# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 6
**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 11, 2014, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/101 "2014-01-11T06:55:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > makes sense. I bet snow freezes to it. Plugs often heat up at the connecting points. I hope it makes it to market. > > In the meantime you can take a page from the aviation world and make a “remove before driving” flag and stick it in the grill so it’s visible. There doesn’t seem to be anything that can make people remember to unplug their car if they aren’t going to remember it (part of the problem is probably that it’s usually first thing in the morning when you have to unplug your car). I don’t think we can overstate just how hard and unyielding the plastic gets on regular plugs at bitter winter temperatures, when you most have to plug in your car. You wiggle it and wiggle it and wiggle it and it just. won’t. unplug. I don’t think we can overstate how cold your butt gets on a frozen car seat, either. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/102 "2014-01-11T15:19:13Z")
It’s great fun when, with exhaust plumes hanging in the near-solidified air, the car in the next lane has an extension cord sans plug dragging along behind it, or if really lucky watching the plug disintegrate under a rear wheel. If conditions are favourable — each car’s side windows are clear enough to see the other driver — one can point and laugh, subject to Rule No. 1: Be sure that one has remembered to unplug one’s own extension cord. ---
**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 11, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/103 "2014-01-11T17:43:40Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > It’s great fun when, with exhaust plumes hanging in the near-solidified air, the car in the next lane has an extension cord sans plug dragging along behind it, or if really lucky watching the plug disintegrate under a rear wheel. > > If conditions are favourable — each car’s side windows are clear enough to see the other driver — one can point and laugh, subject to Rule No. 1: > > Be sure that one has remembered to unplug one’s own extension cord. Pointing and laughing at the unplugged cord - this is why I’m confused at the rest of the world thinking we’re so nice and polite. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/104 "2014-01-11T18:02:39Z")
I left my memory foam pillow in the car overnight as we made our way across the Prairies. It was like a brick. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/105 "2014-01-11T18:22:56Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > I left my memory foam pillow in the car overnight as we made our way across the Prairies. > > It was like a brick. Does it go back to being a brick in July because it remembers it? ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/106 "2014-01-11T21:45:35Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > I’ve got an old Blazer 4x4 that is the go machine. > > Got a block heater & I put 1500W electric heater inside on the floorboards set about ½ way and the interior is nice & warm, the windows are all clear… > > & Bob’s your uncle. > > Only turn the inside heater on about 10PM and off in the morning if there is no reason to get out & no precipitation is falling. [Defa](http://www.defa.com/en/fp/) is one of my favorite companies just about every friggin’ winter morning. Their [Warmup system](http://www.defa.com/en/automotive/warmup/) provies me with a warm and ice-free car every. morning. The fully charged battery is a nice bonus. And the preheat time is temperature controlled. I don’t have to turn it on at 10PM and leave it on overnight. The system turns itself on somewhere between one and three hours before my designated startup time, and every. morning. I walk out to a warm and ice-free car. Even if I’ve left it outside the garage for the night. The sound of all the neighbors’ cars idling cold while their owners are scraping the ice off their windshields just adds to the bliss of coming out of the front door in -20C, unplugging the car and starting a willing and de-iced car. 🆒 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/107 "2014-01-12T05:43:26Z")
That system looks really good. We have so little of the really nasty winter goop that it is not worth it to me to invest that much. Besides, retired makes a lot of , “I have to go someplace.” a lot less likely… he he he ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/108 "2014-01-13T22:17:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > makes sense. I bet snow freezes to it. Plugs often heat up at the connecting points. I hope it makes it to market. > > In the meantime you can take a page from the aviation world and make a “remove before driving” flag and stick it in the grill so it’s visible. According to the kickstarter page, the production models will have a cover for the female end which should minimize the amount of kludge on the receptacle, and it should be smaller. I like the flag idea, but it’s no help if you don’t do a walk around before you start the car like 99% of the world. I’ve had to replace two plugs and several extension cords over the years. The only other solution I’ve seen is to drape the cord over the driver’s side mirror so you have to undo it to get into the car. One more thing that doesn’t work at -30 without some serious assistance are diesel generators. When they get cold they are a massive PITA to get running again unless you have a pre-heater or a can of ether handy. 😉 Electronics contact cleaner also works in a pinch… ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024/109 "2014-01-13T22:28:53Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Triple Lindy Well, technically the Triple Lindy would work fine, but you’re likely to get low scores on the entry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-work-at-30-below/677024.md?page=5)