[T3] BBbbrrrrrr!

[Dennis Stiefel]

It was -14 F outside just before noon today, and it's probably colder now.
This is the coldest weather we've had here in more than 20 years. My '73
square doesn't get run much in the winters, so I put a charger on it a few
days ago to keep the battery charged up. Did you know that the electrolyte
in a discharged battery will freeze at a much higher temp than if it's
charged? If I let it run down, and it freezes, that's really hard on the
battery. Sometimes it ruins them.

Well, I figured this would be a good test. The battery should be fully
charged and the FI should work as well as ever. Still, there was no joy. The
15W-40 that was in the engine was just too thick at this temp. Even with a
fully charged battery, the starter could turn the engine over only very
slowly, not enough to have any chance of starting.

While a few of you live in places that are even colder than here, I realize
that most of you have no idea what this is like, when the snow gets crunchy,
and the inside of your nose tickles as you breath in and stuff inside there
freezes. It's really not bad as long as you're dressed for it, and as long
as the wind isn't too strong. 
Unfortunately, there's a wind now that drives the wind chill to well below
-14 F. It's hard to dress well enough to be out in that for long.

The charger is still attached. I'll try again in a few days, if the temps
here get above zero.

In the meantime, we're staying indoors as much as possible.

Happy New Year, everyone!   ;-)

--
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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We are almost that cold here in north Alabama.  We were around 15 above most
of the day with wind chills around 0. Tonight we are supposed to get close
to 0 with wind chills around -10. We just don't see weather much like that
here.  Since all the black ice is gone from this morning I am going to try
to drive Clementine to work in the morning.  Hopefully with a fresh engine
and battery she won't give much issue starting.

Dennis Stiefel
72 Fastback FI MT
Rainsville, AL