The Big Chill

[beallucanb]

22 hours ago, beallucanb said:

Still warming up here its at 40 and light rain, right now, I hope it stops raining to give roads a chance to dry before the cold snap.

Today started  off cold enough to get us 5 inches (ca. 13 cm), of fluffy wet snow.

Snow means a few hours of snow plow work for me, I like to clear my friends and neighbors driveways, I have been plowing for my neighbors for the last 20 years

The big cold comes tomorrow night, national weather says 1, tomorrow night where I live you knock off 10 degrees.

Tomorrow night is shaping up to be a double footed sleeper, 2 blanket and a quilt, night for me.

Right now at 530 it's + 7 when I left the house at noon it was 39.

[Crinklz Kat]

22 minutes ago, babykeiff said:

Hopefully the gasket will fix your leak. Usually gasket 'stats don't leak unless there is something that shifted the gasket / mating plates damaged / scored, is the thermostat OK as changing a water pump normally involves timing belt end of engine... and a lot more hassle. My own car's thust bearing has got noisy with clutch down = left half shaft & gearbox out, and replacement = full 3 part clutch replacement while clutch open - but that will have to wait till mid Jan 2023.

It's a gen 3 chevy (everyone just says "LS"... but this is an LR4 - aka 4.8L).   Very easy to service.   Here's a pic of what it looks like once the fan shroud and fan are removed.  Thermostat (lower left) is easily accessible (1 hose clamp and 2 bolts).  Pump is 6 bolts.   The gasket is a nitrile o-ring, not a paper cutout. So if it's not the o-ring, then there's a crack in one of the housings.  However, I could see wetness on the seam between the 2 housings, so the gasket's a good bet.  It's a $4 part, so if it's not the solution, I'm only out an hour or so of time (well, give it 2 since it's gonna be f'ing cold). 

[babykeiff]

21 minutes ago, Crinklz Kat said:

It's a gen 3 chevy (everyone just says "LS"... but this is an LR4 - aka 4.8L).   Very easy to service.   Here's a pic of what it looks like once the fan shroud and fan are removed.  Thermostat (lower left) is easily accessible (1 hose clamp and 2 bolts).  Pump is 6 bolts.   The gasket is a nitrile o-ring, not a paper cutout. So if it's not the o-ring, then there's a crack in one of the housings.  However, I could see wetness on the seam between the 2 housings, so the gasket's a good bet.  It's a $4 part, so if it's not the solution, I'm only out an hour or so of time (well, give it 2 since it's gonna be f'ing cold). 

A few things I noticed -

1 - theromstat is lowest item on coolant run in engine block - could there be dirt / corrosion inside - and as you said, replacement seal might do the job.

2- the block seems to be corroded (pitted) - do you live close to the sea? What I notice that is smooth and shiny is where the air filter sits / pipe fitting sit.

3 - alternator is new - bolts are pitted, but body of alternator shiny. Internal radiator pipes of aircon seems also new - as do the high pressure rubber hoses.

4 - there is a white  - looks like 'fur' / spilt brake fluid - on the hoses (see close to the dipstick)

If this is fur, it could be likely that the internal pipework of the engine could be semi clogged - that would require a flush. Most aluminum block engines do not handle water being added to coolant. There are too many tell tale signs that this happened, and someone replaced a few of the piping to attempt to hide / repair this.

[Crinklz Kat]

53 minutes ago, babykeiff said:

A few things I noticed -

The truck is nearly 24 years old and has seen far too much road salt.  It finally clocked over 250,000 miles last month yet still runs amazingly well (just looks like crap).  Last year when I had the heads off (thought I had some major internal issues), I could still see cross-hatching on the cylinders and no appreciable wear!   That's not fur on the hoses, just some dried residue (of what I can't recall). 

[Cruiser 03]

It’s 1:47 AM interstate is closed due to ice and visibility , base road is ice covered snow and ice , we are still having intermittent lake effect snow squalls . And salting the roads ain’t gonna do jack shit because the native temperature without and wind chill is -3 . Honestly I think I will be literally phoning fhristmas in face time . Being it’s a weekend I know my landlord isn’t going to shovel or plow or anything until at least Tuesday . I do some crazy shit in my wheelchair that makes “normal”people scared , I don’t play when in storms it’s treacherous outside and being careless or clueless can get you dead . So me and my aide will be enjoying cocktails and dinner alone in my house where it’s reasonably warm and safe , I have enough supplies on hand we could stay here safe and warm till this time next year , no big deal .

 

[rusty pins]

I mentioned having to go to the store yesterday.  Yes, in my county in Michigan right along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan they predicted the worst weather due to lake effect snow.  I do have 4 wheel drive on my Jeep but it was so bitter cold.  3+ Fahrenheit with a wind chill that had to be -25.  I couldn't even get the ice scraped off my windshield except in a couple spots on each side, enough to see out of.  Jeep started right up, Mikey.  It didn't take much to ice up the interior of the windshield, even with the defroster going full blast.  I was driving hunched down in order to see out the bottom of the windshield where the defroster was working.  Fortunately there was not much traffic at all.  Thank god for headlights because there were some white-out conditions.  It's so interesting to see a big truck with a plow going sideways down the street, then flipping horizontal and sliding sideways down the street facing the other direction.  Why did I even go out?  We had a special order of meat we had to pick up and when it was pre-ordered we had no idea weather would be like this.  Bitter cold, wind and white out conditions was the worst.  Pretty much staying in today.  It's supposed to die down around noon so I may run to the store for a gallon of milk, giving me the opportunity to dispose of a couple really heavy soaked diapers at the same time.

[feralfreak]

14 hours ago, le Hollandais said:

It's an even 0°F. here. I'm not even going to bother with wind chill. Yesterday I did some leather work. Today I'm baking dinner rolls for Christmas dinner. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be smoking the turkey.

leather work? i was wanting to get into that, but i think it would be too expensive to get into

[Crinklz Kat]

Well, even though it didn't even hit 20 this afternoon, I sucked it up and made the repair on my truck.  Crossing fingers it'll hold for a while. Without the winds, it wasn't all that bad, though I'm glad I didn't have to be out all that long. 

Meanwhile ... 2 batches of banana bread done. 

[DailyDi]

21 minutes ago, Crinklz Kat said:

Well, even though it didn't even hit 20 this afternoon, I sucked it up and made the repair on my truck.  Crossing fingers it'll hold for a while. Without the winds, it wasn't all that bad, though I'm glad I didn't have to be out all that long. 

Meanwhile ... 2 batches of banana bread done. 

Mmmmm nanabread. I’ll take a slice. 

[Lil Leo]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:01 AM, rusty pins said:

Left work at 3pm yesterday, was about 33 degrees and lightly snowing.  Dropped to 22 when I went to bed about 9:15pm.  Got up at 5:30am and it was 6 degrees out snowing and blowing but not heavy snow.  Right along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan they say we are getting hit the worst due to lake effect snow.  Predicted for about 16 inches of snow.  Blizzard warning is out until 1pm Saturday.  Have to go out to the store to pick up an order, then staying in.  I do have 4 wheel drive but the worry is the blowing snow and supposed 50MPH winds that are predicted.  Have gas for the generator because we always seem to be the ones to lose power when all the neighborhoods around us still have it.  It will be a bitch trying to start a generator in 6 degree weather with wind chills predicted to be 30 below.  Hope the pull cord isn't frozen.  One of these days I'll have to get an electric starter for the generator....  Oh, wait!  That won't work!  LOL

Hii!

I keep our generator in our breezeway it stays about 50 degrees out there. Makes for much easier starting in cold Wisconsin weather. ? 

?‍♂️

On 12/23/2022 at 4:12 PM, Crinklz Kat said:

It's a gen 3 chevy (everyone just says "LS"... but this is an LR4 - aka 4.8L).   Very easy to service.   Here's a pic of what it looks like once the fan shroud and fan are removed.  Thermostat (lower left) is easily accessible (1 hose clamp and 2 bolts).  Pump is 6 bolts.   The gasket is a nitrile o-ring, not a paper cutout. So if it's not the o-ring, then there's a crack in one of the housings.  However, I could see wetness on the seam between the 2 housings, so the gasket's a good bet.  It's a $4 part, so if it's not the solution, I'm only out an hour or so of time (well, give it 2 since it's gonna be f'ing cold). 

Hii!

Simple, lazy man's solution bars-leaks. ?

?‍♂️

6 minutes ago, Lil Leo said:

Hii!

I keep our generator in our breezeway it stays about 50 degrees out there. Makes for much easier starting in cold Wisconsin weather. ? 

?‍♂️

Hii!

Simple, lazy man's solution bars-leaks. ?

?‍♂️

Oh yeah then wait till spring!

[Crinklz Kat]

Speaking of losing power, I had an interesting situation that started yesterday afternoon and lasted till after 7AM this morning.  Power was dropping about every 7-8 minutes like clockwork - just for a few seconds, then came back (I have the logs from my UPS that show this).  So, it was definitely "mechanical" in nature.  Granted, weather played a role, but it wasn't because wind was knocking down trees on wires somewhere.

 

My generator is out in the shed.  It has electric start, so cold shouldn't be a problem.  I also looked for one that had pressurized oiling because my previous generator had a seizure because the oil was too cold.  Cheap engines that rely on splash oiling (like a lawn mower) just don't function well in the cold. 

[Lil Leo]

21 minutes ago, Crinklz Kat said:

Speaking of losing power, I had an interesting situation that started yesterday afternoon and lasted till after 7AM this morning.  Power was dropping about every 7-8 minutes like clockwork - just for a few seconds, then came back (I have the logs from my UPS that show this).  So, it was definitely "mechanical" in nature.  Granted, weather played a role, but it wasn't because wind was knocking down trees on wires somewhere.

 

My generator is out in the shed.  It has electric start, so cold shouldn't be a problem.  I also looked for one that had pressurized oiling because my previous generator had a seizure because the oil was too cold.  Cheap engines that rely on splash oiling (like a lawn mower) just don't function well in the cold. 

Rolling black out due to high demand? I noticed in our area the power plant has both of their "big boys " fired up only one was fired up last weekend. 

[feralfreak]

5 hours ago, Crinklz Kat said:

Well, even though it didn't even hit 20 this afternoon, I sucked it up and made the repair on my truck.  Crossing fingers it'll hold for a while. Without the winds, it wasn't all that bad, though I'm glad I didn't have to be out all that long. 

Meanwhile ... 2 batches of banana bread done. 

*reach out like a kitty to steal a loaf*

[Crinklz Kat]

1 hour ago, Lil Leo said:

Rolling black out due to high demand? I noticed in our area the power plant has both of their "big boys " fired up only one was fired up last weekend. 

I thought about that, but then realized that doesn't make sense.  It was literally out for just a few seconds, then back.  Like a breaker self-resetting.   If it were rolling blackouts, it shouldn't have continued in the wee hours of the morning when demand was way down. 

15 minutes ago, feralfreak said:

*reach out like a kitty to steal a loaf*

*SMACK*

Bad kitty!

[feralfreak]

9 minutes ago, Crinklz Kat said:

I thought about that, but then realized that doesn't make sense.  It was literally out for just a few seconds, then back.  Like a breaker self-resetting.   If it were rolling blackouts, it shouldn't have continued in the wee hours of the morning when demand was way down. 

*SMACK*

Bad kitty!

goes to corner to pout

[babykeiff]

For those having wierd power ploblems - like surges / drops - there is a phenomonon that happens rarely due to oversoaked / snow coated ground that effects power distribution. Live (hot) supply is in actual wires between the power station and a substation. Neutral (cold) supply is usually the ground / earth. As a result, when the ground gets oversoaked / top layer freezes, the thermal and electrical resistance changes. This can cause these type of surges / drops as the local substation / pole based transformer attempts to handle this. A second issue in cold tempratures is the viscosity of the oil drops in the oil based transformers which also changes the thermal and electrical resistance.

House neutral (cold) is normally a grounded live of one of the three phases that is sent to the substation.

If your electricity is surging / dropping, it is usually better to, if possible, disconnect all old devices (*transformer based power supplies). This type of surging / dropping tends to blow coil / filiment based circuits - includes haolgen / old coil based bulbs, some old cookers, old TVs / HiFis, Game systems etc.

Most of the newer systems (*switch mode power supplies) can handle the variable voltages as they work via a feedback loop, which include LED bulbs, modern TVs, and most items built in the last 10-20 years.  

*transformer based power supplies normally are heavier, and have a fixed voltage input (which some can be changed via a depressed slide switch at the rear of the unit)

*switch mode power supplies normally are a lot lighter, and have a large range of inputs, normally 90 - 250v input. Also, with these, plug in the loading device last (like your laptop etc) and plug it out first. This allows the SMPS to settle, as some SMPS can surge when pluged into the mains.

In relation to your vehicle etc

Most vehicles have a cast aluminum engine block that really does not like to be shocked. As a result, with this cold weather, unless the engine is already warm, when you start it from cold, leave it idling (don't rev the engine) until the air from the heating system (not the aircon) starts to get warm. You will see that in the dash via the water temperature gauge.

Secondly, avoid poring water on windows / glass to clear the snow/ice. The cold water would normally be at +15C [+59F]. That means that if the ice/snow on the window is -10C [14F] or even lower (based on the air temprature), that is a +25C [77F] (or greater) shock to the glass. This can cause it to shatter. Instead, use the window demister, and a snow/ice scraper if needed as the vehicle warms up to clear the window.

These are unusually low temperatures worldwide - stay safe and warm. If your demister is not clearing your windscreen, do not drive. Remember, partial visibility means your visibility is reduced and will not be able to see, in time, another vehicle = you will have to react late and it is almost guarenteed that you will be in an accident.

Poor visibility + ice / snow (slippery surface) = greater reaction times required to avoid accidents. Your health and safety is the most important item here. Stay safe and warm.

[CutiePiesMommy]

well, our power was out Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ! It would turn back on for maybe an hour.... you could hear the sighs and cuss words throughout the house when it would turn back off... not that it's over with it was somewhat funny.... except the fact that our house got down to 43 degrees.... and that is WITH the fireplace!

[ValentinesStuff]

Last week at this time it was snowing and the temperature had plunged below freezing and was headed towards -10° F. Now it's cloudy and 55° F.

[babykeiff]

On 12/24/2022 at 1:02 AM, Crinklz Kat said:

The truck is nearly 24 years old and has seen far too much road salt.  It finally clocked over 250,000 miles last month yet still runs amazingly well (just looks like crap).  Last year when I had the heads off (thought I had some major internal issues), I could still see cross-hatching on the cylinders and no appreciable wear!   That's not fur on the hoses, just some dried residue (of what I can't recall). 

It looks very well for a 24 year old with 250k+ miles. Stay warm, and keep safe, all of yew'all... is that the way it is said?