Car question for you that are used to exreme cold

[shrevecity]

Here in East Texas exreme cold is a rarity but next Monday and Tuesday is about to break records. I was testing our vehicles today. Wifes car checks out a about -25 mine on the other hand was testing at 20 degrees so I drained the system refilled it with 50/50 mix then when full retested and it was still showing the same have tried 2 different testers with same results.

Is there something I am missing or need to do. Not something we are used to having to worry about here and everyone I know locally is perplexed by this.

[mainerunr]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Here in East Texas exreme cold is a rarity but next Monday and Tuesday is about to break records. I was testing our vehicles today. Wifes car checks out a about -25 mine on the other hand was testing at 20 degrees so I drained the system refilled it with 50/50 mix then when full retested and it was still showing the same have tried 2 different testers with same results.

Is there something I am missing or need to do. Not something we are used to having to worry about here and everyone I know locally is perplexed by this.

I probably would have filled it with whatever the factory uses. My truck has seen -18F and was fine (was only -3F this morning). Heck, the Nissan Frontier I used to have saw -35F and was fine.


Exactly how cold is it supposed to get there? I'm assuming you park outside? What was the rating on the stuff you used? A 50/50 mix can be good down to -50F but who knows, maybe they sell something that isn't rated for low temps down south? Maybe your tester is faulty?

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by mainerunr

I probably would have filled it with whatever the factory uses. My truck has seen -18F and was fine (was only -3F this morning). Heck, the Nissan Frontier I used to have saw -35F and was fine.


Exactly how cold is it supposed to get there? I'm assuming you park outside? What was the rating on the stuff you used? A 50/50 mix can be good down to -50F but who knows, maybe they sell something that isn't rated for low temps down south? Maybe your tester is faulty?

I have tried 2 different testers and both read the same. We are looking at -2 for the low Monday night with a high Monday in the upper teens. OUr averages this time of year are upper 30s to mid 50s.. Also projecting 21" of ice and snow from Sunday to Thursday that is going to just shut us totally down. We are already preparing for several days with no power just in case. The antifreeze is rated for around -20 at 50/50

[deansayso]

If you're worried can't you just use a straight antifreeze?

[mainerunr]

Originally Posted by deansayso

If you're worried can't you just use a straight antifreeze?

So ethylene glycol is an odd fluid. Its pure freezing point is around 10F, when mixed with water, it drops until 60% glycol/40% water then it starts rising again.

OP, any chance you bought 50/50 mix then mixed it with 50% water (would result in a 25% glycol/75% water solution) which would have a freezing point of about 20F

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/e...col-d_146.html

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by mainerunr

So ethylene glycol is an odd fluid. Its pure freezing point is around 10F, when mixed with water, it drops until 60% glycol/40% water then it starts rising again.

OP, any chance you bought 50/50 mix then mixed it with 50% water (would result in a 25% glycol/75% water solution) which would have a freezing point of about 20F

https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/e...col-d_146.html

Nope it was concentrate.

Still baffling me this morning.

I can do without it for a few days may just drain it then refill when this mess is done.

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by deansayso

If you're worried can't you just use a straight antifreeze?

With wind chill a few years ago it was -45 one day, “Michigan”. Pretty much the same answer, a little water and mainly Antifreeze.

[33GHill]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Here in East Texas exreme cold is a rarity but next Monday and Tuesday is about to break records. I was testing our vehicles today. Wifes car checks out a about -25 mine on the other hand was testing at 20 degrees so I drained the system refilled it with 50/50 mix then when full retested and it was still showing the same have tried 2 different testers with same results.

Is there something I am missing or need to do. Not something we are used to having to worry about here and everyone I know locally is perplexed by this.

So you drained the radiator and just refilled it up or did you bleed the system? You probably have air in the system.

-Basic method is to drain out radiator
-Refill radiator or use one of these awesome things https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24680-S.../dp/B00A6AS6LY
-start car, set heater on high but fan off
-wait for cooling fan to come on at least twice
-when coolant level starts to drop as it starts filling the lines you add more
-squeeze upper radiator hose to burp more air out
-there will be a point where the level will no longer drop at that point shut off the car and put the radiator cap back on.
-make sure your coolant overflow is about 3/4 full to the high line

Make sure you use a 50/50 mixture. Don't use straight antifreeze as that will make it even tougher for your car to get up to operating temperatures.


Plenty of videos on youtube will show you the proper way.

[oldgoldy97]

It’s been -18 to -5 each morning the last week. I just start the car, no issue. Are southern cars put together differently?

[mmbtvs]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

It’s been -18 to -5 each morning the last week. I just start the car, no issue. Are southern cars put together differently?

Me too. No issues.

[oldgoldy97]

Lol! It’s like 30 degrees! How will you survive?

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

Lol! It’s like 30 degrees! How will you survive?

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

We laugh at your fear. Hahahaha!

Also, hell is hot, not cold.

[mainerunr]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

Rule of thumb around here is take half of what they are predicting and you will be right more often than the weatherman is...

That said, I'd rather deal with snowstorms than hurricanes and tornados, snowstorms do a lot less damage.

I've never seen anyone run chains because of snow here. Somehow we all get where we're going. The shelves still get emptied before storms but I've never seen a storm that shut us in for even a day.

And based on your testing results, I still think you've got a 25% antifreeze/75% water mixture...just too much of a coincidence that your test results come up with the exact result that they should for that mixture.

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

We laugh at your fear. Hahahaha!

Also, hell is hot, not cold.

Disagree. Hell is frozen

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by mainerunr

Rule of thumb around here is take half of what they are predicting and you will be right more often than the weatherman is...

That said, I'd rather deal with snowstorms than hurricanes and tornados, snowstorms do a lot less damage.

I've never seen anyone run chains because of snow here. Somehow we all get where we're going. The shelves still get emptied before storms but I've never seen a storm that shut us in for even a day.

And based on your testing results, I still think you've got a 25% antifreeze/75% water mixture...just too much of a coincidence that your test results come up with the exact result that they should for that mixture.



Disagree. Hell is frozen

I am thinking that was close to my issue. I added more water to it and now am showing a reading of between 0 and -5 after running it about 30 miles. so i think i am good now

For us seems to be opposite in January we had a day where they were telling us a dusting of snow at the most.
We had 3 to 7 inches. It was gone next day because ground was still over 40 degrees.. .

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

We laugh at your fear. Hahahaha!

Also, hell is hot, not cold.

I have to agree with Oldmoldy on this one.

[irv]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

Have you taken the vehicle for a drive to ensure proper mixing/circulation?
Anti-freeze testers can be finicky and some require a light tap with your finger on it to get the needle to settle out.
Are you using factory anit-freeze or Prestone? If you are real worried about it, take your vehicle to the dealership and have them check it out.

Like what was said above, ensure you are doing it properly and ensure it is full including your overflow/reserve to the proper level cold or hot mark.

Straight anti-freeze will turn to gel. It needs water, the proper ratio, to work properly. (To the other member)

[Branesergen]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

Ok now you got me freaking out. I know we're relatively close but I hadn't heard of 24" of snow coming! Now I'm freaking out about the electricity lol Figured the Dallas area got enough winter mix that I would be fine.

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Right now it is.
Not next week it wont be 30 degrees is cold here. We have not seen cold like we are about to have since 1983. Our high monday is expected to be 17 degrees. We are expecting 24 inches of snow now. We dont have equipment for this like snow plows as stuff i am 47 and have never seen snowfall like we are expecting.

We had .5 inches of ice about 20 years ago that put many people in the area without power for 3 weeks. My parents were without power 17 days during that. We are ecpecting that tonight then the snow will start.

Never fails when temps hit the teens here everything shuts down. When you are used to habing winters where it sometimes never drops below 25 degrees at night its a little different than living in that hell known as MN. I would rather have to deal with 100 degree temps and hurricanes and tornados

You should see local store shelves. Most people are prepping for 5 to 7 days with no electricity.

If the weather, is what you said it is, is crappy and icey you've got a slight chance to lose power. Never lost power in 25 years due to a snow storm (upstate NY), but I know that others have. I'd be more concerned about the road conditions. If you don't have plows, and I'm sure your town doesn't, you're straight SOL when the snow starts coming down.

Good luck navigating the unplowed streets of Texas.

[Saraste]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

If the weather, is what you said it is, is crappy and icey you've got a slight chance to lose power. Never lost power in 25 years due to a snow storm (upstate NY), but I know that others have. I'd be more concerned about the road conditions. If you don't have plows, and I'm sure your town doesn't, you're straight SOL when the snow starts coming down.

Good luck navigating the unplowed streets of Texas.

And it will be even worse if there is a layer of ice underneath the snow.

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by Saraste

And it will be even worse if there is a layer of ice underneath the snow.

The scariest time of my life was when I hit a batch of black ice. It had rained the day before and then over night it froze and snowed a little thus the roads were slick. I was driving down a slight hill (decent traffic both sides on a one way road to work at 8:00am) and my car legit continued straight when I started to turn left (bend in road).
I had to veer the opposite way, back and fourth multiple times while taking up both lanes of traffic. I was doing 40mph on a downslope, fully concentraed on driving, and somehow I was helpless. Most terrifying thing I ever had happen to me just because I had no control and wasn't driving fast/out of control. Ended up in the middle of the road, car still running and front end pointed opposite direction I was heading.

[sonnyday]

gif upload



gif upload

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by sonnyday

gif upload



gif upload

That is the truth. The infrastructure is not built to handle ice or much snow. Nobodt has chains there are no plows or anything. Our power grid can handle 60mph winds but not an inch of ice.

If yall think i am scared you should see some of these people out here. Saw one guy filling up 20 5 gallon gas cans. Store shelves are bare.

[glen87]

since when is -2 "exreme" (per title) cold?????

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by glen87

since when is -2 "exreme" (per title) cold?????

For us it is. Our record low for february is 22 degrees. We are going to have 4 days where that will be our high. So yes for us its extreme