Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Functioning in sub zero temps

The people who say there's "no difference" between -20 and colder temperatures are 1) ignorant of real cold and 2) fools. Anyone who had had to work/live in truly cold locations knows there is a very real difference between -20 and -40; and -50 is ten times colder than -40; and -60 is so cold it defies description. At -40 you can function with a moderate amount of warm clothing; at -50, a 10 mph breeze will cut through a winter grade down jacket like a knife; at -60, you need leather and fur to survive prolonged time outdoors.

Metal fatigue at such temps can be critical. At -60 a crescent wrench will snap off as you try to loosen a nut on a bolt, and the valve on the top of a 100-pound propane canister will break right off if you tap it with a ball-peen hammer. I've had the first thing happen personally, and I saw the second happen from close enough to witness it, and far enough away I wasn't killed or badly burned like the other guys were.

Dwayne... thanks for your input, it's always nice to hear from a fellow prairie boy when the talk turns to real cold!

On our family farm in Saskatchewan our cattle were all dairy cows, so they were never that far from the barn. Just a standard wood barn, not insulated or anything fancy... but the milking stalls (we milked by hand, only 14 head) were across from the pig pens and the ceiling was low, and even when it got down to the -40's it was warm enough in there to take off your overcoat and milk in coveralls. Uncle used to complain about how much feed & hay they would go through, though.

The neighbors had beef cattle, and as I recall Mr. Crawford had cowsheds with a roof and 3 walls, open to the east, and his beeves did just fine in those sheds even in the coldest weather. But it was a b!tch starting the tractors to drag hay out to them! We'd boil big kettles of water on the stove in the house, carry then out to the tractor, pour the water into the radiator, and then start them. When we finished the chores we'd drain the radiators so we could hot-start them the next morning.

Doc;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope this finds you all doing well.

As I was reading your post about "no difference between -20° and -40° I had to wince a tiny bit as the memory banks began to tumble open again.

We used to get some stupid cold snaps in late January or early February that'd make life tough for daily chores for sure.

One year we had three railway producer grain cars to fill - they just pull the cars off on a track siding and you self fill. The siding was in a little town about 20 minutes away in summer, so we had a half hour road time either way with our semis and maybe a half hour fill/empty time at home and the siding. Filling the three cars was something like 4 days work if memory serves.

Anyway it got "up" to about -40° but was as cold as -44° as I recall. We just kept the auger tractors running once we got them running each morning, the same with the trucks of course. The stupid thing was that in those pre-synthetic oil days the transmission would get so stiff I could hardly shift it by the end of the trip.

We'd wrap the front of the truck with a tarp when we were filling and cover the back of the cab over International I was running as well to keep some heat in - so the transmission started the trip a bit warmer anyways.

I had this really good Arctic Cat brand face mask on that time, but it was cold enough in the wind I got frost bite on both eyebrows that week.

Steel breaking - like both front shocks on my cousin's pickup snapping like pretzels when he hit a snow drift. Snowmobile shafts snapping in similar manner.

Jumped into the cab of my brother's brand new 1977 F250 and spider webbed the entire seat. Remember those vinyl sort of seats in pickups back then?

Yah Doc, I can honestly say I don't miss the extreme cold much at all.......

Stay warm and have a good one Doc.

Dwayne

Sam;
Thanks for the reply and clarification sir.

You mentioned grass hay for the horses and for sure that lines up with what we'd do too. I should have said it better than "cold" feed - meant low alfalfa content for the horses.

I wasn't sure if you changed up the feed for cattle or just increased the ration - as you say you do. Makes sense.

When we first got into horses I was fortunate to be mentored by a chap who'd grown up looking after logging camp horses in New Brunswick way back in the day. To say Earl was a fount of knowledge was an understatement and we surely were enriched by the horse tips and knowledge he shared with us.

Thanks again sir and all the best to you folks.

Dwayne

Dwayne,

Great posts as always.

In regards to brittle metal and cold temps, this subject came up this last week, when we were doing the cold weather shoot.

My friend made a point to mention that AR-500 target steel, when shot in sub zero temps, at close range, is quite brittle and will shatter.

We were engaging steel rifle targets, but they were more than 100 yards out, and it was a non issue.

Your post reminded me of his admonition about brittle AR-500, so I figured I would comment about such and hopefully save someone an expensive target.

Hahaha! Dwayne, I'd forgotten about spider-webbing vinyl truck-car seats, but yeah, EVERYbody's vehicle had spider-web cracks in the seats from the cold!

And I'm not missing the cold these days, at all, at all, my friend... my fancy store-bought knees don't ache so bad here as they did on Wisconsin winter mornings, nor do all my OEM joints...

Functioning in sub zero temps, whether *C or *F, is challenging !

After 11 years of acclimatization, from a sub tropical environment to current "home" conditions, I can definitively say that I am now comfortable at -20* if dressed correctly, but add significant wind & things become uncomfortable quite quickly.

January/February generally bring us at least 2-3 weeks of -35* or below temps.

The only fun side of this is riding to work on "square" tires !

If you can get the vehicle started !

Block heaters & the best battery you can buy are important.

Synthetic oil helps, but you need to have it in the transfer case & differentials too, or have extra oil pan heaters !

Oh, & my garage gets really busy, when it's really cold.

Power steering issues, wiper transmissions, window regulators, batteries & heating/cooling system issues !

Yep, & all plastic gets really brittle.

Well, God bless and good luck with that!!!

Actually, as much as we do acclimatize, I think there's something about growing up in a climate that makes you more comfortable than someone who moves there later in life. I noticed more than a few times during my 15-year Wisconsin sojourn that my tolerance of cold seemed considerably more robust than that of my Cheesehead friends... but considerably less so than my friends in Alberta who had grown up in the NWT.

Now I'm learning the opposite end of that spectrum, acclimatizing to Gulf Coast heat and humidity... but I'm committed to doing it well!!

Don't forget a battery blanket and/or maintenance trickle charger!

Doc, when cold, you can normally put enough clothes on to go out in public, when hot & humid, you can't take enough off to be comfortable, without getting arrested !

bender;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope this finds you and your fine family well.

A good friend who now resides in Whitehorse used to live in Dawson City and did a daily commute up to a mine 90 odd miles north of town. I should mention he's an industrial electrician by trade.

Anyway in his old '90's Cummins he had a battery blanket on each battery, the stock block heater and some sort of oil pan heater hooked up too.

I asked about power consumption on the setup and he replied, "Oh yah Dwayne, the lights of town go dim when I plug her in, but it's the only way she'll start!"

All the best to you all this year ironbender.

Dwayne

There is something to be said for a heated garage The one upside of my kid totaling my truck and now driving a sedan is I have a vehicle that fits in the garage. It was a balmy -16 this morning, heard it's a bit chilly on the peninsula as well though nowhere near the interior chill.

As far as the bad things that can happen with cold. I remember a group I worked with on the slope that lost a few transmissions at -50. Turns out the seals shrank, fluid leaked out and auto transmissions don't live long when run dry.

LOL, Dwayne!

Yup Paul, -28 this AM. Cold is forecast to go away by the weekend. I'm too old for this chit anymore!

'Bender, was -34 here last week, -23 over the weekend & warmed up to - 4 & sunny at the moment.

Roads have turned to slushy sheidte !

Headed to the republic of Kalifornication tomorrow, to board a 7 day/night cruise to Mexico.

Una mas cerveza/tequila por favor !

We're on -52F this morning......gonna bring the brass monkey in off the lawn.

Vern, don't touch his balls !

I don't have a listing for AR500, but high strength spring steels are generally recommended to not go much below 0°F. Nickel alloys and stainless can go much lower, but the hard stuff is really expensive.

Reminds me I owe Sandcritter for a steel target I shot with a .300 Weatherby. It bent it

Are those temps *C (Canuck )?

i lived in Fbx for 18 years. I don't want that kind of cold no more!

Enjoy the cruise. Should not be too awful.

Good point, Mike. Fat is required also. Combine both a cheese stick and a candy bar, and you have some good fuel for the night, certainly.