Brutal Weather in Upper Midwest and Great Plains

[Tigerhaze]

Based on some conversations I have had with co-workers in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains, the weather is pretty brutal right now. Here in KC we are getting some pretty cold weather and wind, but not the snow and blizzard conditions they are seeing further north, especially in ND.

I would guess you guys north of the border probably react to our grousing like this:

Lavoy, I was curious what the weather conditions are like in your area- sounds like maybe a good time to be holed up in your shop with a disassembled crawler!

[Lavoy]

-24 last night, supposed to get up to single digits below for a high today. Highs in the teens below here for next couple days, low Thursday supposed to be more than 30 below. They say we have snow coming at least twice the rest of the week, kind of doubt it will amount to much, but they have been really off this year. We missed the most of the last couple, only a few inches. NW part of the state got a foot to 16" in the last one alone, but they have been a little warmer than here.
The shop is 60 degress, dog is still waiting for me to get out there today so he can warm up. Got some more goodies for the 1010 yesterday, so need to install them today. Injectors should be here Thursday hopefully, so we'll see how it pushes snow at 30 below or so!
Lavoy

[mailtrain]

You could have shut the door,and not shared the cold with us.

To late now-10 below tomorrow night and -20 after that.

Lavoy do you know where a rear wheel for a JD m can be found I think

it is a 47 not sure. Thanks

Mailtrain

[cdndozer]

It was -48 with the windchill according to the tv at 11pm last night.The wind died down a bit and it was -45 at midnight.Right now it is -32 no windchill though,just damn cold.

[Lavoy]

Mailtrain,
M rims are hard to find in good shape. If your center is good, I can get new rims, you just weld your old center into them.
Lavoy

[Pat]

Hey Lavoy. Weather channel shows you as one of the coldest areas in US. Wind chill -47. Hope you put on your long sleeves! Pat

[Lavoy]

I haven't heard the official temp yet, but hearing guys around the area talking -35. We were -24 about 8:00 last night, back up to that now. Grand Forks broke their record two nights ago, -38, we were only -28 the same night, so not sure what they had last night if we went below 30. International Falls, MN usually is 10 degrees or better colder than we are on these cold snaps, so must have been chilly up there.
Lavoy

[BROKE AGAIN]

up in northern mn. about an hour south of i falls
nightly lows as follows
tues -45
weds -38
thurs -32
this morning -40
just straight cold no wind.
should weed out any iffy batteries.

[Tigerhaze]

should weed out any iffy batteries.

...or iffy coolant. I learned the hard way yesterday that my coolant was a little diluted. You typically don't hear about engines overheating in winter but mine did yesterday. The sub-zero temps overnight cause some ice to form in the radiator and then caused the engine to overheat after I drove it on the highway. No permanent damage, but made a small mess from the overflow on the parking lot at my work

[Lavoy]

We had the same thing happen on an 82-40 Terex dozer years ago. Got it home from the shop, and the idiots had not put enough anti-freeze in it. Started it up, and went to redline in a short while. We shut it down, and looked in the radiator, nothing but slush. Was not frozen hard enough to break anything, but sure was close.
Lavoy

[Pat]

Hey Lavoy. Based on what I just saw on the weather channel, I think you need to talk to Al Gore about this global warming!!!!! Pat

[Lavoy]

Every time I hear a global warming story, I go and buy a can of freon and punch a hole in it.
Lavoy

[snoopy]

When i was in Korea in the middle 60's, we had trouble in extreme cold weather with the diesel fuel in our multifuel trucks turning to slush. Had to mix some mogas with the diesel in order to get them to run. Not sure of the grade of fuel we had then, but it sure turned to slush!.

[brettjones]

I read a story in the last week about a mandated 10% bio-diesel / diesel mix for a bunch of school buses. It was in Minnesota or Wisconsin if I remember. The attempt to be "Green" left them with a fleet of vehicles full of gelling fuel. The buses either wouldn't start or would fail mid route. It seems the bio-diesel doesn't like temps below 10 degrees.

[digitup2]

Bio diesel should be considered a summer fuel .We use a 4 to 1 mix of #1 diesel and canola oil in 2 of our older Ford trucks with the 7.3 power strokes and are getting 28 miles per gallon to boot .When it get's cooler we go to straight winter diesel fuel or they don't start .Both are at the point that you have to double preheat at =5 Celsius and beyond .We have one GM with a Duramax and it starts better in the cold but will not take the fuel and canola oil mix and run nice at all even in the summer my GM's finicky about what it drinks !! .I don't think dozers and backhoes should be run on the mix as the straight fuel is more constant power and apparently higher BTU's .My daily run dozers are new enough that I don't bother experimenting with fuel in them .Digitup.