Archive for January, 2004
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Things they don’t tell you about in Canada, Part Two: Cold and Car Batteries
Monday, January 26th, 2004
Well…it’s officially the coldest weather I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Today it stayed at about -35 C, although at that temperature, there ain’t much difference between celcius and farenheit.
I drove to work this morning, as is my custom, and not thinking anything about the abnormally cold weather (I mean, how much colder can it get before it’s “abnormally cold?”), I declined to “plug-in” my car. See, here it’s so cold that you have to buy a block heater, which is an electrically-powered heating element that is plugged into your stream of anti-freeze and heats it, thereby warming your engine block and preventing you from cracking it six ways from Tuesday when you attempt to start your car. Good thing to know, huh?
Well…to move the plot along…I finished up work around 5:30 p.m. The temperature had probably hung out around -35 C most of the day. I tried to crank my car to get home, and the battery sounded as if it were near death, almost like I’d left the lights on all day…or like someone had shot it with a large gun.
I hadn’t left them on, of course, and there weren’t any noticeable bullet holes. Apparently it was so cold the “cold-crank-amps” in the battery couldn’t measure up and get that engine going. After a few failed attempts, I started walking home. The wind wasn’t blowing (a blessing from the Lord as the wind chill made it -45 today) and even greater blessing came as a friend picked me up.
Well…I couldn’t leave the car there overnight. It still wasn’t plugged in, and if I left it there, it would freeze up for sure.
So a friend and I headed back down there to start up the engine. Thirty minutes later we were still trying to start up the engine. That battery was COLD and didn’t plan on going anywhere.
We plugged the car up in hopes of the engine warmth making a difference, which it did. So all in all, after 45 minutes of standing in -35 and steadily dropping temperatures, we finally got her started.
Good thing, too. I think my toes were getting a little frosty, and were starting to burn a little.
I knew it was cold when I would spit on the ground, and the saliva would land as ice.
Oh, what fun Canadian winter provides those who are easily amused!!
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