I have to get outside today and put the back blade on the tractor for any bigger snow. Also have to get the old wheel horse out of the pole barn for the snowblower. That works well as long as you don't overload it. 

 Need to get some weight in the truck bed as well. It's hard to weigh down a 1 ton dually for winter driving. I have several RR ties, I'm going to put 1 layer of them between the wheel wells to see how many fit.im thinking 4-5, they're 8 footers so they weigh in around 150lbs or so a piece. That'll be 600-750lbs, hopefully that will be enough. If not, I'll dump snow on top if them. Lol

 Another thing on the list will be to bring out my heavy extension cord for the block heater. I generally don't need it but it's nice in the morning to fire up the truck and have a little heat right away. Plus it keeps the grid heaters from pounding the alternator and batteries so much.

 

We don’t see cold like this very often in Tennessee, here are my anecdotal observations so far. 1.) I’m going to switch to synthetic PS fluid. My pump and fluid are 6 months old, but had a hard time this morning. I added a bottle of LubeGard, we’ll see tomorrow morning how it does. 2.) I can’t get my trans temp over 100* 3.) Sta-Bil works! I realized this morning the 100% gasoline in my generator is 4 1/2 years old. I treated it with Sta-Bil 4 1/2 years ago. Sucker fired right up and ran like a sewing machine for 30 mins before I cut it off. 

 Glad your genny fired up for you @Andyba20. Luckily I haven't had to fire mine yet. The snow has stopped but the wind is still a big issue. That to is supposed to slow down some by tomorrow. 

 As present the temp is -1 and wind chills are around -25 to -30. 

Luckily I haven’t had to use mine yet. The TVA sent a message out that they’d be doing rolling blackouts (first time I’ve ever seen them do this), but it looks like they cancelled that move a few hours later. It got down to 3* here this morning. We hit single digits about once a year, but what’s unique about this cold front is those single digit temps are happening 3-4 days in a row. We’re not used to that kinda cold here. 

I'm also glad you made it back home Nick.

 

Driving conditions here are treacherous with a coating of frozen rain consistently covering everything. Hard to avoid falling going for firewood. No one is driving for the most part, very quiet off in the distance about 1.5 miles away is what we hear usually but, now there is not a sound.

 

I hope Michael Nelson is hold up in a hotel safe and sound as he heads toward Seattle.

 

At 5 this morning the temps have gone from 22* f to 32* in 12 hours, is starting to thaw thankfully. Our first time using Oak firewood sure is amazing as our home is staying a nice even temperature with the ability to turn down the burn rate and no creosote build up. Each load is only one or two small logs going for at least 6-8 hours. It is wonderful firewood. I'm very thankful for this lucky find.

 

Merry Christmas everyone

 

Quick question: I’ve had this issue once before last year and chalked it up to a fluke, but it’s happened the past 2 days. On cold start in sub 5* temps the starter free spins, it stops, then I try again and it engages and fires right up. Starter is strong, batteries are new and charged and good (tested). The first day of extreme cold (by Tennessee standards) I had plugged the block heater in and the starter worked as usual. Any ideas how to resolve this? Only happens after sitting in single digit temps over night with no block heater. 

It sounds like the solenoid/Bendix in the starter motor sticks when very cold.

  On 12/26/2022 at 8:41 PM, IBMobile said:

It sounds like the solenoid/Bendix in the starter motor sticks when very cold.

Is the bendix something I can grease? 

  On 12/26/2022 at 8:46 PM, Andyba20 said:

s the bendix something I can grease?

 

Not really.  Part of the "Bendix" incorporates a one-way clutch right next the to the drive gear teeth.  It is likely the teeth of the starter drive gear engage the flywheel, but due to the extreme cold, the clutch slips resulting in no movement of the flywheel and lots of movement of the starter motor.  The resulting friction quickly warms the slipping clutch, which then allows it to work properly the next time you engage the starter switch.

 

You can rebuild some parts of the starter or have a shop rebuild the starter.  Just don't replace the starter with another brand if it is still the OEM starter (a Denso).  They are quality starters.

 

- John

 

Sad just a few days ago my power went out in the house and the heater heads where still fired up. Go down to find the Inverter shut down to a over current condition. Tried resting the inverter and trips instantly. I transfer back to city power and everything was working again. Few day later I found my issue is my step up transformer to create the 220V from the 110V inverter had burned up and shorted out. Now I'm hunting for a auto transformer to handle 30A to 35A service. 

 

As for my weather it warmed up the last few days and rained and rained. I've gotten over 3.00 inches of rain in the last 48 hours. Ugh... Please just go back to snow again I hate being soaked and laying in the mud.