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Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

I was going to mention that too, but I douby they're very common in MI, and even less common on anything smaller than a pickup truck.

Even my company pickup truck here in IL doesn't have an engine block heater.

Fully expecting it to not start tomorrow. Or Thursday.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

I was going to say something but then realized that most of you guys don’t have plug in engine block heaters.

I've never owned a vehicle without an engine block heater, and unless I retire to somewhere nice, I probably never will.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

Right now ...

GFK: -26F, wind N 22 gusting to 32, wind chill -57F
FAR: -23F, wind N 26 gusting to 37, wind chill -55F
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

We're going to go from -32 with -60 windchill on Wednesday to 40 degrees on Saturday, or a warmup of 72 degrees.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Places that North Dakota is colder than: <br><br>- Antarctica<br>- Mars<br>- South Dakota<br>- My childhood home (barely - thanks dad)<br>- Voldemort's heart<br>- North of the wall<br>- NYC in The Day After Tomorrow<br>- <a href="https://twitter.com/vanillaice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vanillaice</a>'s masterpiece<br>- Elsa's hands</p>— Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) <a href="https://twitter.com/weatherdak/status/1090377548104642560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

I still own property on Metigoshe (on the border, basically), and it will be just as cold here in south central Wisconsin as it will be there. Very unusual. It's normally about 15 degrees colder there.

It may seem foolish to say, but there is a beauty to that kind of cold. Usually windless, bright sun and snow, crystal clear air. Snow squeaks. Sun dogs.
 
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Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

-25 and power outage for a few big southern burbs. One of my colleagues lost power at 6pm and estimated restore time is 3am
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

I was going to mention that too, but I douby they're very common in MI, and even less common on anything smaller than a pickup truck.

Some still have them around here as you said, but I would think MI has some, but not on newer vehicles. My co-worker has one. My car started up fine tonight, after sitting out 7 hours in the cold (she's a garage baby overnight, thanks to heated underground parking).
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

Had to google headbolt heater. Never seen one here. Engine heaters arent a thing here( unless its a diesel) but in northern Maine they are. Most new cars are going to start if your battery is good.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

Only -6 on the drive to work this morning. Not too bad.

In the part of Michigan I'm in, there typically isn't a need for an engine heater. I remember when my friends and I traveled to Fairbanks for hockey and thought plugging in the car was cool. That was also my first experience with air so cold that breathing could be unpleasant and elicit coughing.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

-19 when I got to work. But I got a really, really good parking spot.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

-24 temp in the far west Suburbs of Chicago. -62 windchill according to my phone. -52 per the Chicago news.


Furnace started losing to the wind around 3am. Hoping to get a couple of degrees back before tonight's -30 forecast.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

Remember there's a difference between a head bolt heater (invented in Grand Forks, ND, circa 1940) and a block heater. And neither is the same as glow plugs for a diesel. A head bolt heater is trying to keep the engine coolant warm (yes, oxymoron). A block heater is keeping the oil in the pan warm. The goal of each is warm the engine enough to allow for an easier crank and start.

Modern engines, and specifically modern fuel injection systems, have really made cold weather starting much easier. Old carburetors didn't do well in extreme cold.

Another factor for easier starting modern engines? Back in the day it was a 351 cu in (about 5.7L) Windsor V8 in a Ford LTD. Today it's a 1.5L (about 90 cu in) to 3.0L (180 cu in) engine in most cars. The battery size (physical) is the same; the battery tech is literally decades advanced. So, more battery 'gusto' and half as much 'engine' to crank over.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

Remember there's a difference between a head bolt heater (invented in Grand Forks, ND, circa 1940) and a block heater. And neither is the same as glow plugs for a diesel. A head bolt heater is trying to keep the engine coolant warm (yes, oxymoron). A block heater is keeping the oil in the pan warm. The goal of each is warm the engine enough to allow for an easier crank and start.

Modern engines, and specifically modern fuel injection systems, have really made cold weather starting much easier. Old carburetors didn't do well in extreme cold.

Another factor for easier starting modern engines? Back in the day it was a 351 cu in (about 5.7L) Windsor V8 in a Ford LTD. Today it's a 1.5L (about 90 cu in) to 3.0L (180 cu in) engine in most cars. The battery size (physical) is the same; the battery tech is literally decades advanced. So, more battery 'gusto' and half as much 'engine' to crank over.

This was a great post. As a non-motorhead I still understood almost all of it. Thank you.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

My Subaru does not have any sort of engine heater. It's a garage dweller most of the time.

When I'm on the road my AstroStart has a "low temperature mode". When the temp falls below a preset (-15F for me) the car starts and runs for 4 minutes. That happens every 2.5 hours.
 
Re: Warm thoughts is all we's gots!

T's and P's folks. In 3 days...

<img src="http://www.snippetmedia.com/snippetx/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/subic-beach-matnog.jpg" height="300" img>
 
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