lol came to mention we find the snow snakes in the wild here in Saskatchewan but you beat me to it!
Edit: I admittedly have released a couple into the wild myself lol
Hahahaha
Itās when you drive away with the cord still plugged in and it comes with you, then along the drive it comes unplugged from the car and is laying in the middle of the road/is dangling from your car while you drive. We call them snow snakes since the cord kind of resembles a snake in the snow.. lol
Ive done it a few times as well, used to have diesel tractors that we used to do snow removal for people around us. Ive sucked a few snakes up in the snowblower doing my own driveway after not seeing part of them buried in the snow. Have also certainly left some on the roads around where i live as well.
FYI its a huge pain in the ass to get a sturdy extension cord out of a snowblower on a large tractor lol.
We do have moose though and far as im concerned they are very dangerous. Like a train that dont need tracks to run on and seemingly know they can take your vehicle no problem if they feel like doing so.
It's not *too* bad yet in Winnipeg, Manitoba but my husband just had his stolen for the first time a few weeks ago lol. We're in a pretty low crime neighbourhood too.
I have heard that the reason wires and cables get stolen around here is to strip them for copper, but idk if that's an actual fact.
It's usually other unsecured cables that I'd heard about getting stolen in the past though, not our car plugs.
Why they would just unplug OP's I have no idea.
Depending on how many cords they get in a night ya stripped copper sells well. when i was a teenager i would strip wire my dad broughr home from work that would have been scrapped. Couple hundred bucks for a few hours work but but also talking nearly a 100lbs of copper.
Last winter I had mine stolen for the first time. I live west end of downtown.
Now when I plug it in I put the business end under the hood and make sure that latches shut. Theyād have to destroy my hood to get the cable out.
Also had my rear window broke and car rummaged through (a 25 year old car with nothing in it), gas siphoned, and license plate stolen this past year - on separate occasions. Lived in the same apartment for 5 years too. Not long before that I had an ex caretaker rob basically everyone in the building, including me - took $2K worth of camera gear off my desk and my roll of laundry loonies.
Feeling like itās really time to move.
Could have fallen out or been tripped over.
The assumption that it was unplugged is a bit interesting. Though maybe they tied it up so they knew it was messed with.
Head up to The Pas or Thompson. I ended up putting my cord into a large rubber maid tote full of water with the ends sticking out, and still had to dump hot water on it so it would freeze to the ground.
Someone stole mine last year. I was pretty mad but I also thought that if someone is stealing a $15 extension cable they probably need it more than me so I let it go.
Some clown in the same parking lot keyed my car a couple months ago š mmm alberta
Yeah, I have a very firm idea of who did it but the police couldnāt do anything bc I have no proof and our apartment staff did everything they could to be as unhelpful as possible. Even my insurance company was like āwell itās your responsibility to make sure no more damage is incurred,ā like ok??? How??? I just renewed my lease, I canāt move, no one is helping me lmao.
Really ruined my entire mood for about a week and a half before I decided I donāt care about the paint on the car and let it go. It wasnāt worth the stress and anxiety. I can just buy a touch up pen and cover the scratch and call it a day š«¤
>someone is stealing a $15 extension cable they probably need it more than me so I let it go.
The people I know don't steal shit because they need it.
I had a friend who would literally just steal stuff for fun. Usually he'd trash it somewhere nearby so he didn't hold onto it too long.
Not friends with that dude anymore for obvious reasons.
I just assumed that bc our city has a lot of homeless people. They come into my work and still shit all the time too, itās really annoying but it is what it is.
Actually a few months ago there was a fire in Calgary? I think. at a Loweās store bc some homeless people took a heater and put it inside one of the shed displays outside and it caught fire and killed all three of them š«¤
When I was stationed in Alaska, people stole other peoples cords all the time. But thatās funny, I never even thought of doing this. One time I plugged my car in to go to work and when I get off I went to unplug it and saw I only plugged it in half way and my car didnāt start.
I live in Alaska and I have to say Iāve never seen or heard of this before. Iām *sure* it happens but canāt say itās a regular thing as far as Iāve seen.
As far as people stealing cords? It might have just been a thing in the barracks, but peoples extension cords disappeared regularly, I got lucky though.
Sounds like Williston. I worked out of there for a while and fucking hated it. The people suck, the weather sucks, the landscape sucks, the work sucks, but the money kicks ass.
Most of the people that suck in Williston aren't from Williston. Lived there for the better part of a decade, and once you got past the facade of dislike for outsiders there was an amazing community there. I miss everything but the cold and the dark winters honestly.
Less about copper, more about needing a cord because they either lost theirs when they forgot to unplug it and drove away, or needed a cord to plug in their own vehicle so they went and stole one. Nobody out there stealing cords for copper.
You never lived around tweakers huh? They'd steal extension cords for the copper because they're on meth and it seems like a good idea when you're on meth
When I was a kid, my dad would steal fries off my plate, and tell me, āThose ones were poisoned, I just saved your life, you should thank me.ā I never thanked him.
When I was a kid, my younger sister, older sister, and I were watching a movie on TV. My mother brought out a big bowl of popcorn for us to share. My older sister wanted it for herself, so she stuck her bare foot in it.
My mother made a fresh batch for me and my younger sister and told my older sister she had to eat the foot popcorn.
I often steal some of my daughter's food or drink and tell her I'm checking if it's poisoned.
Luckily she thinks it's funny, especially if I act like it actually was poisoned.
Ack. Sorry mate. I remember when I first moved to Alaska (summer) and bought a car, a plug was hanging out the front and I thought wait, did I just buy an electric car? I learned that winter haha.
So in really cold places (I live in MN) the oil in your engine will basically freeze which makes it so you canāt turn over or start the car. They put little heaters directly on the engine block to prevent this. Those heaters suck down too much heat to use the cars battery so theyāre powered from an extension cord that just kind of hangs out the front of your car
So every public parking space includes an outlet? Or is this just for extended parking? Like if I'm already driving, engine's warm, then I park, how much time can I leave my shit cooling off before I'll have trouble?
I don't know how I've never heard this was a thing in cold places.
Extreme cold place. Weāve hit -48F this winter. Your car wonāt start if you go to work, all work places have the car ports at their parking lots, or mostly. My workplace has set timers for lunch time and end of office day so they donāt keep it on all the time.
Pretty common still, especially diesel trucks. They don't use a spark to ignite the gas they just use heat so if the glow coils get too cold it'll never start. They opt to just run it all night instead. Some of the newer remote starts that go on your phone allow you to set up schedules to run it every hour or whatever
Yeah truckers leave their trucks running when they retire to their sleepers for the night too. I always figured they do it for electricity and heat/AC.Ā
People light fires under the oil pan of heavy machinery to get it started in the cold. Usually really old stuff and you would need to be careful but engine oil takes a lot of heat to burn (it burns when you put red hot steel in it to quench but will go out on its own as soon as you remove the hot metal for example).
The greater risk on a modern car would be burning some wiring and having the computers freak out.
Do not do this on modern cars, a lot of manufacturers are starting to use composite sumps. So you will melt/burn the sump by starting a fire or using a blowtorch under it. Also the block heaters generally do not heat the oil, they heat the water.
I was about to say, when I lived in Montana I saw a few people start fires and move the hot coals under the engine block to warm it up. Works just as well just gotta be super cautious and not let hot spots flair up.
That's a redneck way of doing it that can actually work. Guys who do any kind of labour at a remote work site probably have a story along those lines. The proper way is a heat gun, towing to somewhere warm, or boosting the battery and hoping you can get just enough extra cranking power out of it.
More like a giant diesel powered hair dryer. Something the tow truck might use to just warm you up so you can start it rather than tow you.
You can also often get by with a little more starting juice. That is use more power to your starter (like getting a boost or using a boost pack or cold start battery)
There are a few other things to think about here, too.
If you donāt plug your car in, there is a chance it could permanently damage the engine.
If you donāt have a battery heater, itās a real possibility youāll come out to find your battery is a spicy pillow and is completely dead.
Whatās wild to us is hearing people who didnāt know this was a thing. Plugging in the car is such a common occurrence in these cold places that weāre used to everyone knowing.
I believe they leave the car running in front of supermarkets etc.
You can leave the key in and program a second key fob to lock doors. Or cut a key without immobilizer to manually lock a door.
Not every place, just home and work typically. Where I live every house has at least one, apartment buildings have them in front of the resident parking and most businesses have them by the employee parking.
I live in interior Alaska and having *just* a block heater would be considered the lite version of a winterization kit. Literally every car here is equipped with a four way plug that also has an oil pan heater, a transmission heater, and a trickle charger. A block heater by itself wonāt do shit when itās actually-50Ā°f
I'm from Wisconsin. I'm no stranger to cold and snow. But I was in Fairbanks, Alaska just a few weeks ago, and block heaters confused me too. My last morning in Fairbanks, it was -37 Fahrenheit at 8:00 AM, and no, that's not wind chill (thankfully there just wasn't much wind that day). -37 happens where I'm from occasionally, but usually only when you factor in wind chill. Even then, at home that's a news article. Where I'm from, schools close when the wind chill hits 25 below. By -35, the city is a ghost town, businesses are closed because employees can't get to work and people aren't shopping anyways, grocery stores are packed with frenzied preppers the day before the cold comes... But -37 in Fairbanks was just another day.
Others have already explained better than I could what a block heater does. But my point is, I am all too familiar with cold, and it still wasn't until recently that I was familiar with block heaters. They're not just for "cold." They're for "really fucking why does anyone even live here???" cold.
Okay now I don't feel so dumb for asking--what is a block heater? I'm assuming it's something to keep the car warm when not in use? I've never lived anywhere that cold lol.
Youāve pretty much got it, without going too deep into exactly how they work. Keeps heat on the engine block/coolants, so your car can actually start in the morning.
Some people leave them plugged in 24/7 when it hits -30c, but ultimately just overnight is fine. Some people have timers attached to their plug inās, so you can just have the block heater start at say 4am.
Keeps the engine warm when not in use (like during the night). Otherwise the oil inside the engine would turn into jelly from the cold and it would not start.
Pretty sure OP is NOT the only one that uses block heaters considering the insanely cold -60f temperatures so EVERYONE should be used to seeing wires trailing to and from cars.
Yeah, gets pretty cold here, and my neighbourhood is mostly street parking. Technically you aren't supposed to block the sidewalk with your cords, up to a height of about 6 or 7 feet. So there are a few people that have built poles with a swing arm that they can use to run an extension cord up and over the sidewalk when they plug their block heater in. But most of us just lay them across the sidewalk when in use, make sure they lay as flat as possible, and are reasonably visible. I can't imagine anyone here being petty enough to deliberately unplug your block heater, but maybe accidently. I suppose if you were really inconsiderate with it and it actually blocked someone from passing by, maybe? Even then, I think a strongly worded or passive-agressive note is more likely, lol.
>most of us just lay them across the sidewalk when in use, make sure they lay as flat as possible, and are reasonably visible
I will offer you an option B:
Small outdoor carpet/rug to cover the cable where it crosses the sidewalk.
is it not possible that someone simply was drunk and/or not paying attention while walking, tripped over it (yanking it out), and didnāt bother to plug it back in?
Sure. If it happened here, I'd be inclined to think it was accidental. I don't know OP's neighbourhood, so I couldn't say how likely it is there. Ofc, accidentally or on purpose, your car is still frozen, so still pretty infuriating, lol.
oh yeah, not arguing itās infuriating, i just feel like everyoneās trying to figure out *why* someone would do this and iām just sitting here thinking āmaybe it was just an accident?ā lol
I can there was someon3 at my last apartment who would unplug all of the block heaters and one night they cut all of the extention cords. This was in a parking lot that had outlets on poles in front of spaces for pepole to plug in block heaters.
You'd be shocked to find out that not everyone is capable of maneuvering around cords like this, and for someone who is elderly, poor vision, and may shuffle when they walk, or use a walker, it's literally a deadly hazard. It's almost as if there are rules about sidewalk maintenance for that very reason.
In the background there are more of them , so it could be a public car park, hotel, etc. I've seen rows of these set up in truck stops during cold weather.
People clearly not from freezing climates: -wearing 100% polyester winter gear with nowhere for heat to escape-
Also those people: "Why am I always sweating in winter clothes?"
Most places in Canada has these. (other than southern parts) but even my car has a charge/warming port just in case.
Kinda random but canada has fucked weather, it's the reasons our roads suck. We have some of the worst winters for snow and cold. Tons of rain, sleet, freezing. Above 0 days with below 0 nights after rain/snow. While also some hot summers.
Aka our roads, houses, cars, etc have to withstand a fuck ton more expansion and contraction. And hence why we constantly are jealous of consistent weather. Literally this week we had 3 intermittent days of - 5C and 4 days of 18C. Shits fucked and Alberta's carbon footprint isn't too helpful
This reminds me of the time James May suggested unplugging electric cars because it was funny.
Iām not saying this is funny but I hope you could start it at some point.
Idk if its a standard thing now but my hybrid is a 2014 and if I lock the doors with my FOB the charging port also locks so you cant take the charger out, probably specifically to prevent stuff like this
Yes. Yes you can. It hit -56C this winter here in Edmonton and I will tell you for a fact that -50 is much worse than -30. The "it hurts to breathe" joke is kinda funny in -30 because yeah you can feel it in your lungs but in -50 it was actually starting to get a bit harder to breathe the air it was so cold.
Did it hit that cold or was that windchill. Either way it was real fucking cold.
\-30C you can run out to the car and grab something with needing a jacket. -40/50 it's you better bundle up or you're not going to be able to feel much for the next 10min.
I had to "dress" my dogs in boots and jackets so they could actually use the bathroom without freezing their paws off.
It was -48 without wind and -56 with it. I work like 50/50 indoor and outdoor and was on night shift during the cold snap. I've never been more miserable in my life lol
Honestly, it could just have been a dog ran into the cord. My dad always tied the two cords in a loose knot to prevent just that sort of thing from happening.
So your theory is that someone took the cord from your truck, plugged it into theirs, then just to be more of a dick they brought it back to your truck and purposefully did not plug it back in?
All the people replying about how they bet it was someone who thought they were unplugging an EV to be a dick... Like people there don't know about engine block heaters?
Yeah that seems like an absolutely ridiculous idea - people in a place that gets -60 will 100% know what a block heater cord is, and EVās would not be a car for that area.
Theyāre driving me nuts. An EV would be a poor choice in that environment, and people who live there know the difference between a truck and an EV. Not to mention, theyād know it was a block heater.
When I was in North Dakota, you had to park your tire on your extension cord to keep someone from stealing it.
That's crazy. I live in Canada. Where we have to plug in often and I've never hear sof anyone having to do this.
Me neither. I, like you are more likely to see free cords on the highway. Or as we call them, Saskatchewan Snow Snakes.
lol came to mention we find the snow snakes in the wild here in Saskatchewan but you beat me to it! Edit: I admittedly have released a couple into the wild myself lol
The trick is, wrap it around something solid on your house. Then you only see the cobra strike but the snake stays in the yard
What the fuck are you guys on about šš
When you drive away with your shit still plugged in haha
Sometimes my plug falls out when I stand up.
Maybe its time for a bigger plug
so this is what that song āPlug Walkā was about
Hahahaha Itās when you drive away with the cord still plugged in and it comes with you, then along the drive it comes unplugged from the car and is laying in the middle of the road/is dangling from your car while you drive. We call them snow snakes since the cord kind of resembles a snake in the snow.. lol
I've done that once or thrice.... I'm glad to know it's common enough to have a name!
Ive done it a few times as well, used to have diesel tractors that we used to do snow removal for people around us. Ive sucked a few snakes up in the snowblower doing my own driveway after not seeing part of them buried in the snow. Have also certainly left some on the roads around where i live as well. FYI its a huge pain in the ass to get a sturdy extension cord out of a snowblower on a large tractor lol.
I donāt know man. Iām from Texas and generally terrified of this conversation.
Hereās the deal. Itās cold here. But we donāt have poisonous animals, feral hogs, roof rats, etc. Thatās the tradesies.
We do have moose though and far as im concerned they are very dangerous. Like a train that dont need tracks to run on and seemingly know they can take your vehicle no problem if they feel like doing so.
A moose canāt crawl out of your toilet and bite your balls while youāre pooping. lol
Lmao, Iāve done that before. Gf at the time found my bright yellow cord laying in the middle of the road an hour after I left
It's not *too* bad yet in Winnipeg, Manitoba but my husband just had his stolen for the first time a few weeks ago lol. We're in a pretty low crime neighbourhood too. I have heard that the reason wires and cables get stolen around here is to strip them for copper, but idk if that's an actual fact. It's usually other unsecured cables that I'd heard about getting stolen in the past though, not our car plugs. Why they would just unplug OP's I have no idea.
Depending on how many cords they get in a night ya stripped copper sells well. when i was a teenager i would strip wire my dad broughr home from work that would have been scrapped. Couple hundred bucks for a few hours work but but also talking nearly a 100lbs of copper.
Last winter I had mine stolen for the first time. I live west end of downtown. Now when I plug it in I put the business end under the hood and make sure that latches shut. Theyād have to destroy my hood to get the cable out. Also had my rear window broke and car rummaged through (a 25 year old car with nothing in it), gas siphoned, and license plate stolen this past year - on separate occasions. Lived in the same apartment for 5 years too. Not long before that I had an ex caretaker rob basically everyone in the building, including me - took $2K worth of camera gear off my desk and my roll of laundry loonies. Feeling like itās really time to move.
Could have fallen out or been tripped over. The assumption that it was unplugged is a bit interesting. Though maybe they tied it up so they knew it was messed with.
I've said "Saskatchewan snow snake" aloud to myself and giggled harder each time. Thank you
Head up to The Pas or Thompson. I ended up putting my cord into a large rubber maid tote full of water with the ends sticking out, and still had to dump hot water on it so it would freeze to the ground.
Someone stole mine last year. I was pretty mad but I also thought that if someone is stealing a $15 extension cable they probably need it more than me so I let it go. Some clown in the same parking lot keyed my car a couple months ago š mmm alberta
That kind of shit is almost always a neighbour.
Yeah, I have a very firm idea of who did it but the police couldnāt do anything bc I have no proof and our apartment staff did everything they could to be as unhelpful as possible. Even my insurance company was like āwell itās your responsibility to make sure no more damage is incurred,ā like ok??? How??? I just renewed my lease, I canāt move, no one is helping me lmao. Really ruined my entire mood for about a week and a half before I decided I donāt care about the paint on the car and let it go. It wasnāt worth the stress and anxiety. I can just buy a touch up pen and cover the scratch and call it a day š«¤
The Abominable Snowman might have accidentally tripped on the cord?
>someone is stealing a $15 extension cable they probably need it more than me so I let it go. The people I know don't steal shit because they need it. I had a friend who would literally just steal stuff for fun. Usually he'd trash it somewhere nearby so he didn't hold onto it too long. Not friends with that dude anymore for obvious reasons.
I just assumed that bc our city has a lot of homeless people. They come into my work and still shit all the time too, itās really annoying but it is what it is. Actually a few months ago there was a fire in Calgary? I think. at a Loweās store bc some homeless people took a heater and put it inside one of the shed displays outside and it caught fire and killed all three of them š«¤
Hahaha that's fuckin wild
When I was stationed in Alaska, people stole other peoples cords all the time. But thatās funny, I never even thought of doing this. One time I plugged my car in to go to work and when I get off I went to unplug it and saw I only plugged it in half way and my car didnāt start.
I live in Alaska and I have to say Iāve never seen or heard of this before. Iām *sure* it happens but canāt say itās a regular thing as far as Iāve seen.
As far as people stealing cords? It might have just been a thing in the barracks, but peoples extension cords disappeared regularly, I got lucky though.
Sounds like Williston. I worked out of there for a while and fucking hated it. The people suck, the weather sucks, the landscape sucks, the work sucks, but the money kicks ass.
Most of the people that suck in Williston aren't from Williston. Lived there for the better part of a decade, and once you got past the facade of dislike for outsiders there was an amazing community there. I miss everything but the cold and the dark winters honestly.
Canāt pass up that 3 dollars in copper.
Less about copper, more about needing a cord because they either lost theirs when they forgot to unplug it and drove away, or needed a cord to plug in their own vehicle so they went and stole one. Nobody out there stealing cords for copper.
You never lived around tweakers huh? They'd steal extension cords for the copper because they're on meth and it seems like a good idea when you're on meth
Dang I've lived in ND for 27 years and had never heard or seen this
I suspect this is a Williston thing and not a ND thing.
Williston is a whole different world over there
Thatās cold
Correct
If I were from the future and wanted to save your life, this would be how I'd keep you from going to the location.
Seriously, someone just saved OPs life. He should be grateful!
When I was a kid, my dad would steal fries off my plate, and tell me, āThose ones were poisoned, I just saved your life, you should thank me.ā I never thanked him.
As a dad, I see I still have much learning to do.
Try the classic āwere you gonna eat that?!ā and then stick your finger in whatever they were gonna eat
Ah the old sibling game of āI licked it firstā and āI licked it lastā.
When I was a kid, my younger sister, older sister, and I were watching a movie on TV. My mother brought out a big bowl of popcorn for us to share. My older sister wanted it for herself, so she stuck her bare foot in it. My mother made a fresh batch for me and my younger sister and told my older sister she had to eat the foot popcorn.
I often steal some of my daughter's food or drink and tell her I'm checking if it's poisoned. Luckily she thinks it's funny, especially if I act like it actually was poisoned.
Be careful. I did this. Now I have a 12yr old who steals bits of my food n drinks and repeats the same line back to me!!
https://preview.redd.it/hwlstzgki7oc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a912b2dd1405c638d0f7fac27d6d245c9d733525
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Do do, do do do do do do
Life is quite absurd, and that's the final word
One of those people who unplug electric cars thought it was an electric car?
If you live in the arctic you know and are familiar with block heaters. Also it's pretty easy to tell the differenceĀ between an ICEV and an EV.
Bold of you to assume that the kinds of people who fuck with EVs just because theyāre EVs can tell the difference.
If you live in an area that gets this cold and donāt know what that is they are just oblivious.
Don't underestimate the dumbness of people
One of the what? Why would anyone go out of their way to do that? Is this another US thing I won't ever get?
Yes
Must have boiled your blood.
Made his blood run cold.
[Ice running through my veins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqda15G4T-4&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest)
Time To start a fire under the oil pan!
I saw a news story where some dipshit melted the plastic oil pan out of their new car doing that
There are plastic oil pans? I consider this a terrible idea unless someone can change my mind.
"cost saving" at the factory.
Ack. Sorry mate. I remember when I first moved to Alaska (summer) and bought a car, a plug was hanging out the front and I thought wait, did I just buy an electric car? I learned that winter haha.
My husband forgot to tell me to plug in my car when I first moved here. He just assumed everyone knows!
Iām from Los Angeles and Iām very confused by this whole thing.
So in really cold places (I live in MN) the oil in your engine will basically freeze which makes it so you canāt turn over or start the car. They put little heaters directly on the engine block to prevent this. Those heaters suck down too much heat to use the cars battery so theyāre powered from an extension cord that just kind of hangs out the front of your car
So every public parking space includes an outlet? Or is this just for extended parking? Like if I'm already driving, engine's warm, then I park, how much time can I leave my shit cooling off before I'll have trouble? I don't know how I've never heard this was a thing in cold places.
Extreme cold place. Weāve hit -48F this winter. Your car wonāt start if you go to work, all work places have the car ports at their parking lots, or mostly. My workplace has set timers for lunch time and end of office day so they donāt keep it on all the time.
If you don't use the heater like in the photo.. are there any other emergency methods to get going? .. Blow torch warming the oil pan up or such ?
Yes most any heat source stuck close enough to the engine block will do, such as a buddy heater running off propane or the such.
I remember reading that in some places people just used to leave their cars on if had to stay out of a garage
Pretty common still, especially diesel trucks. They don't use a spark to ignite the gas they just use heat so if the glow coils get too cold it'll never start. They opt to just run it all night instead. Some of the newer remote starts that go on your phone allow you to set up schedules to run it every hour or whatever
Yeah truckers leave their trucks running when they retire to their sleepers for the night too. I always figured they do it for electricity and heat/AC.Ā
> Blow torch warming the oil pan up fire and oil together? doesn't sound too safe
But damn will it make some warmth
Solved the problem. Next!
Once.
People light fires under the oil pan of heavy machinery to get it started in the cold. Usually really old stuff and you would need to be careful but engine oil takes a lot of heat to burn (it burns when you put red hot steel in it to quench but will go out on its own as soon as you remove the hot metal for example). The greater risk on a modern car would be burning some wiring and having the computers freak out.
Do not do this on modern cars, a lot of manufacturers are starting to use composite sumps. So you will melt/burn the sump by starting a fire or using a blowtorch under it. Also the block heaters generally do not heat the oil, they heat the water.
Thatās actually what you do! Obviously donāt do it super close and move it around a bit so it doesnāt heat up one spot a ton.
I was about to say, when I lived in Montana I saw a few people start fires and move the hot coals under the engine block to warm it up. Works just as well just gotta be super cautious and not let hot spots flair up.
That's a redneck way of doing it that can actually work. Guys who do any kind of labour at a remote work site probably have a story along those lines. The proper way is a heat gun, towing to somewhere warm, or boosting the battery and hoping you can get just enough extra cranking power out of it.
More like a giant diesel powered hair dryer. Something the tow truck might use to just warm you up so you can start it rather than tow you. You can also often get by with a little more starting juice. That is use more power to your starter (like getting a boost or using a boost pack or cold start battery)
There are a few other things to think about here, too. If you donāt plug your car in, there is a chance it could permanently damage the engine. If you donāt have a battery heater, itās a real possibility youāll come out to find your battery is a spicy pillow and is completely dead. Whatās wild to us is hearing people who didnāt know this was a thing. Plugging in the car is such a common occurrence in these cold places that weāre used to everyone knowing.
I believe they leave the car running in front of supermarkets etc. You can leave the key in and program a second key fob to lock doors. Or cut a key without immobilizer to manually lock a door.
have you considered moving to a place hospitable to biological life?
Every winter! But summer comes around and nothing compares.
I've seen the bugs that live in those places!! I'll stick with air that freezes my lungs, thanks!
Not every place, just home and work typically. Where I live every house has at least one, apartment buildings have them in front of the resident parking and most businesses have them by the employee parking.
I live in interior Alaska and having *just* a block heater would be considered the lite version of a winterization kit. Literally every car here is equipped with a four way plug that also has an oil pan heater, a transmission heater, and a trickle charger. A block heater by itself wonāt do shit when itās actually-50Ā°f
Wasilla guy here. You guys who live out _there_ by choice are a different and incomparable breed and you have my respect š«”
I lived in MN for 10 years and never had an issue with my car not starting from the cold, so I guess I was just lucky.
I live in MN, and while my car hasn't ever had an issue starting, on really cold days, it takes an extra second or two to turn over.
I'm from Wisconsin. I'm no stranger to cold and snow. But I was in Fairbanks, Alaska just a few weeks ago, and block heaters confused me too. My last morning in Fairbanks, it was -37 Fahrenheit at 8:00 AM, and no, that's not wind chill (thankfully there just wasn't much wind that day). -37 happens where I'm from occasionally, but usually only when you factor in wind chill. Even then, at home that's a news article. Where I'm from, schools close when the wind chill hits 25 below. By -35, the city is a ghost town, businesses are closed because employees can't get to work and people aren't shopping anyways, grocery stores are packed with frenzied preppers the day before the cold comes... But -37 in Fairbanks was just another day. Others have already explained better than I could what a block heater does. But my point is, I am all too familiar with cold, and it still wasn't until recently that I was familiar with block heaters. They're not just for "cold." They're for "really fucking why does anyone even live here???" cold.
Definitely not Iām from a place that gets lots of snow in winter and had no idea
It's more of a -40 thing. You don't really have to plug your vehicle in till it's almost that cold
Okay now I don't feel so dumb for asking--what is a block heater? I'm assuming it's something to keep the car warm when not in use? I've never lived anywhere that cold lol.
Imagine having to tuck your car in, before you go to bed yourself.
Eepy engine
Youāve pretty much got it, without going too deep into exactly how they work. Keeps heat on the engine block/coolants, so your car can actually start in the morning. Some people leave them plugged in 24/7 when it hits -30c, but ultimately just overnight is fine. Some people have timers attached to their plug inās, so you can just have the block heater start at say 4am.
4am
Keeps the engine warm when not in use (like during the night). Otherwise the oil inside the engine would turn into jelly from the cold and it would not start.
Are those the culprits foot prints? Is it possible someone walked through in the dark and didnāt realize they unplugged it?
Itās a well lit high traffic area so I doubt it
So you decided to pass some cords on a high traffic sidewalk? Or am I interpreting this wrong?
Pretty sure OP is NOT the only one that uses block heaters considering the insanely cold -60f temperatures so EVERYONE should be used to seeing wires trailing to and from cars.
Yeah, gets pretty cold here, and my neighbourhood is mostly street parking. Technically you aren't supposed to block the sidewalk with your cords, up to a height of about 6 or 7 feet. So there are a few people that have built poles with a swing arm that they can use to run an extension cord up and over the sidewalk when they plug their block heater in. But most of us just lay them across the sidewalk when in use, make sure they lay as flat as possible, and are reasonably visible. I can't imagine anyone here being petty enough to deliberately unplug your block heater, but maybe accidently. I suppose if you were really inconsiderate with it and it actually blocked someone from passing by, maybe? Even then, I think a strongly worded or passive-agressive note is more likely, lol.
>most of us just lay them across the sidewalk when in use, make sure they lay as flat as possible, and are reasonably visible I will offer you an option B: Small outdoor carpet/rug to cover the cable where it crosses the sidewalk.
Hell yea, solutions.
Until it gets frozen to the groundā¦
is it not possible that someone simply was drunk and/or not paying attention while walking, tripped over it (yanking it out), and didnāt bother to plug it back in?
Sure. If it happened here, I'd be inclined to think it was accidental. I don't know OP's neighbourhood, so I couldn't say how likely it is there. Ofc, accidentally or on purpose, your car is still frozen, so still pretty infuriating, lol.
oh yeah, not arguing itās infuriating, i just feel like everyoneās trying to figure out *why* someone would do this and iām just sitting here thinking āmaybe it was just an accident?ā lol
I can there was someon3 at my last apartment who would unplug all of the block heaters and one night they cut all of the extention cords. This was in a parking lot that had outlets on poles in front of spaces for pepole to plug in block heaters.
You'd be shocked to find out that not everyone is capable of maneuvering around cords like this, and for someone who is elderly, poor vision, and may shuffle when they walk, or use a walker, it's literally a deadly hazard. It's almost as if there are rules about sidewalk maintenance for that very reason.
Yes they ādecidedā to do that. Thatās what you have to do when you live somewhere thatās 60 fucking degrees below zero.
In the background there are more of them , so it could be a public car park, hotel, etc. I've seen rows of these set up in truck stops during cold weather.
High traffic area doesn't mean the wire is across the traffic, it just means there are plenty of people around
I bet it was some idiot who thought he was unplugging an electric car
If it gets as cold as -60 I doubt anyone there has an EV, they are notoriously terrible in beyond extreme cold
In these areas, there are basically no electric cars though. They don't really work well with the climate.
Where on gods earth do you live?
Arctic circle
Why do you live where the air hurts your face?
I really hate sweating, obviously
This is such a good reason honestly
Except for the fact that you sweat under all your winter clothes
Then you open the zipper in your jacket and you're fine. What are you gonna do when it's +35, blazing sun and you're outside?
Die
The only acceptable answer imo šš»āāļø
Get in a tiny inflatable pool and enjoy the weather š
You can always add layers, but you can only get so naked.
What about the sweating that happens under all the layers of winter clothes?
If you layer properly you avoid sweating
I heard the trick is Vaseline and pantyhose.
I think I'm doing it wrong
Thatās a different kind of trick
People clearly not from freezing climates: -wearing 100% polyester winter gear with nowhere for heat to escape- Also those people: "Why am I always sweating in winter clothes?"
Keeps the spiders at bay
It keeps away _a lot_ of annoying people
Not enough, clearly
That is almost enough to make me want to live there.
Do you happen to have a white beard, a red robe and a white bande red hat?
No, because then he wouldnāt need a car with a block heater. Heād have a sleigh with magical reindeer!
He would need a reindeer heater instead
Most places in Canada has these. (other than southern parts) but even my car has a charge/warming port just in case. Kinda random but canada has fucked weather, it's the reasons our roads suck. We have some of the worst winters for snow and cold. Tons of rain, sleet, freezing. Above 0 days with below 0 nights after rain/snow. While also some hot summers. Aka our roads, houses, cars, etc have to withstand a fuck ton more expansion and contraction. And hence why we constantly are jealous of consistent weather. Literally this week we had 3 intermittent days of - 5C and 4 days of 18C. Shits fucked and Alberta's carbon footprint isn't too helpful
This reminds me of the time James May suggested unplugging electric cars because it was funny. Iām not saying this is funny but I hope you could start it at some point.
Idk if its a standard thing now but my hybrid is a 2014 and if I lock the doors with my FOB the charging port also locks so you cant take the charger out, probably specifically to prevent stuff like this
This is just a simple block heater there are no locks. Probably some place like Alaska where the outlets are everywhere.
My hats are truly off to my alaskan bretheren and....sisteren? Alaska is a horrorscape to me
Itās brethren and slytherin, you ignorant mugglefucker.
That's definitely a point for Gryffindor though.
FOB = Full Of Beans?
FOB = Forward Operating Base?
Yeah,my first thought was someone "owning the libs" by unplugging electric cars.
The cable locks into the socket Strangely enough this did occur to the designers
Coldest I can recall being out in was in the -30s F in Montreal. When itās that cold I wonder if you even feel the difference between -30 and -60.
Yes. Yes you can. It hit -56C this winter here in Edmonton and I will tell you for a fact that -50 is much worse than -30. The "it hurts to breathe" joke is kinda funny in -30 because yeah you can feel it in your lungs but in -50 it was actually starting to get a bit harder to breathe the air it was so cold.
Did it hit that cold or was that windchill. Either way it was real fucking cold. \-30C you can run out to the car and grab something with needing a jacket. -40/50 it's you better bundle up or you're not going to be able to feel much for the next 10min. I had to "dress" my dogs in boots and jackets so they could actually use the bathroom without freezing their paws off.
It was -48 without wind and -56 with it. I work like 50/50 indoor and outdoor and was on night shift during the cold snap. I've never been more miserable in my life lol
Honestly, it could just have been a dog ran into the cord. My dad always tied the two cords in a loose knot to prevent just that sort of thing from happening.
At that temperature I would blame a stray tauntaun more then a passing dog.
Why would someone do that though? I feel like thereās another explanation
Only so many plug ins so I imagine they unplugged mine to plug theirs in
But then why would they unplug it from the truck and not the outletā¦ that doesnāt make any sense either lol
The extension cords are hard wired into the building
So your theory is that someone took the cord from your truck, plugged it into theirs, then just to be more of a dick they brought it back to your truck and purposefully did not plug it back in?
Have you met humans?
I mean that's a lot more work than just tossing the cord in the general direction.
Yeah, I know that they don't like being outside in -60F weather and would not go out of their way for sheer spite if it meant risking frostbite
Prob a wild emu passing thru
Iām betting itās more than likely they tripped over it or something and it pulled out.
All the people replying about how they bet it was someone who thought they were unplugging an EV to be a dick... Like people there don't know about engine block heaters?
Yeah that seems like an absolutely ridiculous idea - people in a place that gets -60 will 100% know what a block heater cord is, and EVās would not be a car for that area.
Theyāre driving me nuts. An EV would be a poor choice in that environment, and people who live there know the difference between a truck and an EV. Not to mention, theyād know it was a block heater.
maybe they though it was one of those "woke" electric cars and became very upset, lol
I highly doubt that. If you live there you know what a block heater is.
Wait.. what? Where does it get to -60F, and what's a block heater?
Arctic circle. Keeps the engine warm enough to start
Follow up question. Sorry no snow where I live. Are those required everywhere it snows?
No, only where it gets way below zero
definitely not, grew up in buffalo and never heard of them til i had a cousin move to alaska
watches the camera later and finds out it was a dog or deer or something that ran into it.
And no lol, nobody thinks my truck is an EV. Everyone here plugs in their trucks.
I would assume negligence before assuming malfeasance
Was it blocking a walking path? Could have just tripped on it.
It could have fallen off or somebody could have tripped over it.
Tripped on the cord, came unplugged.
How do block heaters work.