that it would start in the morning.
with that thought in mind, a fellow work mate told me that he used those oil pan heaters. Once the oil is heated, the heat will waffle up to the engine.
These heaters come in a couple of designs,
One model gets stuck, with glue, right on the oil pan, you don't have to take it off to drive.
The other model is a magnetic unit that you can use on different vehicles.
Down side is you have to take it off before you can drive off.
https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surpluscenter.com%2Fshop.axd%2FSearch%3Fkeywords%3Dengine%2Bheater& ;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ceb76ca3f98464bc551d908d6852f5462%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636842835650962483&sdata=KFzCkBQgx%2BiWa7Y6Zf 6l2DrlWjeNWj7NJmzb8F5WS0E%3D&reserved=0
With the cold being such a concern, we have to try to keep the car warm best we can.
It helps to keep the back end of the vehicle in the wind, blocking the wind from blowing into the engine compartment. Others have told me to put a blanket over the hood/front end which has the
same effect.
(https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harborfreight.com%2F72-inch-x-80-inch-movers-blanket-66537.html& ;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ceb76ca3f98464bc551d908d6852f5462%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636842835650962483&sdata=z0FGIMZYWktrIELmZ9QF ob0vLUj3vFRvysF8Om6UJg0%3D&reserved=0)
There is a oil stick that goes into the dip stick port that heats the oil also, I don't know where you can find that one, and it may be a problem with the long oil port access to the oil pan in a GMC motorhome.
Disclaimer:
I am not associated with this seller nor do I receive any money or product from them.
--
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340440 is a reply to message #340439] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 09:28 |
James Hupy
Messages: 6806
Registered: May 2010
Karma: -62
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Senior Member |
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If you choose to live in areas of the world where it gets below 10°
Farenheit for much of the winter, items like block heaters make sense.
Several communities that I visited in Alaska have outlets on their parking
lots and parking meters to allow customers to plug them in. If you use the
vehicles infrequently, here it is commonplace to remove the batteries and
keep them in a warm place with a battery tender hooked up.
My old bones sure dislike this time of year. Haven't seen the Sun for
3 days, we have fog right down to the ground. 32° at night, warms up to a
whopping 39 or 40 during the day. Gloomy, depressing, ugly. Alls I can do
about it is bitch, bitch, bitch.
Jim Hupy ( Experts call it Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D. for
short.)
On Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 7:01 AM D C _Mac_ Macdonald I believe that technically, "chill effect" applies ONLY to exposed flesh.[/color]
> It is a result of moving air removing a small "dead zone" of insulating air
> close to the exposed skin.
>
> A blanket such as those sold by Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, etc. CAN
> help somewhat to retain the heat in an item that has already been heated
> (e.g., engine block).
>
> In REALLY cold temperatures below say 10 degrees F, you really need to
> provide an external sort of heat to keep oil and batteries warm for
> improved starting and reduced engine wear.
>
> D C "Mac" Macdonald
> Amateur Radio K2GKK
> Since 30 November '53
> USAF and FAA, Retired
> Member GMCMI & Classics
> Oklahoma City, OK
> "The Money Pit"
> TZE166V101966
> '76 ex-Palm Beach
> k2gkk + hotmail dot com
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Gmclist on behalf of slc
>
> Sent: Monday, January 28, 2019 08:41
> To: gmclist@list.gmcnet.org
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery
>
> Dave Stragand wrote on Mon, 28 January 2019 07:04
>> I always had great success with block heaters -- the kind that replace a
> freeze plug. It's easier to crank a warm engine, and you had instant
>> heat. Plus, if I left the HVAC on defrost, convection current through
> the heater core was enough to stop the windshield from icing. I recall the
> box
>> stated it only cost like $2 of electricity per month to use.
>>
>>> On Jan 27, 2019, at 7:20 PM, David H. Jarvis wrote:
>>>
>>> The battery blanket works good.
>>> I was up north in Prince George when it dropped to minus 41.
>>> My propane powered truck would not start. It has to be a bit warmer
> than -41.
>
> --- ---
>
> I recall many years ago, a roomie had a Triumph Spitfire, small sleek
> convertable, straight 6. Nice car, ran good but it didn't like the cold.
> WHen it got bitter cold, it wouldn't turn over.
>
> One day he asked for an idea because it was going to be ZERO deg F outside
> for a couple days.
>
> We took a 100 watt spot light and aimed it at the engine block. By golly,
> it kept it warm enough that it would start in the morning.
>
> with that thought in mind, a fellow work mate told me that he used those
> oil pan heaters. Once the oil is heated, the heat will waffle up to the
> engine.
>
> These heaters come in a couple of designs,
>
> One model gets stuck, with glue, right on the oil pan, you don't have to
> take it off to drive.
>
> The other model is a magnetic unit that you can use on different vehicles.
> Down side is you have to take it off before you can drive off.
>
>
> https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surpluscenter.com%2Fshop.axd%2FSearch%3Fkeywords%3Dengine%2Bheater& ;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ceb76ca3f98464bc551d908d6852f5462%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636842835650962483&sdata=KFzCkBQgx%2BiWa7Y6Zf 6l2DrlWjeNWj7NJmzb8F5WS0E%3D&reserved=0
>
> With the cold being such a concern, we have to try to keep the car warm
> best we can.
> It helps to keep the back end of the vehicle in the wind, blocking the
> wind from blowing into the engine compartment. Others have told me to put
> a blanket over the hood/front end which has the
> same effect.
> (
> https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harborfreight.com%2F72-inch-x-80-inch-movers-blanket-66537.html& ;data=02%7C01%7C%7Ceb76ca3f98464bc551d908d6852f5462%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636842835650962483&sdata=z0FGIMZYWktrIELmZ9QF ob0vLUj3vFRvysF8Om6UJg0%3D&reserved=0
> )
>
> There is a oil stick that goes into the dip stick port that heats the oil
> also, I don't know where you can find that one, and it may be a problem
> with the long oil port access to the oil pan in a GMC motorhome.
>
> Disclaimer:
> I am not associated with this seller nor do I receive any money or product
> from them.
>
>
> --
> GatsbysCruise. \
> 74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
> Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS
> FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO -
> UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340442 is a reply to message #340440] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 09:51 |
GatsbysCruise
Messages: 261
Registered: January 2017
Location: Waukegan, Illinois
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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If you choose to live in areas of the world where it gets below 10°
Farenheit for much of the winter, items like block heaters make sense.
Several communities that I visited in Alaska have outlets on their parking
lots and parking meters to allow customers to plug them in. If you use the
vehicles infrequently, here it is commonplace to remove the batteries and
keep them in a warm place with a battery tender hooked up.
My old bones sure dislike this time of year. Haven't seen the Sun for
3 days, we have fog right down to the ground. 32° at night, warms up to a
whopping 39 or 40 during the day. Gloomy, depressing, ugly. Alls I can do
about it is bitch, bitch, bitch.
Jim Hupy ( Experts call it Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D. for
short.)
*** ***
All true.
I read somewhere, once upon a time.....
that when it is so cold up in Alaska, they don't shut down the cars, they idle them 24 hours.
It stated that if a car were to stop running, there would be no hope to get it started again
until it was towed to a heated garage to "thaw out".
Boy does that sound like "REFRESHING" weather.
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO - UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340451 is a reply to message #340412] |
Mon, 28 January 2019 10:57 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Senior Member |
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When I graduated high school, three of us took a junk Jeepster out on Cape Cod and took a couple of weeks to drive to NIagra and then up through Canada. We camped in the Laurentines one night and the next cold morning only the Jeepster would crank. We jumped everyone else in the campground. We'd put anew battery in the Jeepster for the trip, I suspect that's why it would spin off.
--johnny
Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340539 is a reply to message #340412] |
Thu, 31 January 2019 13:24 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030
Registered: January 2004
Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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Senior Member |
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Once upon a time, long, long ago I spent one winter in Alaska on a classified government project that required me to drive and fly all over the place. They gave me a 4 WD gov't owned Crew cab diesel PU truck. What a pain that was trying to keep the diesel warm enough to start when it was parked outside. In town, or on a military base, I almost always managed to get it inside or plugged into commercial power. Outside of town was another story. The vehicle had an electric or pull the rope start gasoline generator and a 20 gallon gasoline tank on board. So I had diesel for the engine and gasoline for the generator.
Whenever I parked for over 1 hour and the temp was below 32 I was suppose start the generator to run the on board battery charger, and diesel engine and fuel heaters. Also it had a decent size charger to charge the dual engine starting batteries.
Since I was contracted to the gov't I was required to file travel plans with them whenever the expected temp was below freezing. It was sort of like filing flight plans for flying. I only used the generator a few times when visiting out of the way sites but it did the job.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340548 is a reply to message #340412] |
Thu, 31 January 2019 20:28 |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
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Senior Member |
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Warming up today in MN. so here is a recap:
I left the area tuesday and drove to SD myself to a balmy 1 degree. Wednesday morning my phone started ringing early. -30 something, and super windchill in MN, none of my crew vehicles I guess started. all 2016-2018 f-150's. No block heaters in them.
one guy was able to get his started by later in the day, after multiple morning attemps of putting a battery charger on it for an hour, and jumper cables to his wife's car(was in the garage so it started), and eventually it started up. 2nd guy had attempted and failed starting his truck. Jumper cables got it cranking but it would not fire/start.
My buddy could not get his gas car started, but his TDI beetle, that we just installed an engine heater on saturday night fired right up. He was worried about it gel'ing, but still took off about 10 miles into town to where i live and put his TDI in my heated garage and took my honda CRV to work. He put a battery charger on my honda at his work and it started well for him later in the day. He then added anti-gel to the TDI and drove that home at the end of the day. He also grabbed my magnetic block heater. he found when he got home that his gas car, was mostly all aluminum and he could not utilize the magnetic block heater.
I drove back wednesday night and it was -22 when I shut my work truck off in the driveway at 9:30 pm. I put the battery charger on it, and went to bed. at 6 am it started up no-sweat, at -28. I headed over to jump start one of my crew trucks, and with 4awg good jumper cables hooked up, and my lithiom battery start back, it cranked slow, but no fire. kept at it for about 45 minutes waiting 10-15 minutes between tries. it eventually fired up and you could smell the gas.
same process on two other work trucks. They one guy who had success starting his work truck the day before was smart enough to get up in the night and let it run 30 minutes. We used to do that in North Dakota when it dropped below -20. He helped jump the other trucks, I think both he hooked the cables up and waited 15-20 minutes before even trying to crank the engine.
so moral of the story- I think Ken burton has it figured out. a 3 amp charger will do wonders for the battery at these temps. an engine heater is best, but the frost plug heater versions make me nervous as well, because i have seen those fall out and take out an engine. The engine heater we installed in the TDI was a "Zero start" and it intercepted a coolant hose, and I felt it was no risk of causing a coolingsystem failure. I think I am going to install one in the GMC. I do not run the gmc when it is this cold, but i have used it around 0 degrees before. that is why I had the magnetic block heater.
going to do a 70 degree raise in temp in the next 36 hours here.
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340552 is a reply to message #340548] |
Thu, 31 January 2019 21:40 |
johnd01
Messages: 354
Registered: July 2017
Location: Sacrameot
Karma: -1
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Senior Member |
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I have seen people put 2 tuna fish cans with a tablespoon of gas under
their oil pans. On Alaskan friend told me of going to a bar and all the
cars in the parking lot were running.
On Thu, Jan 31, 2019 at 6:32 PM Jon Roche wrote:
> Warming up today in MN. so here is a recap:
>
> I left the area tuesday and drove to SD myself to a balmy 1 degree.
> Wednesday morning my phone started ringing early. -30 something, and super
> windchill in MN, none of my crew vehicles I guess started. all
> 2016-2018 f-150's. No block heaters in them.
>
> one guy was able to get his started by later in the day, after multiple
> morning attemps of putting a battery charger on it for an hour, and jumper
> cables to his wife's car(was in the garage so it started), and eventually
> it started up. 2nd guy had attempted and failed starting his truck.
> Jumper cables got it cranking but it would not fire/start.
>
> My buddy could not get his gas car started, but his TDI beetle, that we
> just installed an engine heater on saturday night fired right up. He was
> worried about it gel'ing, but still took off about 10 miles into town to
> where i live and put his TDI in my heated garage and took my honda CRV to
> work. He put a battery charger on my honda at his work and it started
> well for him later in the day. He then added anti-gel to the TDI and drove
> that home at the end of the day. He also grabbed my magnetic block
> heater. he found when he got home that his gas car, was mostly all
> aluminum and
> he could not utilize the magnetic block heater.
>
> I drove back wednesday night and it was -22 when I shut my work truck off
> in the driveway at 9:30 pm. I put the battery charger on it, and went to
> bed. at 6 am it started up no-sweat, at -28. I headed over to jump
> start one of my crew trucks, and with 4awg good jumper cables hooked up,
> and my
> lithiom battery start back, it cranked slow, but no fire. kept at it
> for about 45 minutes waiting 10-15 minutes between tries. it eventually
> fired
> up and you could smell the gas.
>
> same process on two other work trucks. They one guy who had success
> starting his work truck the day before was smart enough to get up in the
> night
> and let it run 30 minutes. We used to do that in North Dakota when it
> dropped below -20. He helped jump the other trucks, I think both he hooked
> the
> cables up and waited 15-20 minutes before even trying to crank the engine.
>
> so moral of the story- I think Ken burton has it figured out. a 3 amp
> charger will do wonders for the battery at these temps. an engine heater is
> best, but the frost plug heater versions make me nervous as well, because
> i have seen those fall out and take out an engine. The engine heater we
> installed in the TDI was a "Zero start" and it intercepted a coolant hose,
> and I felt it was no risk of causing a coolingsystem failure. I think I am
> going to install one in the GMC. I do not run the gmc when it is this
> cold, but i have used it around 0 degrees before. that is why I had the
> magnetic block heater.
>
> going to do a 70 degree raise in temp in the next 36 hours here.
>
>
> --
> Jon Roche
> 75 palm beach
> St. Cloud, MN
> http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
*John Phillips*
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Johnd01
John Phillips
Avion A2600 TZE064V101164
Rancho Cordova, CA (Sacramento)
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340554 is a reply to message #340552] |
Thu, 31 January 2019 22:27 |
jimk
Messages: 6734
Registered: July 2006
Location: Belmont, CA
Karma: 9
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Senior Member |
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When I was working for Ford my fello Dist Mgr of Alaska slammed his car
door and the weather strip crumbled.
Synthetic oil is less effected by low temp, but 50 below I feel it can gel.
On Thu, Jan 31, 2019 at 7:39 PM John Phillips
wrote:
> I have seen people put 2 tuna fish cans with a tablespoon of gas under
> their oil pans. On Alaskan friend told me of going to a bar and all the
> cars in the parking lot were running.
>
> On Thu, Jan 31, 2019 at 6:32 PM Jon Roche wrote:
>
>> Warming up today in MN. so here is a recap:
>>
>> I left the area tuesday and drove to SD myself to a balmy 1 degree.
>> Wednesday morning my phone started ringing early. -30 something, and
> super
>> windchill in MN, none of my crew vehicles I guess started. all
>> 2016-2018 f-150's. No block heaters in them.
>>
>> one guy was able to get his started by later in the day, after multiple
>> morning attemps of putting a battery charger on it for an hour, and
> jumper
>> cables to his wife's car(was in the garage so it started), and
> eventually
>> it started up. 2nd guy had attempted and failed starting his truck.
>> Jumper cables got it cranking but it would not fire/start.
>>
>> My buddy could not get his gas car started, but his TDI beetle, that we
>> just installed an engine heater on saturday night fired right up. He
> was
>> worried about it gel'ing, but still took off about 10 miles into town to
>> where i live and put his TDI in my heated garage and took my honda CRV to
>> work. He put a battery charger on my honda at his work and it started
>> well for him later in the day. He then added anti-gel to the TDI and
> drove
>> that home at the end of the day. He also grabbed my magnetic block
>> heater. he found when he got home that his gas car, was mostly all
>> aluminum and
>> he could not utilize the magnetic block heater.
>>
>> I drove back wednesday night and it was -22 when I shut my work truck off
>> in the driveway at 9:30 pm. I put the battery charger on it, and went
> to
>> bed. at 6 am it started up no-sweat, at -28. I headed over to jump
>> start one of my crew trucks, and with 4awg good jumper cables hooked up,
>> and my
>> lithiom battery start back, it cranked slow, but no fire. kept at it
>> for about 45 minutes waiting 10-15 minutes between tries. it eventually
>> fired
>> up and you could smell the gas.
>>
>> same process on two other work trucks. They one guy who had success
>> starting his work truck the day before was smart enough to get up in the
>> night
>> and let it run 30 minutes. We used to do that in North Dakota when it
>> dropped below -20. He helped jump the other trucks, I think both he
> hooked
>> the
>> cables up and waited 15-20 minutes before even trying to crank the
> engine.
>>
>> so moral of the story- I think Ken burton has it figured out. a 3 amp
>> charger will do wonders for the battery at these temps. an engine
> heater is
>> best, but the frost plug heater versions make me nervous as well,
> because
>> i have seen those fall out and take out an engine. The engine heater we
>> installed in the TDI was a "Zero start" and it intercepted a coolant
> hose,
>> and I felt it was no risk of causing a coolingsystem failure. I think I
> am
>> going to install one in the GMC. I do not run the gmc when it is this
>> cold, but i have used it around 0 degrees before. that is why I had the
>> magnetic block heater.
>>
>> going to do a 70 degree raise in temp in the next 36 hours here.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Jon Roche
>> 75 palm beach
>> St. Cloud, MN
>> http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
>
> --
>
> *John Phillips*
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
http://www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
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Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC
jimk@appliedairfilters.com
www.appliedgmc.com
1-800-752-7502
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340557 is a reply to message #340548] |
Fri, 01 February 2019 00:13 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030
Registered: January 2004
Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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Senior Member |
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Years ago when we had 6 volt systems (up until 1956) Cranking was always a problem below 0 F. Battery chargers kept batteries warm and engine heaters were the norm if you had 120 v. available. I have installed radiator hose type heaters (not too efficient because a lot of heat was lost in the radiator), heater hose types (much more efficient), and freeze plug types. All of them use the coolant as a heat distribution medium. My Colorado and my diesel John Deere both have factory installed freeze plug types which is what I like the best. Today I would never install a freeze plug type myself after market. It is too much trouble.
The other type that I like is the heater silicone pad. Just clean the bottom of the oil pan and stick it on. I have one on my airplane and use it any time the OAT is below about 30 to 35 degrees. Most airports have a place outside where you can park plug in. They only draw around 150 watts max. I also use to carry a very small 500w 2 cycle gas generator for locations that I would visit that closed early in the day or were unattended and had no 120 v available.
For cars we also use to carry a single loaf steel bread pan. We placed a few (3 or 4) charcoal briskets in them. Light up the charcoal and when the charcoal was glowing with no flame, slide it under the engine. We always carried a fire extinguisher but I never needed it. This worked very well and usually took less than 1/2 hour to warm up the engine. It did not help the battery much. This method started my mother's 1950 Packard straight 8 many, many times. That was a huge engine and a lot to warm up. But the charcoal and battery charger worked on that 6 volt system.
I think the funniest one for me was when I ferried a Cessna 182 back from Fairbanks, AK. to Indiana in late January. I had pre-arranged to have it parked inside overnight when I stopped at Watson Lake, YKT. Well, when I got there I was told, reservation cancelled. There was no room inside and all outside 120 volt service for heater plug in was already in use by other aircraft. I was told to fill it up with fuel, taxi over to the tie down area, and leave it running. There were several others already running there. They would watch it all night and make sure it did not quit.
They gave me a ride to a local motel and when I returned in the morning it was still running. I filled it up again, checked the oil, and took off. It ran terrible for about 1/2 hour as I burned / blew the carbon out and after that it was fine for the rest of the 2 day trip home.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340567 is a reply to message #340559] |
Fri, 01 February 2019 10:21 |
GatsbysCruise
Messages: 261
Registered: January 2017
Location: Waukegan, Illinois
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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Well today we are enjoying the heat, the temperature outside right now ( 11:15 am ) is 22 deg F. Whew, its getting HOT!
The other day, right before the cold hit, I stopped by an old job site where I talked with my old boss. He commented about
having his car in a heated garage because he didn't feel it wouldn't start in the cold.
We talked about it and I decided he was in no more peril than anyone else in this weather.
The cold hit and I went out to start my daily driver only to find there was no fire in her.
It wasn't the battery preventing the fire and it all had to do with temperature.
I had previously ordered a heater for the car but it had not arrived yet.
My prevous cars have had various versions of the block heaters including the radiator hose heater, the
freezeplug block heater and even one that was installed in the heater hose. they all worked and the
engines all started with no problem.
to the comment about the freeze plug heater falling out, never happened to me, knock on wood. But
I have had a freeze plug rust out. We found it when I was leaking antifreeze coolant on the ground.
I have now decided that the GMC will get a block heater also. I don't care to be a slave to the weather
and I don't like taking chances when I can avoid it.
LOL, I tried my 2nd car and it is not firing as well. lol Gonna be a long day...
KEEP WARM YA'LL
GatsbysCruise. \
74GMC260 Former Glacier Model style. \
Waukegan, Illinois \ Keep those MiniDiscs Spinning \ MY GREYHOUND IS FASTER THAN YOUR HONOR ROLL STUDENT \ WindowsXP-Win7-Win8.1-UBUNTU STUDIO - UBUNTU VOYAGER - Berzin Auto Center
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| Re: [GMCnet] For those up North. And their car battery [message #340606 is a reply to message #340412] |
Sun, 03 February 2019 10:09 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Senior Member |
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I got a flyer from Freight, Harbor today in the paper. Their battery maintainer is going for $4 on sale. I'm going to pick up a couple... one for the ratrod truck and one for the chassis battery.
--johnny
Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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