cooling systems

Thu Nov 6 04:21:05 UTC 2003

Eric Kuhnke wrote:

> For those who have never visited Fairbanks, there is a phenomena 
> observed at -15C and lower known as "square tire".  The rubber in tires 
> of parked vehicles will become stiff and freeze into position, making 
> the vehicle impossible to move without destroying the tires.

In Ottawa, there's usually a week's worth of -25C as a _high_ 
temperature for the day during the winter, and occasional dips below 
-40C.  "Square tire" just means it goes thumpity for a few hundred 
yards.  Rubber embrittlement is more a phenomena for the -70Cs (near 
-100F) and below.

But if you have a tire get frozen into ice, that may be a different story...

More intriguing is what has to be done at high arctic places (like 
little Ellesmere island, the northernmost mine in the world).  Most of 
the vehicles are Toyota diesel pickups (winter weight fuel, you 
betcha!).  They never shut the engines down.  Except when they're 
indoors for an oil change.