What's wrong with Canadians?

[RoyJackson]

I did the small fire under my Dodge Dakota oil pan 20 years ago when we had a cabin near town of Wawa and we had walked in from snow plowed road a half mile to spend the weekend ice fishing. On the Sunday when we walked out it was minus 40 degrees Farenheit ( same in Celsius by the way ) killed the battery trying to start it, Walked back to cabin with battery to warm it up near woodstove and recharge with generator. Then 2 hrs later we walked out again, but brought a frying pan and kindling and started small fire under the oil pan for 40 minutes then connected the battery and with a passerby trapper's truck giving a boost too, she started barely , ran on 4 of the 6 cylinders until we got to Wawa and donut shop to warm up. Oh and that minus 40 was actual ( luckily no wind blue skies however) So what's wrong with us Canadians ? Were resourceful and maybe a bit tough and maybe even a bit nuts , but we like it that way . Oh and the weather forecast for that weekend was wrong, it was supposed to be only a balmy minus 20 F .

I got no complaints about most of you...

 

[ovrszd]

stored inside a heated portion of a structure, just enough sq. ft. to park the tractor in.
Has worked for me for decades.

So then the tractor isn't starting in zero degree weather??

 

[Snobdds]

I know how to start a tractor in 0* weather...we know others do not, though..

Thanks for all the good suggestions

 

[ovrszd]

I've heard of that but never seen it in operation. What type of hose arrangement would they use to accomplish this without slobbing a bunch of antifreeze on the ground?

I've saw several. All but one used hydraulic quick couplers. The one used manual knob valves and barb fittings pushed into open hoses.

 

[PILOON]

stored inside a heated portion of a structure, just enough sq. ft. to park the tractor in.
Has worked for me for decades.

Mine is always outdoors and it was -23C overnight.
I did one cycle of glow plugs and it fire up within 3-4 revolutions and out to plow/blow that abundance of dandruff.

Guess my CUT is acclimatized to Canadian colds, EH!

 

[Dftodd]

Yes, some are Dftodd . . . sad, us kids (brothers and sisters) got up every morning at about 4 or 5 in the morning to take care of the critters and then got on our bikes to go to school about 2 1/2 miles from our farm.

High school was 12 miles down the mountain in another town, so I didn't walk. Elementary school was 5 miles across town.

I did have the bus drop us off at the bottom of the hill (1/2 mile 10 percent grade in a couple spots) since it cut 45 minutes off the bus ride home in the winter. Intersection was a 4 way stop. And in winter the bus had to get a running start and run the stop sign to make it to the top of the hill

Spring and fall our stop was number 3 on the route since they could make a left turn when they approached the intersection. Then make another left once they got back down to the bottom of our hill. In the winter they had to hit it straight on. So they would end up dropping off about 3/4 of the bus before they got back around to our road.

 

[Torvy]

Just heard on my way home that it will be bitter cold. Might get all the way down to 19. The average High where I grew up will be about 10 degrees over the next 5 days. Growing up, bitter cold would have been reserved for 20 Below Zero.

Of course, around here when the low is 32 people are covering their faucets and plants due to freeze warnings.

While wind chill and heat indices are real things, they don't make any sense in the context they use. Not sure if it is for click bait or for political gain, but sensationalized weather is a thing.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

So then the tractor isn't starting in zero degree weather??

I heat the tractor storage area to about 35 degrees F (sometimes a little warmer than that). Don't know if any of my previous tractors had problems starting in colder weather than the storage temperature (35 F) as I have never stored a tractor outside. It was just the way my Grandfather did it, dad did it, and I just followed suit. I do know My Mahindra Max will start at minus 1 F as the heat was left off one night this winter on accident. Not what I had planned though, as it starts easier at 35 degrees.

 

[Egon]

I did the small fire under my Dodge Dakota oil pan 20 years ago when we had a cabin near town of Wawa and we had walked in from snow plowed road a half mile to spend the weekend ice fishing. On the Sunday when we walked out it was minus 40 degrees Farenheit ( same in Celsius by the way ) killed the battery trying to start it, Walked back to cabin with battery to warm it up near woodstove and recharge with generator. Then 2 hrs later we walked out again, but brought a frying pan and kindling and started small fire under the oil pan for 40 minutes then connected the battery and with a passerby trapper's truck giving a boost too, she started barely , ran on 4 of the 6 cylinders until we got to Wawa and donut shop to warm up. Oh and that minus 40 was actual ( luckily no wind blue skies however) So what's wrong with us Canadians ? Were resourceful and maybe a bit tough and maybe even a bit nuts , but we like it that way . Oh and the weather forecast for that weekend was wrong, it was supposed to be only a balmy minus 20 F .

Answered question on how to start an engine in cold weather. Many of us have had that expierience.

 

[metalbender]

My older daughter married a California guy. Never been to a cold climate. They came for Christmas on year. was around -25 when they landed. His comment going to the truck " not too bad" On the way home I opened his side window, had him put his hand out. Next comment "#@%^& is that cold" Welcome to Canada and WINDCHILL my boy.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've seen small fires under some equipment to warm up the oil so the machine would start. Ether was used a lot too...
This was Howard County, MD in the late 1960's

I agree...too much "news" (not just the weather) is sensationalized way too much...and that ain't just Canada. One of my current favorites is "potentially hazardous asteroid to fly by Earth"...then, buried in the article, the "potential hazard" is 600 years in the future...

I've done that also, except with a Coleman white gas heater. I had a rear flat on a MF175 and had to leave the tractor in the woods. We had a cold snap and I had to either start a fire underneath or wait until spring... and it was a borrowed tractor.

Now I don't borrow anything.

 

[Snobdds]

My older daughter married a California guy. Never been to a cold climate. They came for Christmas on year. was around -25 when they landed. His comment going to the truck " not too bad" On the way home I opened his side window, had him put his hand out. Next comment "#@%^& is that cold" Welcome to Canada and WINDCHILL my boy.

I married a canadian...I have to tell her to toughen up all the time.

 

[Jstpssng]

Just heard on my way home that it will be bitter cold. Might get all the way down to 19. The average High where I grew up will be about 10 degrees over the next 5 days. Growing up, bitter cold would have been reserved for 20 Below Zero.

Of course, around here when the low is 32 people are covering their faucets and plants due to freeze warnings.

While wind chill and heat indices are real things, they don't make any sense in the context they use. Not sure if it is for click bait or for political gain, but sensationalized weather is a thing.

When my brother lived in Arizona he used to laugh about that. When below freezing overnight temps were predicted they'd say "Cover your swimming pool so that it doesn't freeze." I never took physics, yet even I know how crazy that is.

 

[CalG]

I've seen what they call "RealFeel" weather temperature reports here in the States. I guess not many on this side of the 49th can make logical deductions. It could be the afliction is heading north.

Growing up in North Dakota, we had a Thing about Canada. We all liked Canada, it was the Canuks that were a bit odd. Molsens was OK though.

Now, I don't get why every time it snows it's called a storm. Cripe, If you can still get out, and it doesn't kill all the livestock, it's just snow. Same as a summer rain only dry. Sometimes it did get chilly with the wind.

A "Perfect winter's day" is still 0 degrees f, no wind and bright sunshine. Call it good until about 3:30 in the afternoon. Then Break out the mukluks and mittens. And don't forget the hat!

 

[CalG]

When my brother lived in Arizona he used to laugh about that. When below freezing overnight temps were predicted they'd say "Cover your swimming pool so that it doesn't freeze." I never took physics, yet even I know how crazy that is.

evaporative cooling in AZ. Back yard skating is a thing ;-)

 

[wawajake]

Snobdds you stated " I married a canadian...I have to tell her to toughen up all the time." .............. my reply would be .......your lucky to have her, I imagine she would have to be " tough " to put up with you

 

[CalG]

IIRC over 85% of Canadians live withing 30 miles of the US border.

I was under the impression they felt that if escape were necessary, they didn't want far to go.

;-)

 

[Snobdds]

Snobdds you stated " I married a canadian...I have to tell her to toughen up all the time." .............. my reply would be .......your lucky to have her, I imagine she would have to be " tough " to put up with you

Oh she's tough...see a picture of my little Canadian on page 1. She has the quickest wit...even faster than mine.

She also has a sense of humor and knows not to take me seriously.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

When my brother lived in Arizona he used to laugh about that. When below freezing overnight temps were predicted they'd say "Cover your swimming pool so that it doesn't freeze." I never took physics, yet even I know how crazy that is.

The pool might not freeze. but the sprinklers might.

I was living in Las Vegas when they had the first day on record when it didn’t get above freezing. Nearly every house, office, or building of any kind has a sprinkler system that they don’t winterize, and that is above ground. At that time they were still sprinkling bushes in the middle of the freeway, and that froze, burst and then flowed across I-15 turning into ice. And, a fun time was had by all.

The second night the sprinkler manifolds all started bursting as they froze. Most folks had no idea how to turn their sprinkler system off. Some installed by handymen and homeowners didn’t have separate shut offs, other than the one for the entire house.

The Water District, sent any employee who could walk out with valve wrenches, to shut off the meter to any house that had water running to the gutter. There had been so much water flowing that reservoirs were emptying and they no longer had fire flow pressure in parts of the valley.

I was living in a rental, going to college. The first night, when they warned it might freeze, I went out and put my biggest Coleman cooler upside down over the sprinkler manifold, unplugged the sprinkler clock, and plugged in a drop light with a 100-Watt bulb and put it under the cooler with the sprinkler manifold, then threw an old sleeping bag over the top. The Landlord called to say he couldn’t get over to fix my sprinklers for a couple of days. He was very relieved when I told him that the pipe didn’t freeze. And, when I told him that we had already dug down and installed a shutoff valve on the feed line, he took $200 off the rent. Many beers, and much pizza were had by all…

 

[Steppenwolfe]

All I know is, every Canadian bar has a strip club attached and they bare it all...

Disgusting