Cold weather

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Throckmorton

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Looks like we'll be getting hit with a cold spell here in TX, but check out Russia:

Quote:

Russians Brace For The Big Chill
January 16, 2008 8:18 p.m. EST
Jupiter Kalambakal - AHN News Writer
Moscow, Russia (AHN) - Russians are bracing for temperatures of as low as minus 55 degrees Celsius (minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit) in Siberia as Russia's emergencies ministry warns on Wednesday of its impending dangers in the coming weeks.

Government agencies were placed on high alert, reports AFP. The ministry ordered local administration officials to prepare for the extreme chill expected to last until Jan. 21.

The ministry warned that the unusually cold weather could kill, cause frost-bite, conk heaters and cut electricity to homes, disrupt transport, increase the rate of car accidents and even destroy buildings across Siberia.

The freezing temperatures have already caused overloading of electricity grids and power interruptions in the regions of Irkutsk and Tomsk because of overused heaters in homes. Two people have already died and more than 30 others hospitalized with forst-bite in Irkutsk, reports AFP citing state media.

Bloomberg reports that worst hit will be the Siberian region of Evenkiya, while neighbor Georgia, whose climate is subtropical, already plunged to as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius. Lake Paliastomi in the western Georgia froze for the first time in 50 years, reports Rustavi-2 television.

Average temperatures in large Siberian cities in January usually range between minus 15 degrees Celsius and minus 39 degrees Celsius, according to data from weatherbase.com. Schools have been closed down in at least four regions because of the cold.

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So if you lived in Russia what oil would you be using? What would the consequences be of trying to start your car with an ordinary conventional 10w30 like Supertech?
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Supposedly, all this cold air in the Midwest is coming from Russia. That must be a wicked cold air mass! Really though, these kind of temps aren't uncommon for January (here in the US, that is). Imagine what it would be like if it got to -50 or-60 below! I don't think most cars would start in those temps, even with a good battery and synthetic oil. Hard to even comprehend that.
 
Originally Posted By: AcuraTech
Supposedly, all this cold air in the Midwest is coming from Russia. That must be a wicked cold air mass! Really though, these kind of temps aren't uncommon for January (here in the US, that is). Imagine what it would be like if it got to -50 or-60 below! I don't think most cars would start in those temps, even with a good battery and synthetic oil. Hard to even comprehend that.


When I lived in Bemidji, Minnesota, you would turn on the weather channel and often see -45F to -55F wind chills. That is just ridicolous. I often remember it was very common practice to go shopping while leaving your car running.
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I think in those Russian temps I would use Amsoil 0w-20, block heater plugged in, good oil pan heater, battery warmer blanket and a couple of 100 watt light bulbs hovered right over the engine block all night. Once started, I wouldn't shut it off all day.
 
rather than block heaters, I saw a doco where on the "road" across Siberia, when they stopped the trucks, they left them running and lit fires under the differentials, gearbox, engine and chassis...apparently if they didn't keep the chassis warm enough, the metal underwent low temperature embrittlement and would crack.
 
I remember seeing old documentaries on WW2 where they would light fires beneath the underside of their T-34 tanks. I'm not sure if they were diesel or gasoline powered.
 
You've all probably seen the show 'Ice Road Truckers' on Discovery channel. It's interesting to see what happens to the trucks in those temps - air lines freeze, heaters stop working, etc. Most machines and infrastructure just aren't made for that stuff.
 
Dunno, the doco was more concentrating on a small "town", and the truckers were passing through.

The residents had to bank firewood to prepare graves. Light a fire, melt some dirt, dig through it, repeat tomorrow. Milk was stored in blocks in the front verandah.
 
With today's modern engines and the higher tolerances that are built into them at the factory, I'm not so sure those temps are that big of a deal. I can recall as a younger kid growing up in MN, no to far from Bemidji SN, seeing -57 one morning (I don't think it was above -40 in the morning that entire week) and there being no serious problems with cars. The most common problem is a dead battery, but usually that has been discovered in the weeks leading up to the really cold weather.

Sure there is more wear on your engine, but for how long? 10 minutes until it warms up? If your vehicle has a block heater it's probably half-warmed already so there would be much less wear.

Clark
 
Yep, definately the planet a-warmin'. On Discovery Channel, the newer Alaska programme, they showed an oil bottle poured out onto the ground from about 6 inches....frozen solid and suspended in the air at a 90 degree angle on a cascade of solid motor oil. The oil was white, but the container was black, a Havoline jug. I dunno the grade. Not likely a HDEO, although it WAS truckers.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
rather than block heaters, I saw a doco where on the "road" across Siberia, when they stopped the trucks, they left them running and lit fires under the differentials, gearbox, engine and chassis...apparently if they didn't keep the chassis warm enough, the metal underwent low temperature embrittlement and would crack.


Something to watch on a 40°C day in the outback!
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Never gets that cold here. I think the all time record ever in Seattle is -2°F or something and we haven't seen anything but the low teens for a few years. We are getting the front edge of a cold dry blast. Next week it's supposed to get in the 20's (°F) at night.....but looks like the prognosticators might be backing away from that. Anyway it was brisk yesterday when I was working on the bike - three anecdotal observations - wife comes home and says "...aren't you freezing in here?" Well I just did notice my feet were cold from the concrete heat sink!, I got a 9V battery for the DVM out of the garage 'fridge and the battery felt warm!!, and lastly like an idiot I broke the inlet side off my brand new Fram $4.29 universal fuel filter trying to slip the gas line on to it. The plastic was quite brittle.
 
PBS did a show about a decade ago on life in a Siberian town which was called OYMOGON (sp). They apparently don't have to care about which oil viscosity to use as they have a rather radical way of starting the few vehicles they actually use which are primarilly for water transport. You gather some kindling, place under your vehicle, light IT and a cigarette. When your cigarette is done... your engine is ready to start. I would assume that diesels are the engine of choice, but the fuel is cut 50% to flow at those temps.
 
I was reading about some horrid cold town, where they tear newspaper in little bits, open the air cleaner, set the bits on fire above the intake, and crank their diesels over, sucking the paper down inside. Starts right up!
 
Well, we'll see if Eli Manning needs to have a fire lit under his butt for tomorrows game in Green Bay. Tonights low is forecast at -10 with a high of 3! That's gettin close to the famous ice bowl temps! It's gonna be a goodin me thinks.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Well, we'll see if Eli Manning needs to have a fire lit under his butt for tomorrows game in Green Bay. Tonights low is forecast at -10 with a high of 3! That's gettin close to the famous ice bowl temps! It's gonna be a goodin me thinks.


Looking forward to this game! Hopefully Favre's old bones don't get too stiff. That being said, I still think the Packers are in for a Super Bowl trip. That's some real GB football, one week it snows heavily, the next week it's freezing cold.
 
I hope it snows like last week. That was mint... seeing all that scoring, it was fun to watch! Favre is something to watch now that they've coached that "GUNSLINGER" mentality out of him.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Something to watch on a 40°C day in the outback!
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Yep, just another factoid added to my post end of the world survival toolkit.

Seriously, some of the power stations down here are starting to see low temperature embrittlement at temperatures of 15 - 20 degrees C as the CrMoV piping systems that were chosen in the 60s and 70 age.

Would imagine that could be a serious issue bringing older units back into service in some parts of the U.S.
 
Why are the power stations only now seeing low temperature embrittlement in material chosen 40 years ago? Didn't they have low temperatures back then? Why is it a problem now?
 
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