#@$%*!ing Cold

James_Dean

James_Dean

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Mar 31, 2005
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Iowa
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Eggman
Equipment does not operate correctly when it gets this cold. I've been at the farm all night.

It was -22* at 2:00 am this morning here in NW Iowa.

Frozen water lines

Gelled trucks

Power lines down

We think we seized a bearing on a 1000kw generator due to an oil line failure - That one might be a $80,000 if the engine is toast.

Gear boxes won't turn due to gelled oil. Don't tell PETA, but I've got animals that haven't been fed yet today.

Ventillation fans are slipping on their belts and then the fan blade will ice in place


I'm using so much steam to keep my building heated that my propane vaporizer can't keep up

Ammonia refrigeration system condenser and desuperheater are not functioning properly

I've got a filter on a glycol cooling loop that is frozen up due to ice crystals. I'm not even sure how that is happening.

Sorry for the rant, but it's gonna be a long weekend. Anybody got a spare cot?

James Dean
 
good luck james.

my battery in my car is dead. im planning on going out and pulling it off the car to bring it inside. maybe. if it warms up some. definitely planning on spending most of this weekend inside! :yes:
 
Dang man! That is one helluva crappy deal! I feel your pain, brother. We were trying to spread pulverized lime this past week and I got 1/2 of the semi unloaded, but while I was spreading the first half of the load, the second half of the load froze into the box of the semi, which mean "young" chris had to climb into the back of the semi (dump bed) and climb up with a shovel and pick and bust up the frozen limestone. Hard to believe that I was working up a sweat in -5* weather! (which is VERY dangerous, actually). The fun part was when the pile of stuff finally gave-way and started sliding down the bed of the dump and I was hanging on to the top of the dump bed yelling at the truck driver to lower it - he's a moron, so it took a while to get the point across. *sigh* That was the first and LAST load of lime we spread this week.

Then we had to joyous privilege of starting and moving about 15 TerraGators and RoGators that had been sitting in a COLD storage shed since about last August. Luckily, the diesel hadn't gelled yet, but those 8.1L diesel engines don't like to be bothered when it's this cold.

Good luck getting and KEEPING things going. I would volunteer to come help, but DANG IT'S COLD! :D Global warming my arse! ;)
 
That bring back lots of bad memories. That kind of weather is why I moved south from central Iowa.

I feel for ya.
 
200 miles east in Central Illinois, the oil sump heaters are plugged in (four cars), the pulse conditioners on the batteries (4 cars, 1 scooter, 1 airplane), the undercounter cabinets are OPEN in the kitchen...it's just too d_mn cold. If the power holds up, we're OK but if not....the 5KW standby will only let us limp along....

My Dad elected OUT of suburban Chicago in just such a snap in 1988......hmmn.
 
Heck yes we got a spare cot if you really need it. Whole spare room with 3/4 bath and separate exits if you want it. Long drive to Ames though then who would feed the animals?

I'm sorry to hear about how tough it is out there. I feel somewhat guilty here next to my glowing wood stove trying to decide if I should go skiing before or after sitting in the (outdoor) hot tub.

It's clear up to 3 below at my place.

MM
 
wby0nder said:
Heck yes we got a spare cot if you really need it. Whole spare room with 3/4 bath and separate exits if you want it. Long drive to Ames though then who would feed the animals?

I'm sorry to hear about how tough it is out there. I feel somewhat guilty here next to my glowing wood stove trying to decide if I should go skiing before or after sitting in the (outdoor) hot tub.

It's clear up to 3 below at my place.

MM
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skiing? outside? 3 below? you are crazy.

pretty sure i wont be leaving the apartment today.
 
lroberts said:
-22 f ?
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Oh yea. That's the upper midwest for you. 100 with Amazonian humidity in the summer, 20 below with dessicating winds in the winter.

My house is in a low area and I've seen 32 below F averaged on 3 thermometers. Saving grace is that when it gets super duper cold there is usually little or no wind.

Skiing in this weather is fine. On cross country skis you get so worked up by the end of the first 1/2 mile you are sweating. It's a trick to dress for it because you can't wear too much and the first 1/2 mile you think you are going to freeze to death.

After that it's a fantastic work out and fun to be outside thumbing your nose at jack frost. Just be careful not to break your nose off doing it.

MM
 
Yikes! I am clearing out the shop to store your junk and preparing the extra apartment downstairs. No one should have to live like that. I deal with the animals somehow just bring them. I get the idea your a chicken farmer, all that pecking in the ground won't hurt anything and God knows we can use the eggs. My 1/2 acre of residential property should do fine.
 
lroberts said:
Yikes! I am clearing out the shop to store your junk and preparing the extra apartment downstairs. No one should have to live like that. I deal with the animals somehow just bring them. I get the idea your a chicken farmer, all that pecking in the ground won't hurt anything and God knows we can use the eggs. My 1/2 acre of residential property should do fine.
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I've got 10,000,000 chickens and 100,000 tons of manure. Are you sure we're welcome? :)



James Dean
 
My word is my bond. That chicken poo sure will make my grass green and I assume as cold as it is there the chickens are frozen so yeah...bring it on! I know you get used to your environment but wow....that is intense. When motor oil gets to a semi solid state you know its cold. Hope it lets up some for you.

I live outside Atlanta. Counties nearby (Jackson and Hall) are suppose to have substantial market share in the SE in the poultry biz. I know the farms are high tech and they depend on the jobs.
 
James_Dean said:
I've got 10,000,000 chickens ...
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7 zeros? as in Million? Ten Million chickens? That's a LOT OF FREAKIN' CHICKENS! I hate chickens! My mom had this kick about raising chickens. Every year she's raise a batch of chickens. The little peepers are cute - for about a week and then they just get ugly and stinky and ... sure was glad my dad and I had remote construction jobs during the summers - at least I got away from those chickens during the week!

I eat chicken out of revenge!!! :D
 
CJones said:
Then we had to joyous privilege of starting and moving about 15 TerraGators and RoGators that had been sitting in a COLD storage shed since about last August. Luckily, the diesel hadn't gelled yet, but those 8.1L diesel engines don't like to be bothered when it's this cold.
Click to expand...

Up at the yard, we have a big beastie from Caterpillar for snow removal. It gets parked inside a heated garage for the winter. Actually, it's our truck wash bay that it gets parked in. The big 700-hp Cat doesn't like to start in the weather where we need it the most.
 
We have 15 degrees F but the problem is ow the wind is howlin' - 25MPH with gusts to 45MPH. Can you say wind chill?
 
bbchien said:
200 miles east in Central Illinois, the oil sump heaters are plugged in (four cars)
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You have sump heaters on your cars? Wow.

All I have is a spare bottle of Iso-HEET in my trunk in case the fuel lines ice up. That stuff works wonders.
 
wby0nder said:
Heck yes we got a spare cot if you really need it. Whole spare room with 3/4 bath and separate exits if you want it. Long drive to Ames though then who would feed the animals?
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I think he meant so he can catch catnaps at work, prolly gonna be there 24/7 figuratively putting out fires while literally needing them to burn! :D

I'm sorry to hear about how tough it is out there. I feel somewhat guilty here next to my glowing wood stove trying to decide if I should go skiing before or after sitting in the (outdoor) hot tub.
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How on earth do you get in and out of your outdoor hot tub in weather like this??? :hairraise:
 
strangest darn weather here the last couple of days ... 2 nights ago the low was -18. The high following was in the low 20 but continued to warm up into the evening with high 20s overnight. Mid morning we were in the high 40s and the sun coming thru the windows is so warm I had to open one in the house. But, the wind's gusting 30-35mph and the snow started blowing in the window!!! Too darn weird!
 
wby0nder said:
My house is in a low area and I've seen 32 below F averaged on 3 thermometers. Saving grace is that when it gets super duper cold there is usually little or no wind.
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Maybe out by you...

Milwaukee, January 1994... They cancelled the first two days of school (UW-Milwaukee) due to wind chills approaching -90F. :hairraise:

Our dorms were three towers with an indoor commons area connecting them containing admin offices, cafeteria, etc. The heaters couldn't keep up - It was below freezing INSIDE the commons. You could see your breath in the elevators. My room managed to stay in the 40's, but there was an inch of ice on the INSIDE of the window.

I wrapped myself up in an electric blanket (and a couple of others too) and did my best impression of a burrito while I watched TV for a couple of days. I actually tried going outside once... Bad idea. :eek:
 
James_Dean said:
Gelled trucks
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We've already been warned twice that the trucks MUST be plugged in this weekend. I have no place to plug mine in... But luckily, the APU will be running, and it circulates warm coolant to the truck engine. We'll see if that's enough in this weather.

The "blast furnace" style heater for the bunk (which blows air hot enough to melt my plastic garbage can) could not keep up with the cold last night. Woke up early this morning, a bit on the cold side but not too uncomfortable. Peeked through the curtains at the dash. OAT was -4 F. The exhaust from said heater, which points at a spot on the right-hand fuel tank (not very close) was causing a big spot of ice to form, it was freezing so fast.

Hang in there James... It looks like we'll make it into the positive single digits again on Monday! :eek: Brrrr.

And remember... Hair dryers are your friends.
 
Just got back from doing a checkout in our 182RG. It was zero when we took off, and 2 when we got back, never got warm in the plane. Just what would the wind chill be at cruise? Zero degrees and 150 mph. 1994- I remember that year, -45F wind chill in central Iowa, and I was outside playing with my friends for ten minutes at a time. I guess we were pretty warm compared to Kent though.
 
brr Ben. Did you have any problems with overboosting the manifold at full throttle? DA's get pretty low at these freezing cold temps. losing a windshield at these temps and those speeds would probably result in immediate freezing of the eyeballs.
 
gkainz said:
That's a LOT OF FREAKIN' CHICKENS!
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We turn all the eggs, about 7 million a day, into liquid products for industrial/commercial use. Ever have a Subway breakfast sandwich? Probably our eggs. Cake mixes, pasta, school lunch, military, food service, restaurant, ice cream, etc.

The farm I'm at currently has about 4,000,000 birds.


BTW, ethanol sucks.


James Dean
 
tonycondon said:
brr Ben. Did you have any problems with overboosting the manifold at full throttle? DA's get pretty low at these freezing cold temps. losing a windshield at these temps and those speeds would probably result in immediate freezing of the eyeballs.
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Yea, with full throttle we were climbing around 1700fpm, I could get used to that:yes: According to the NWS, the wind chill at zero degrees and 150mph wind is -44. I thought it would be lower than that.
 
bkreager said:
Yea, with full throttle we were climbing around 1700fpm, I could get used to that:yes: According to the NWS, the wind chill at zero degrees and 150mph wind is -44. I thought it would be lower than that.
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not too shabby. i was getting 1300 fpm out of a 172 the other night.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
How on earth do you get in and out of your outdoor hot tub in weather like this??? :hairraise:
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Well, the tub is only about 7 feet outside the sliding door. We keep it around 110 which is about 6 degrees hotter than most modern tubs are capable of and beyond the legal limit for commercial or public spas. Get in QUICK is the thing although when you know you wont die and will be in heaven in a few seconds it's pretty easy to endure.

Getting out is fantastic! If you stay in a while (like over 10 minutes) you get so freaking hot that you can dry off and walk around in the snow (with flip flops) for minutes, many minutes if it's not windy. In fact, if you don't and go back in the house without cooling down you break into a sweat and cant put any clothes on for an hour.

Rule of thumb is to stay out till you are so freeking cold you think you are going to die. Than you are ready to go in. Makes you feel supercharged for hours. Winter is so much better with one of these things. You can get your RDA of sunshine and lots of star gazing too througout the winter. No more cabin feaver for me.
 
There are a lot of hot tubs and heated pools in Vale. Got in real big trouble there one evening.

Had skied all day, went back to the hotel and the girl with me wanted to hit the hot tub before dinner. We had a bottle of champaign suck in the snow outside the window which we brought down to the hot tub! Cold, what cold?

We were asked to leave the pool after some swimming suits were seen floating near us and we had glass containers in the pool. (Geesh, I'm such a crud!--Can't a couple have some fun!!)

Best,

Dave
 
flyingcheesehead said:
How on earth do you get in and out of your outdoor hot tub in weather like this??? :hairraise:
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We enjoy getting in our hot tub this time of year. It's really pretty when it's snowing, too. Ours is next to our back door. Getting out is better if you don't have a suit on to get cold faster. BTW, if anyone plans to drop by, call first so you don't surprise us out there. :D
 
Diana said:
We enjoy getting in our hot tub this time of year. It's really pretty when it's snowing, too. Ours is next to our back door. Getting out is better if you don't have a suit on to get cold faster. BTW, if anyone plans to drop by, call first so you don't surprise us out there. :D
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Diana,

When I read that you needed someone to clear trees from the ends of the runway I thought I'd better get to know you guys. I climb, trim, cut down trees for a living. Whatever you got there is childs play for me. It would be fun.

Now, knowing you are outdoor hot tubbers I know I have to visit.

Most people think you are crazy for going outside in your birthday suit in the winter. Our tub here in central Iowa is open to you anytime.

MM
 
Diana said:
We enjoy getting in our hot tub this time of year. It's really pretty when it's snowing, too. Ours is next to our back door. Getting out is better if you don't have a suit on to get cold faster. BTW, if anyone plans to drop by, call first so you don't surprise us out there. :D
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The steam was obscuring the view when I flew over. :hairraise:
 
wby0nder said:
When I read that you needed someone to clear trees from the ends of the runway I thought I'd better get to know you guys. I climb, trim, cut down trees for a living. Whatever you got there is childs play for me. It would be fun.
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Wow, that would be great! Since that last ice storm, I have been worrying about the limbs that were pulling down on our power lines near the house, and we talked about getting to them in the spring. I'd feel better if we could get them sooner.

Some of the trees at the approach end of one of the runways are near the railroad tracks. We kinda worry about dropping a tree on the tracks and not being able to clear it before a train comes by. :hairraise: Seems like those trees don't always fall where you point them.

wby0nder said:
Now, knowing you are outdoor hot tubbers I know I have to visit.

Most people think you are crazy for going outside in your birthday suit in the winter. Our tub here in central Iowa is open to you anytime.
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Thanks! :) We just might take you up on that someday.
 
JRitt said:
The steam was obscuring the view when I flew over. :hairraise:
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LOL! Consider yourself lucky then. :D One of our neighbors used to sneak up on us in his ultralight. He'd throttle back and glide down quietly behind the trees and then buzz us. We could always hear him laughing as he flew over. :D
 
Since that last ice storm, I have been worrying about the limbs that were pulling down on our power lines near the house,

What!? You still got limbs on your power lines? That's nuts. I'll get down there as soon as I can. Where are you exactly?

MM
 
Diana's Farm is northeast of Joplin, MO. Twin Oaks on the sectional. Get that flybaby flying and go down there!
 
wby0nder said:
What!? You still got limbs on your power lines? That's nuts. I'll get down there as soon as I can. Where are you exactly?
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Well, they are just kissing the lines now...they were pulling on them when they were covered with ice.

We're north of JLN about 25 miles. http://www.airnav.com/airport/08MO

I was hoping we could talk Henning into helping cut some stuff if he made it this way. We have a tractor with a loader that might work. Don't know about our chain saws. Seems like my sweetie usually pulls on them several times and mutters under his breath and pulls a bunch more times. I think there may be swear words uttered. And sometimes the chain saw gets lodged in the tree and we have to get another chain saw to free the first one.

Since I'm a nurse, I designated myself as the *safety person*, but one time I was wandering around while he was cutting trees at the end of the runway and slipped on a tree stump and screwed up my knee and he had to load me up in the back of the truck and eventually take me to the ER. We have lots of fun at the farm. Y'all come! :D
 
wby0nder said:
When I read that you needed someone to clear trees from the ends of the runway I thought I'd better get to know you guys. I climb, trim, cut down trees for a living. Whatever you got there is childs play for me. It would be fun.
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You can catch a glimpse of the trees that need to be cut down in one of my older videos where Tom filmed a landing as seen out the side of the window:

http://www.areeda.com/gallery/Diana

It's the video in the top left hand corner.
 
You guys are killing me. I'm out running heat tape on gear boxes, and you are talking about being naked in a hot tub. Grrrrrrr!

I'm so cold I'm actually contemplating starting myself on fire for a few minutes.

:p



James Dean
 
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