| Author | Message | ||
     Thomas J. Bueld New User Username: thomas_j_bueld Post Number: 15 Registered: 04-2019 |
As winter time is „ante portas" in Europe my 84’ Spur soon will be idled again from on November through the end of March to prevent it from ugly weather i.e. salted roads. Last winter season I used to run the engine every two weeks or so until complete warmup. Temperatures of the storage place never dropped below freezing point so far. However, I felt not happy with the engine running rough the first few minutes of the procedure. My idea now is to insert an electrical preheater in the water cooling system (preferable Radiator Bottom Hose) - a kind used in Arctic Scandinavia on daily basis to ease morning start ups. These devices will circulate the then-heated water throughout the engine to achieve a suitable temperature by house electricity connection. My question is if there is any experience on this method out there. THANKS. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Prolific User Username: soviet Post Number: 1657 Registered: 02-2013 |
Thomas, where I live in outback Queensland Australia only rarely at nighttime does the temperature drop to 0C and I don't think there is anywhere in Australia where salt is put on the road. Strangely when I lived in Russia and weather was minus 45C I can not recall salt being put on the road but certainly remember a lot of ice on the road. I have often wondered if it could be possible to have a drive on heated rubber mat with many orifices in it to spray fresh water to wash away the salt underneath a car before parking it would be a solution to the corrosive effects of salted roads. That aside, if your cold start mechanism on you car is working correctly you should not be having any rough idling at all on start up. Also on this forum I have seen in the past contributors from Sweden and Russia and if you can search and find their names and send them a private message they may be able to answer your cooling system/heating question. Also Jim Walters from Bristol Motors in Canada may know the answer. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2974 Registered: 06-2009 |
Vlad, It's no surprise that road salt was not used in Russia, as it stops having any melting effect at -6 F/-21 C. And I imagine the areas you're referring to have extended periods of weather where temperatures below -21 C are normal. See: Salt vs. Temperature | MeltSnow.com I am of the "you don't run the engine during hibernation" camp after many years of being in the opposing camp. The amount of condensation one throws into the exhaust system isn't worth it, for one thing. But it doesn't seem to do a darned thing that I've noticed where the first start of spring is any easier (or more difficult) than if it's been religiously started during the hibernation period. Brian | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3464 Registered: 04-2003 |
I was in the USA and Canada during their 1974/75 winter and drove a well-used 1966 Ford Mustang I purchased in San Francisco for 8 weeks coast-to-coast and border-to-border including crossing the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver to Winnipeg. I was caught in a night-time blizzard at a place called Medicine Hat between Calgary and Moose Jaw for 6 hours after the Trans-Canada was closed for 6 hours while the blizzard passed and the temperature including windchill was quoted to be -45deg Celsius. There was nowhere to stay other than in the car with the engine running and the heater full on - I had changed the coolant when I purchased the car and replaced it with a 50/50 mix of Ethylene Glycol and water anticipating the future crossing of the Rockies. In a classic case of ignorance is bliss, I had parked the car with the radiator pointing into the wind thinking this would prevent excessive rocking of the car when I should have parked it rear end into the wind. The result was the radiator coolant froze whilst the engine kept the coolant circulating through the heater liquid and barely warming the car above freezing. Outcome, one split radiator header tank requiring re-soldering the next day when we reached Moose Jaw. One accessory that had intrigued me was a mains-powered electric dipstick for cars kept in unheated garages to facilitate starting in conditions such as I experienced however I didn't purchase one and, anyway, it could not have been used in my situation as there was little or no possibility of accessing mains power as subsequently was the case parked on the side of the highway. I would be interested to know if these dipstick heaters are still available in the USA/Canada and whether this item could be a possible solution for Thomas's problem. | ||
| Roderick Waite Frequent User Username: rodwaite Post Number: 235 Registered: 01-2012 |
Hi Thomas! Where I line in France, temperatures below the 'salt line' of -6C are occasional brief visitors and I give Echo a weekly start-up mainly to roll her up and down the drive a few times to avoid tyre 'flats' developing. To help the start I put a fan heater just in front of the car so the blown warm air rises over the sump and into the engine bay. An hour warms things through nicely. Less hassle than fitting a dedicated heater into the system? And David - that's some tour! Do you know how 'Medicine Hat' got its wonderful name? | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3465 Registered: 04-2003 |
Hi Roderick, Yes, it was a fantastic trip with many memories that still remain vivid today. My biggest regret is I couldn't afford to bring the Mustang back to Australia afterwards because of our car import restrictions and taxes at the time. The most interesting aspect is I visited NASA Houston in January 1976 where the training facility for Skylab astronauts was operating with guided tours for visitors. Later after Skylab crashed in 1979 near Esperance in West Australia, I was responsible for arranging chemical analysis of debris to confirm its authenticity with NASA and its remelting for processing into "dumps" inserted into numbered commemorative medallions which were shared between NASA, the US and Australian space agencies and a small number ended up in private hands including myself. The story and pictures of the medallion plus a comment from myself is on the following link to the Victorian Museum: https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/273115 The story how Medicine Hat was named is on the following link: https://www.tourismmedicinehat.com/content-detail.asp?ID=231&CatID=5 I have never forgotten how cold it was at an actual air temperature of -20deg Centigrade with no additional wind chill the day after the blizzard.  | ||
| Thomas J. Bueld New User Username: thomas_j_bueld Post Number: 16 Registered: 04-2019 |
Thank you for answering ! Never heard about dipstick heaters. I checked it and some are offered in the net. A fan heater is also a good idea but I will not feel happy have it running for hours without supervision. After all I will look for an inline hose heater and order a new hose first to find out the exact diameter. Once installed will post my experience. Thank you again | ||
| Thomas J. Bueld New User Username: thomas_j_bueld Post Number: 17 Registered: 04-2019 |
FYI http://old.defa.com/vfp/eh/411421.pdf | ||
| Roderick Waite Frequent User Username: rodwaite Post Number: 236 Registered: 01-2012 |
Hello Thomas - looks a handy gadget! What's its power rating? If it's to heat up - what? - 12 litres of uninsulated coolant it must draw a kilowatt or so? I don't have power in my garage, so have to run a 20 metre lead from the house ... the fan heater is 1 kilowatt and only runs for one hour - that's been enough so far! It primarily heats the engine oil in the sump - the main source of drag in cold starts. Interested in results! |
