# Things that don't work at 30 below **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024 "2013-12-23T17:44:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/61 "2014-01-08T23:40:43Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > No experience with 30 below, but at 15 below the seats in an early 90’s Chevy truck lose their cushiony properties. Appropriate to your post and your name, the plasticy bench seats in a '72 Waggoneer not only lose their cushiony properties, they transform into a substance of Granite like hardness and thermal conduction. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/62 "2014-01-09T00:23:55Z")
> [@the\_Lady](#): > > Yeah, that’s my car. It doesn’t get warm. Not fun. I had a car doing that once - it was a simple thermostat fix to get it to blow warm air again. ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/63 "2014-01-09T00:49:38Z")
My van… ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/64 "2014-01-09T03:45:35Z")
20w-50 in a '78 Chevette doesn’t work at -15 F. When I removed the dipstick, it pulled out a long string of oil, much as mozzarella streaming from a hot piece of pizza. I had to go buy a dipstick heater before I could start the car to drive it to where I could change to a thinner oil. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/65 "2014-01-09T07:22:09Z")
> [@Snowcarpet](#): > > My old car was toast at -26. It rarely gets that cold here, during that record-cold winter, my car was total hit-or-miss in the game of “will it start”? Plugging in a light bulb and sticking it under the hood was only partially effective, as well as was liberal application of starter fluid spray. We also lost trees to the freeze that are normally very hardy (lilacs, azaleas.) Take a guess at what happens to a car with a plastic intake manifold full of starting fluid and a sticking intake valve. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/66 "2014-01-09T07:24:52Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > I know what shouldn’t work at -0°F temps. Car washes. Really? It’s -15°F. No, I don’t want a car wash with my tank full of gas. And it took 15 seconds for that message to flash by on the gas pump. Makes you want to press the “NO” button with an 8 lb sledge hammer. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/67 "2014-01-09T08:56:27Z")
I’ve had enough trouble with my power windows. Darn things don’t work when ice forms in the workings, as it so often does in winter months. I’d like to speak with a GM engineer (I drive a Chevy) on this matter. I’d also like to know why it is so darn difficult to buckle and release the seat belt when one is wearing a parka and ski gloves. Honestly, I think they made these machines for those who live in Florida. I end up taking off my gloves (in -30C weather) just to put on and release the #%#% seat belt. I love my Chevy, but there are a few things that indicate to me that Chevy engineers are all from Florida or Alabama. Places that never get _really_ cold. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/68 "2014-01-09T08:56:49Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Take a guess at what happens to a car with a plastic intake manifold full of starting fluid and a sticking intake valve. My guess would be… _ **Nothing** _, good! :eek: Sorry for your troubles, any kind of mechanic work in those kind of temps is a total PITA! ☹ Now, you _know_ you’ve just _ **got** _ to post pictures, don’t you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/69 "2014-01-09T16:51:45Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Years ago I was in Fargo (the city, not the movie) when it was around -20F. We went into the garage (still air) Yeah, at -20F it would indeed still be air, even in an unheated garage. You have to get a bit colder than that before the atmosphere freezes. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/70 "2014-01-09T17:29:09Z")
Me! Besides that, my stooped windshield wipers. The dolts who built the car didn’t realize that putting them in a recessed groove was a sure way to have them freeze in with ice and snow. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/71 "2014-01-09T17:35:36Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Me! > > Besides that, my stooped windshield wipers. The dolts who built the car didn’t realize that putting them in a recessed groove was a sure way to have them freeze in with ice and snow. They realized it. Various cars have been made that way since the '60s. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/72 "2014-01-09T21:42:54Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’ve had enough trouble with my power windows. Darn things don’t work when ice forms in the workings, as it so often does in winter months. I’d like to speak with a GM engineer (I drive a Chevy) on this matter. > > I’d also like to know why it is so darn difficult to buckle and release the seat belt when one is wearing a parka and ski gloves. Honestly, I think they made these machines for those who live in Florida. I end up taking off my gloves (in -30C weather) just to put on and release the #%#% seat belt. > > I love my Chevy, but there are a few things that indicate to me that Chevy engineers are all from Florida or Alabama. Places that never get _really_ cold. There’s a commercial on right now that says something about how some car thing is, “Engineered for life in Canada\*,” and my response every time is, “No, it frigging isn’t. Nothing is designed for Canada.” We make it kind of work. Sort of. \*Paraphrasing from (most likely inaccurate) memory. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/73 "2014-01-09T22:23:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > \*Paraphrasing from (most likely inaccurate) memory. 'Cuz it’s engineered for Canada… ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/74 "2014-01-10T01:05:49Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’ve had enough trouble with my power windows. Darn things don’t work when ice forms in the workings, as it so often does in winter months. I’d like to speak with a GM engineer (I drive a Chevy) on this matter. The power windows were the first thing to quit working on my dad’s 1990 Suburban. I can’t pin down the exact year, but it shouldn’t have happened that early, considering that the vehicle had never been exposed to much extreme weather. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/75 "2014-01-10T02:24:02Z")
I live near Buffalo and decades of Johnny Carson jokes have the whole world thinking it’s either 4th of July or Winter here. Listening to y’all from Canada makes me feel like I’m in the tropics. 😃 By the way, when some of you are saying really scary numbers, is it Farenheit or Celcius? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/76 "2014-01-10T02:50:23Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > My guess would be… _ **Nothing** _, good! :eek: > Sorry for your troubles, any kind of mechanic work in those kind of temps is a total PITA! ☹ > > Now, you _know_ you’ve just _ **got** _ to post pictures, don’t you? 😉 Should have taken pictures. Imagine a V6 with the entire upper part of the intake gone. All of it. Not a hole or a crack, the entire upper section. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/77 "2014-01-10T03:37:05Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > By the way, when some of you are saying really scary numbers, is it Farenheit or Celcius? When it’s 40 below, does it matter? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/78 "2014-01-10T03:41:58Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > When it’s 40 below, does it matter? 😉 Winner. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/79 "2014-01-10T04:35:46Z")
> [@Mr.Goob](#): > > \ > > By the way, when some of you are saying really scary numbers, is it Farenheit or Celcius? To give you a straight answer, it’s usually Celsius. Some of us give temps in both scales, but we usually put C or F behind both. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/80 "2014-01-10T04:52:32Z")
Batteries work worse and worse as the temperature drops and when I had a stamped steel heater adjustment lever break off in my fingers I began to wonder about the technological capabilities of creatures that developed in the butt end of the Goldilocks Zone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024.md?page=5)