How Cold Is Too Cold?

It was -15 yesterday and right now it has dropped down to -29 F. The wind chill tonight is -45 F. It is damn cold. I was in the garage yesterday changing the oil in my SUV, cleaning up a bit, etc., so I had my forced air heater on in there for a few hours (was a good chance to drink a few beers and get away for awhile). I know she's protected in the garage, but what are the chances of my coolant freezing up? I can't remember when it was so cold, so I've really never had to worry about this before. I think my coolant is good for up to -27 F (I use Engine Ice).

[image: View Post]wooly72, on Jan 16 2009, 01:03 AM, said:

It was -15 yesterday and right now it has dropped down to -29 F. The wind chill tonight is -45 F. It is damn cold. I was in the garage yesterday changing the oil in my SUV, cleaning up a bit, etc., so I had my forced air heater on in there for a few hours (was a good chance to drink a few beers and get away for awhile). I know she's protected in the garage, but what are the chances of my coolant freezing up? I can't remember when it was so cold, so I've really never had to worry about this before. I think my coolant is good for up to -27 F (I use Engine Ice).

I think most coolants are good down to about -34F/-37C when used in a 50/50 mixture. If you go 70/30, you can get down into the -80F/-64C range. Wind chill has no effect on inanimate objects, other than to cool them down more quickly. But it cannot cool the object below the actual temperature. It's used to gauge the effective temperature on your skin.

In addition, if the bike is in the garage, the temperature within (even if it's unheated) should be above the outside temperature by several degrees.

isn't Global warming nice???

Wargoose got you what you needed, enjoy the cold if you can .....I can't

Is the garage heated most of the time? If so, the chances of anything freezing are pretty slim.

When I was up in Alaska it got to -40 regularly during the winter. That's just how cold the winters are. We had to have our cars winterized too. You can look up winterization and see what all it entails and read about the effects of super cold weather on your vehicle. But be aware, if your car sits too long without running, it will freeze up and you'll have to either heat it up in the garage to get it to run or wait until it gets a little warmer. :)

-40 to -60 degree weather takes a toll on vehicles.

[image: View Post]GreenOnion, on Jan 16 2009, 12:37 PM, said:

Is the garage heated most of the time? If so, the chances of anything freezing are pretty slim.

When I was up in Alaska it got to -40 regularly during the winter. That's just how cold the winters are. We had to have our cars winterized too. You can look up winterization and see what all it entails and read about the effects of super cold weather on your vehicle. But be aware, if your car sits too long without running, it will freeze up and you'll have to either heat it up in the garage to get it to run or wait until it gets a little warmer. :)

-40 to -60 degree weather takes a toll on vehicles.


I bet you like the weather better at Ft. Hauchuca....Snow on Carr and Miller peaks, just where it belongs, and winters at 50 degrees plus where they belong.

I've never had anything freeze with the proper amount of anti-freeze in it.

Just don't go sticking your tongue on the gas tank to see what will happen. :rolleyes:

Larry
VFRrider

Ahh, your fine.

It got to about -30 F with a windchill here. All the bikes are in the garage with no problems.

[image: View Post]vfrrider17, on Jan 16 2009, 03:00 PM, said:

Ahh, your fine.

It got to about -30 F with a windchill here. All the bikes are in the garage with no problems.
Door County? Beautiful part of the USA. But -30F? Not so much.

If your coolant is good to -27'F and the temp drops to -37'F, your coolant will just turn to slush.

It won't freeze HARD like 100% water will, which would of course, split a rad, or the waterpump, or worse of all, your engine.


Next year, you may wish to beef up your coolant ration a bit, which will help with the boiling point also, but don't exceed 70/30 mixture.


I usually use the 1/3 2/3 easy rule when mixing coolant.

Get a container of (xx) volume, suitable for the job at hand. For motorcycles, a clean pop bottle will do fine.

I fill it with coolant twice, and follow with one fill of water. Then, you have EXACTLY 66% coolant. Too simple, no measuring.

And you never exceed 70% coolant.

Did I miss something cause I don't think your math is correct. To get 66% anti-freeze you would need two bottles of coolant to one bottle if water. That would be 66% coolant. The way you have it, looks like it is 33% coolant. Again, unless I am missing something ;)

Stored my Honda Hawk GT over several winters in my totally unheated detached, garage in Wisconsin that got as cold as 30+ below zero farenheight using Honda OEM coolant and I never had any freezing problems.
I wouldn't worry about it, unless you live north of Sarah Palin's neighborhood! :biggrin:

Beck
95 VFR

Solve the problem by following AlienVFR's lead............PUT THE BIKE IN THE LIVING ROOM!!

Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement guys. I went outside to check it and since the bottle of Engine Ice I have on my shelf in the garage didn't freeze, I'm guessing it didn't in the bike either. Just too freakin cold around here, got me all paranoid.

The beers I had sitting in the snow outside the garage that day froze though...thank God I have my backup supply in the house. I found out drinking heavily helps with the frigid cold temps. Coors Light has been my very close friend these past few days. Finally yesterday the temp went back up to 25 F. It was so nice out. I hear it is actually supposed to hit the 30's by Tuesday here. That's going to feel downright balmy. Might have to go for a ride.

[image: View Post]FlaminV4, on Jan 16 2009, 02:03 PM, said:

Did I miss something cause I don't think your math is correct. To get 66% anti-freeze you would need two bottles of coolant to one bottle if water. That would be 66% coolant. The way you have it, looks like it is 33% coolant. Again, unless I am missing something ;)


Erm, yeah, that would be me, asleep at the wheel. :blush:


Fxd erroneous post. :blush:

[image: View Post]ECX585, on Jan 16 2009, 03:06 PM, said:

Solve the problem by following AlienVFR's lead............PUT THE BIKE IN THE LIVING ROOM!!

That's the best advice!

The second best advice would be to plug in a light bulb (60 watt) under the bike. Make sure that it dosn't touch and catch anything on fire, but it will help to make sure nothing freezes. You probably won't have a problem, but it's cheap insurance!

No danger of coolant freezing in these frigid temps, but your unit is subject to shrinkage. I try to keep mine in a warm female garage whenever possible.

[image: View Post]wooly72, on Jan 18 2009, 05:18 PM, said:

The beers I had sitting in the snow outside the garage that day froze though...Coors Light

Umm, I thought you said you had beers. No wonder it froze, that's water. :)

-29F? That's insane! Where's Al Gore when we actually need him? Dude, you need to be moving in a much more southerly direction...

[image: View Post]wooly72, on Jan 18 2009, 07:18 PM, said:

I found out drinking heavily helps with the frigid cold temps. Coors Light has been my very close friend...

I don't think you can drink heavily with Coors light, considering your temps I suggest bourbon.

[image: View Post]veefer800canuck, on Jan 28 2009, 08:29 PM, said:

[image: View Post]FlaminV4, on Jan 16 2009, 02:03 PM, said:

Did I miss something cause I don't think your math is correct. To get 66% anti-freeze you would need two bottles of coolant to one bottle if water. That would be 66% coolant. The way you have it, looks like it is 33% coolant. Again, unless I am missing something ;)


Erm, yeah, that would be me, asleep at the wheel. :blush:


Fxd erroneous post. :blush:

Hey he's from Alberta the cold will turn your brain to slush up here.