Winter Gremlins

[FredC]

There are plenty of newbs and veterans alike that get sabotaged by the winter gremlins. Especially those that only experience "cold" weather briefly.

Some examples:

Russ almost succumbing to the siren song of a warm garage:

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?270506-Yup-I-m-doin-it!

Our resident dumb blond letting his heater freeze:

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showth...ed-Little-Giant&highlight=waldo+heater+freeze

Mild freeze causing pump problems:

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?270452-clutch-problem&highlight=pump

Frozen "freeze proof" hose bib causes flood:

http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?260024-So-Who-s-Liable

and many others


What winter problems have you experienced and what techniques or equipment have you used to overcome them?

 

[Dolly Llama]

What winter problems have you experienced and what techniques or equipment have you used to overcome them?

many years ago blew a pump and HX'er.
$omething like that tend$ to make one take it a little more $erious from then on

had a space heater fail during the night a few years ago.
Looked in the water box to see ice almost thick enough to skate on
I knew from past experience to NOT start the pump.
I opened the rear doors and directed the 170K BTU torpedo heater into the van for an hour or two.
Thoroughly thawed, I started it and breathed a sigh of relief the only damage was to the PSI pressure gauge and one wand valve



..L.T.A.

 

[GCCLee]

Outstanding Topic Freddy : )

This year I popped an access hole in the floor of our rig. Keep those doors shut and it stays warm in there.

 

[rwcarpet]

Well, like I've said many times before, this is your livelyhood, your income, your main source of income. If you have to put out a few more bucks to keep you're TM from freezing, it will cost you a whole lot more if you have a total freeze-up. I realize that many here live in areas that command a high rent per SF for a decent garage/building to store your equipment. I'm fortunate to have a 3000 sf building with 12 x 12 door @ $400 a month. Just the cost of doing business. I am on a gas budget of $70 a month, year round, so no big gas bill surprizes in Jan/Feb. Of course I check it every morning. if the heaters (radiant/infered) would fail, the inside might get cold, but not enough to freeze overnite. Ask around at the local garages and oil change places if you need a few nights of storage. I'm sure you could work a deal with the owners to occasionally store your TM overnite.

 

[rwcarpet]

.......of course it's jammed full right now. Just enough room to back the van in.

 

[GCCLee]

A fat man would never make it in my world!

: )

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Nice space, Robert. Looks like you could clean some rugs there.

 

[Buck1955]

I found a house with a 30 x 40 pole building. Haven't rented space ever. Have 2 heaters for it a 220 volt electric wall unit and a propane wall unit that requires no electric so I should be covered (knock wood).

 

[Russ T.]

I have a standard two car garage with two full-size vans crammed in it ;-) at least they're toasty!


The Clean Machine

 

[GCCLee]

Ran my FW tank empty today!

Thanks fur post'n this thread jackholes : )

 

[Royal Man]

The inlet to my waste tank froze 95% shut today when my propane ran out. Had to full the clients bathtub 1/2 full of hot water and suck it out to thaw it out.

 

[Goomer]

I found a house with a 30 x 40 pole building. Haven't rented space ever. Have 2 heaters for it a 220 volt electric wall unit and a propane wall unit that requires no electric so I should be covered (knock wood).

Several smaller areas will be a lot easier to keep heated as opposed to one large area of that size.

Best to zone it out.

 

[rwcarpet]

Nice space, Robert. Looks like you could clean some rugs there.

Yea, Steve.....if I would get into rug cleaning, I would have plenty of pit space and hanging room.

 

[Lonny]

When the temps dropped from 30 to 5, my space heater I have in the van couldn't keep up. My PSI gauge died, everything else was ok, except my heart when I saw my van thermostat at 22 degrees!

 

[C&S]

yeah, I insulated my garage, but I still have a heater in my van. just getting it out of the wind helps a lot. next van I get I think ill insulate. some installs I see look pretty awesome.

 

[Shane T]

My primary van goes in my insulated garage. Only recently has it gotten down to the freezing point. A small electric heater keeps it nice and toasty(I doubt it cost much more than $1 a day. One of my apartment clients lets me park my back up unit in their basement parking garage. This might be an options for others as well even if is cost $50-100 a month it would be a bargin.

 

[Goldenboy]

Froze my Little Giant two nights ago. Im fooked.


GoldenBoy

 

[Blue Monarch]

seriously waldo? damnit i hate winters. phoenix was so easy!

 

[FredC]

Froze my Little Giant two nights ago. Im fooked.


GoldenBoy

Told you to buy a heater with that $40
http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?268166-Cobbs-Powermax-Gets-Me-A-40-Dollar-Tip

 

[Blue Monarch]

I'm pretty much used to winters here now. PITA, but manageable. Glad I started in a warm climate though.

 

[Goldenboy]

Had two space heaters and a fan in the box both set at 55 degrees. Had a thermostat inside the house was reading 60 degrees. Was 9 below zero without windchill. Everything else is fine. Heater is toast. Have to get a new coil. Using my van with the Boxer in it. I can keep that in my heated garage. Fook this box truck need to find a place to keep it inside. Also fook this van got no fooking room. You know what fook all this.

Golden Boy

 

[Blue Monarch]

Uhg.....that sucks Waldo. Tough biz. Many times I wonder why I keep doing it.

 

[FB7777]

On those extreme cold nights , it might be worth just letting the truck idle all night, more expensive than a couple space heaters... But far cheaper than the cost of frozen parts

 

[Blue Monarch]

Not a bad Idea, but I'm not sure my truck would keep the back warm enough. Not enough air movement. I put a ceramic heater and a stronger fan to make sure the heat is evenly distributed.

 

[Goldenboy]

The cab is seperate from box. Thought I had a perfect set up. Just too fooken cold.

Golden Boy

 

[Brian H]

We had a crew forget a cleaning wand at their last job 2 nights ago. The customer "did us a favor" and left it outside all night in case we came back for it. Time to replace the valve!!

 

[Shane T]

"Had a thermostat inside the house was reading 60 degrees." Was the thermo on the floor? Since the coil on the LG is always the first thing to freeze, I will direct the heater right at the LG.

 

[GCCLee]

Yea, its warming up : )
Time to load out and get ready fur some suckin action.

2nd gig today is in the Ghetto, gotta find a man named Smurf : )
This is bound to be far worse than it sounded. Glockaride : )

 

[Royal Man]

Froze my Little Giant two nights ago. Im fooked.


GoldenBoy

Freezing your LG two times is sure to bump you out of the top 25 list.

 

[C&S]

floor mat

I just bought a floor mat for the inside of my van, its about a half inch thick foam, with vehicle carpet glued to one side. im gonna have to remove my rubber mat and my hose reel to put it in, im just going to cut around the waste and water tanks, water tank has the rubber mat under it, but is to big of a pain to undo (im gonna look and make sure)
that should help me a lot in keeping the van warmer.

ill post pics as I might be doing this tonight. gotta see if my ass freezes off in this cold though.