Coldest December

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rlaggren
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Post by rlaggren »

I've read that the scalp is one of the places we gain or lose heat the fastest... I wore a silk balaclava when motorcycling around Chicago in the winter.

Rufus
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Post by Patrick46 »

some 20 odd years ago, I got to make several trips delivering semi trucks up to Homer Alaska. Drive up, fly home, do it again.
My first trip up the AL-CAN Highway was done in November...but the last trip was made in JANUARY!!!

At one time I stopped alongside the road to relieve myself. I was wearing my usual sweatpants and a sweatshirt over a T-shirt. Didn't seem too terribly bad outside. Climbed back inside the truck, turned on the radio... only to find out that it waz -50*!!!!!!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock: Then it dawned on me how easily that extreme cold could sneak up on me. (I paid ALOT more attention after that!!)
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Dennis The Bus Dweller
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Re: Cold ...

Post by Dennis The Bus Dweller »

GoodClue wrote:People, people ... One Word ... Woodstove!

I've been through some pretty extreme situations, is why I had a woodstove in my bus from the beginning ... and they're not that hard to install and use safely ... Sharkey's has some excellent info ...

I am hoping to get back on the road, and I do like the snowbirding idea, not doing as much snowshoeing and cross country like I used to ... cost is the factor to travel now, so a woodstove works fine ... and I have always slept in the buff ... maybe that's why I'm warm, even in my dreams :wink:

GoodClue
Im going to figure it out in the spring. Im not sure if I posted pic's of my ceiling but it's some kind of insulation board covered with naugahide so I have that to deal with. It look pretty nice so I don't want to muck it up. It mite be that I re-do the ceiling in just the front part of the bus, im not sure. What I am sure of is, it aint happing till da spring 8) it's 17 here this morning :wink:
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Dennis The Bus Dweller
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Post by Dennis The Bus Dweller »

rlaggren wrote:I've read that the scalp is one of the places we gain or lose heat the fastest... I wore a silk balaclava when motorcycling around Chicago in the winter.

Rufus
Moma always told to cover feet and head and Moma loves me so she wouldn't tell me no junk 8)
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Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

rlaggren wrote:I've read that the scalp is one of the places we gain or lose heat the fastest... I wore a silk balaclava when motorcycling around Chicago in the winter.

Rufus
I thought balaclava was a Greek pastry.
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Post by graydawg »

It is spelled baklava and it is a greek pastry and very good
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Post by Rudy »

Dawgman, Yes I know. I was just goofing. By the way, my grandma used to make Baklava. Yum Yum.
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Post by Rudy »

I finally got outside and wrapped 20 feet of "heat tape", a wire that connects to a 110 volt outlet and produces heat similar to an electric blanket, around my holding tank. I had checked the wire for operation before attaching.

When I first crawled under the bus, I did affirm that the holding tank was indeed frozen. There is no way to empty it at that point.

I was indeed lucky to have 20 feet of this wire. I criss crossed the wire under the tank and was able to make use of the metal framework, housing the tank, to run my wire in between.

I ended up with the last three feet wrapped around the elbow that houses the dump valve.

Furthermore, I insulated the bottom of the tank (where the heat wire is threaded) with 3/4 stiff styrofoam insulation.

I am expecting good results. I will give a report in a few days.
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Dennis The Bus Dweller
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Post by Dennis The Bus Dweller »

What brand heat tap did you and how much did it cost? Does it say how many wayys it uses?
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Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

Dennis, I do not know the brand of the heat tape, nor do I know the watts. Stanley gave me a bunch of them. The one I used was the longest. I will look at the rest of them tomorrow and try to find a watt output.

There is a section that has an automatic shutoff sensor.
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Post by dburt »

I know a surefire way to unfreeze a holding tank within a few seconds! :)

Just hold your face close to the outlet valve, and open it while looking into the pipe to see if you can see where it is frozen :D

I can verify that it will instantly unfreeze and empty the entire contents into your face and down your shirt. :oops:

Rudy, if all else fails, try my method! And be sure to have a good towel handy, and a bucket of water with some soap to wash yourself off with!
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Post by graydawg »

Rudy can you also make sure someone is standing by with a movie camera rolling so we can all enjoy it, because I don't believe that method would really work.

Another way to unfreeze it, drive to a warmer place in the winter, I think they call them snowbird's.

with the recent weather I may have to move to Mexico to keep warm it was in the mid 20's in La a few days ago.
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Post by Bob »

Just hold your face up tp the outlet valve...that is too funny!! I also have no doubts that it would work. :lol:
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Post by Rudy »

Ha Ha on my waste tank debacle. Those are some funny comments. Do you think that my rosey face would melt the turd pile?

I am stuck with another problem. That is to eradicate the many mousies that are in my bus. They have already ruined, or tainted, much of my food store. I have recently put everything in plastic containers that seem impervious to their little teeth.

So I put the attacked food supplies in a trash bag under the bus. My dogs got a hold of the bag and made a mess in the yard in order to get to the spoiled food. That sucks.

In the dark this morning I cleaned up the mess.

To date, I have killed 4 mice with the help of spring loaded mouse traps. The traps have a high rate of killing them dead. However, some of the larger mice don't get squished dead in the trap. Then I must extricate them from the trap and squish them dead with my foot.

The whole thing makes me sick.

But, why I am I bitchin'? There are way more important things to be concerned about.

I do have heat in my bus. I do have some work to pay my bills. I am blessed with a talent for music.

It really sucks to be alone and live alone. Often times, I don't speak to other humans for many days at a time.

Waah Waah Wahh! Sorry to be the complainer this morning.

Note worthy is that Buddy was giving me a strange look this morning. He was standing around and kept looking at me. I did not think much of it until he started peeing on the floor at the front of the bus.

Must have been all the beef broth that he stole from my garbage bag full of mouse tainted food destruction.

How's that for a miserable report?

Hoping to give some good news next.

Signed: A disgruntled Rudy
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Post by Rudy »

Dennis, Stanley gave me 4 heat strip wires. 3 medium length (15) feet and 2 long ones (20) feet. I used one of the long ones. It is 168 watts and 1.4 amps. Not so much of a current draw that I have to worry about tripping my 30 amp circuit breaker from the inside of the shop where I am plugged in to. Also, it was 40 degrees and raining this morning. I noticed that the automatic thermostat had shut the wire off. Good news. Perhaps it only goes on at around freezing temps.

Do you need any of the other three? Does anyone want some or one of these left over ones. Don't hesitate to ask me.
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