Thanks to all the lovely comments on my last post. The sympathies and commiserations were most welcome.
It's still close to minus 48C out there and my lovely lil vehicle was most unhappy I wanted it to start this morning, despite being plugged in.
I ended up just driving my son and his father Friday to the meeting place where the team caught the bus and let them go. There was just no way we could all go and leave the vehicle in the parking lot for 6 hours and expect it to start at midnight when we got back. That did mean of course that I couldnt' snuggle in, in my jammies at home as I had to make the bitter cold venture back to meet the bus. We lost that game by 2 goals, in a small town rink with ZERO heat. My son's visor frosted over LOL
Yesterday's game was here in town. Few fans ventured out to watch us and I don't blame them one bit. Craziness. My toes were like ice cubes after that one. When we went to my mom's for supper after the game, I heated up the trusty oat bag and warmed them while I ate a lovely potroast, roasted veggies, homemade buns and a homemade Saskatoon berry pie. deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious.
I have to work a Bingo tonight for my son's hockey team so that means hoping to god the command start works so I can run out every hour or so and make sure it runs. No place to plug in there. Brrrr
My toss out question to y'all out there is...do you have plug ins at your work so you can plug in the vehicle??? If so, do you have to pay for them? or are they free?
I can remember a friend of mine having trouble one winter with her vehicle. She dutifully phoned the number listed on her CAA for help getting a boost.
She explained to the nice lady who answered that her car was dead as it was cold outside. She told the nice lady that it had indeed been plugged in. There was a long pause and my friend said the lady asked "Ma'am???????????????? do you have an ELECTRIC car that you plug it in????"
We heard our friend say "exactly where am I calling???" The reply was "South Carolina".
No wonder the nice lady had no clue about plugging cars in to keep the engine warm. We still laugh at that.
Have a super day everyone and keep warm!
Tuesday, Nice weekend!
1 day ago
11 comments:
I'm lucky enough to work somewhere that has heated underground parking so no plugs..and I've been pretty lucky, in the 8 years that I've had my car I've never had to plug it in, I'm so thankful our winters don't get as cold as yours! I don't envy you one bit!
Electric car hahahha that is funny! People from the south just don't get the cold!
My car has never been plugged in, my dad plugs his van in everynight. I'm not sure about the day though, I never thought about that, although it's used most of the time throughout the day. I've never seen someone plug in their car during the day at work. I carry cables with me, and I've given two people a boost in my time, always good to carry if not for yourself, for others.
sorry to hear about the lost game. there's always the next game though.
I'm also curious... what exactly is a Saskatoon Berry Pie? What's in it? What kinda berries?
Kim...ohhh lovely underground..lucky duck
Girl: we still laugh about it and it's like 10 years ago that happened.
Asian Pear: they are like blueberries. deeeelicious
I am just west of Toronto, so there's generally no need to plug our car in...but some coworkers who travel often have to do this. We don't know cold in the T-dot.
Sorry to hear about the game...
Girl makes sense: I have cables in my car too...haven't had to use them yet, but they are there when I do.
Asian Pear: Saskatoon Berries are absolutely delicious. I got to taste them for the first time when I made a trip out to Calgary last year. Best berry pie I have ever had. I wish we had them here in Ontario :(
I plug my truck in. We have plug-ins at work (free). I've only plugged in once this year and even then I wonder simply because the prongs on my plug in are kinda rusty from the exploding coolant of '08. I'm assuming it works, but might get the mechanic to take a look at it when I get my brakes done in the spring.
Umm... Not to sound like the "nice lady" but...
I live in Virginia (US, about 2 states north of S. Carolina) where the coldest time of winter average around 30F to 20F (-1C to -7C). I have heard stories about people up north who have to start their car and leave it running for a few minutes every few hours but I have never heard of "plugging in". Would you be so kind as to explain? I am very curious.
Hey Jin
We have block heaters on our motors here which keeps the coolant warm.You simply plug it in to a regular outlet. On days like this past weekend where it was close to minus 50 C with wind chill, if I had not plugged it in, the engine would have not turned over. period. lol
Even with it plugged in, I still start it in the morning and let it run for about 15 min before I get in and drive. I can tell on mornings when 'she's not warm enough as she protests by engine sound or less than smooth movement. (and this is a new vehicle). I also start it at work about 15 min before I leave.
One of our friends bought a vehicle from the southern US and those vehicles aren't made with said block heaters and cord as you have no need for them down here. She took it to the mechanic to have it installed.
If we are out and about where there is no plugging in, you will see lots of folks running out (or using their command start) to start their vehicle now and then just to be sure the engine will run. I was away with my son at a hockey tournie last winter and the weather was like this. Between each period you would see the smokers run outside for their cigarette and those with vehicles running out to be sure it warms up.
It was a great question and reminds me that for as many things North Americans share in common, there are many different experiences we have. Thanks for asking :-)
Here's a wiki link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_heater
Thanks for the explanation!
hahahaha - love the story!
so far, I haven't had any troubles w/ my car starting and we've dipped as low as -35 celcious (crossing my fingers).
I don't have anywhere to plug my car in :( paid for or not.
Post a Comment