bitter cold

[zero_gravity]

it was -35 C here last week...bloody awful. my block heater helped, but only so much. mpg wasnt too hot either lol.

[JanGeo]

Does anyone get the impression that these vehicles are not designed to operate in extreem cold conditions. Ya think we should do something about it? How about fully inclosed engine compartments with insulation and adjustable vents which open and close. I was thinking of an electric heater powered by a separate battery with remote turn on . . . warm up the car interior on those cloudy days a few hours ahead of time - melt the ice off the windows etc. I think about 500 watts would be plenty to warm things up inside since the engine puts out enough heat at idle to keep it warm at 900 watts (0.1gph).

[theholycow]

These guys know how to keep a vehicle running in extreme cold...

[aalb1]

Originally Posted by zero_gravity

my block heater helped, but only so much.

I just finished my first tank with my block heater. I didn't see any MPG improvement. I assume this is because of the cold front so maybe it's more of an improvement than I realize. hoping

[JanGeo]

Yeah this cold gave me a tank below 40mpg for the first time in years and my average now is about 36mpg for the first half of this tank of gas. Of course they mostly DON'T plow the streets around town so you are driving in frozen slush which really slows you down. Haven't check my tire pressure recently either - the Racing disk Hub Caps cover the valve stems so it is a lot of work taking them off, checking pressure and putting them back on.

[101mpg]

We hit -10F a couple of days ago. 26 for the HIGH today. Looking into water line heaters for the house this summer so we don't have frozen pipes at the house. (Old house is fine - it's brick - never a frozen pipe)

[Lug_Nut]

Originally Posted by aalb1

I just finished my first tank with my block heater. I didn't see any MPG improvement. I assume this is because of the cold front so maybe it's more of an improvement than I realize. hoping

Look under your oil breather cap. I see much less dog-puke-yellow accumulation from condensation because the heater allows more drive time at the operating temperatures necessary to drive off the moisture.
And it's more comfortable for those first few miles.
Fuel savings? Maybe for the first 3 minutes, but what percentage of your daily drive is that? Once off choke or out of cold start enrichment there isn't much of a fuel economy difference.


How to keep a vehicle running in extreme cold: Keep the vehicle running when in extreme cold!