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Post by silverdragon on Nov 16, 2012 9:14:57 GMT
{The general board is intended as a place where questions and comments about The Citadel in general and be asked of the Mods. I do, however, agree that figuring out where this topic would fit in is difficult. Since the Oracle Forum is intended to be the information part of the board I've moved it there, into the 'Science Stuff Board' - CM}
You dont yet have a "Transport" board CM, so I posted it on General, until you DO get a "Transport" board... hint hint?....SD1
Ok, so, the "Big White" has hit.... (In some places..)
Can we start with a few suggestions that people may need before winter sets in?...
If you have any good ideas to help people out, please contribute.
* When was the last time you checked your Radiator for anti-freeze?...
* Do you have Anti-Freeze type screen wash as well?...
* Do you have an Ice scraper?... an old credit card will do in emergency, but a PROPER Ice scraper and a set of gloves in the boot is well worth the effort.
* Sun Glasses, low sun on wet and ice causes incredible dazzle, carry a pair in the car. (If they fog over with cold, a second or two on the screen heater vent works wonders.....)
* Spare coat and gloves in the boot, you never know when you may need them, or even TWO coats when it gets "THAT" Cold.
* Shovel. Even a kids toy shovel is better than digging you car out *handball*
* Old carpet. The trick of rolling you car back onto carpet to get traction on ice works, tiying the carpet with some rope to the bumper means you dont have to stop until you get somewhere safer to retrieve the carpet.
** DO NOT poor Boiling water onto windscreens.... if you have even the smallest stone chip, it will make a right mess of the glass.
**DO NOT poor boiling water onto locks... it just freezes up again...
* Much better spraying WD40 into the lock NOW, before it freezes up, one dose of the WD40 may last the whole winter....
Anything else anyone can think about?....
Any "Myths" that need dispelling?...
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Post by Lonewolf on Nov 16, 2012 13:44:15 GMT
-Rather than an extra coat, heavy blankets and/or down comforter and/or a sleeping bag (no Snuggies).
-Food like snackbars, candybars and other non-cook edibles.
-Bottled water, NO ALCOHOL. Might have to suck it up and stick the frozen bottle under the blanket with you to thaw.
-A candle. This will raise the temp in your car a few degrees without being a suffocation hazard. Just being inside your vehicle and out of the weather gains several degrees.
I have all the basics but I'm more of an extremist, even being in Montana.
-V-link tire chains for all 4 corners. Put those on, pop into 4WDL and not much stops me (I've run 24"+ of snow rigged like that)
-My backpack winterpacked for 1 week. I could set up camp and wait out even -30F temps and blizzards.
Or
-Strap on the snowshoes and hike somewhere else in the same conditions.
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Post by the light works on Nov 16, 2012 17:10:35 GMT
don't f'in trust your GPS to tell you a safe shortcut through the mountains. if it ain't plowed, take an alternate route. it WILL get worse, you WILL get stuck, and odds are, you WILL die before they find you.
also, let friends know your agenda, so they can start the missing persons report a little sooner when you ignore the above advice and get stuck on a goat trail that google maps sent you on because it was 6 inches shorter than the freeway.
(people who do that sort of thing for recreation can ignore the above warning - they already know what they are getting into)
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Post by c64 on Nov 16, 2012 19:32:25 GMT
* Do you have Anti-Freeze type screen wash as well?...Also make sure that you flush all lines vigorously front/rear/headlights after adding anti-freeze  * Do you have an Ice scraper?... an old credit card will do in emergency, but a PROPER Ice scraper and a set of gloves in the boot is well worth the effort.Also make sure you have a hand brush with a long handle to clear the top of the car as well. The snow/ice can easily hurt vehicles following you (and driving with snow on top is illegal in Germany) * Spare coat and gloves in the boot, you never know when you may need them, or even TWO coats when it gets "THAT" Cold.At least two good wool blankets are much better. You'll also need them for first aid, for sleeping in the car, securing cargo (scratches), a picknick or as a sunscreen to protect your steering wheel and seats from the sun. * Shovel. Even a kids toy shovel is better than digging you car out *handball*Military style folding spades are pretty inexpensive. I bought one with a built in pickaxe for just €10. They don't take up much space in your car, fit right under the seats and are very handy. I've never had to use it to dig my car out but I have dug out a couple of other cars which had blocked my way. * Old carpet. The trick of rolling you car back onto carpet to get traction on ice works, tiying the carpet with some rope to the bumper means you dont have to stop until you get somewhere safer to retrieve the carpet.I have a set of snow chains, they are much safer and you can stop and go as many times you like without opening the doors. A good set of metal chains (not the modern style plastic crap) folds down much smaller than any piece of old carpet does. ** DO NOT poor Boiling water onto windscreens.... if you have even the smallest stone chip, it will make a right mess of the glass.But it's fun to watch others do it  Anything else anyone can think about?....- a sailor's winch. I made myself adaptors for the 4 tow eyes of my car and the trailer hook. Even a small inexpensive one can handle a ton which is usually good enough. If you need more, it would damage your car so you need professional help anyway. - Glow sticks, a lot! Red ones to drop on the road or attach to things to secure the area, yellow ones for other people who are in shock or very upset and white ones to examine stuff in the dark and for people who help. On a crash site, you can count the yellow lights to know instantly that kids and people in shock or who are upset don't wander around doing something stupid. Glow sticks never fail from age, frost or water damage or run out of batteries. Also they are great for smaller (but not too small) kids, always cheers them up. Also shocked people have something to stare at and hold on to, they are less likely to run around endangering them self. I also use orange ones for light injuries and blue ones for serious injuries. When the police and ambulance arrive, they don't have to survey everything and know where to look at first. The "screamers" are usually only lightly injured or scratched. Make sure the glow sticks come with a string for the neck. - A six pack of small plastic apple spritzer bottles or several if you usually drive with your family. This stuff is great! The acid and carbonation prevents that it freezes except it's really, really cold but they thaw pretty quick after a while with the heater on. You can use it to drink (to wash down your military style emergency biscuits or crisps which don't spoil either) and you can use it as screen fluid in an emergency. Apple juice displaces water. So even if it's not anti-freeze, it will work well in winter if it's not too cold. But the major advantage is that it keeps the screen reasonable clear when your windscreen wipers had failed.It's also great for accident victims to make them more comfortable or treat open wounds or ease their shock somewhat.
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 16, 2012 20:08:57 GMT
Keep a Flash-light in your car, with fresh and/or spare batteries. Alternatively you can buy 'clock-work' flash-lights that do not require batteries.
I used to keep a bottle of engine oil, and another of radiator coolant in the truck - even when I had a fairly new car.
Plastic bin bags can be useful to carry. You can use them to cover windows, leaks (especially from a sunroof), as a waterproof covering or you can put your hands and feet in them if you have to get out and lack waterproof shoes/boots or gloves.
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Post by c64 on Nov 16, 2012 20:34:29 GMT
Forget the flash-lights. The batteries die – especially in winter and they tend to corrode unused sitting in the car day and night. Glow sticks are much better, they never fail, are inexpensive and you can carry many of them in your car.
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 16, 2012 20:41:09 GMT
Like I said, you can buy clockwork flash-lights that don't require batteries.
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Post by c64 on Nov 16, 2012 20:48:28 GMT
Had some of those. Not very handy and fail from corrosion long before you really need them. Or they fall apart when you really need them if you don't exactly spend a fortune on them.
YOu should stash glow sticks as a backup and for large scales accidents anyway.
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Post by the light works on Nov 17, 2012 4:08:40 GMT
Forget the flash-lights. The batteries die – especially in winter and they tend to corrode unused sitting in the car day and night. Glow sticks are much better, they never fail, are inexpensive and you can carry many of them in your car. my primary flashlight batteries get rotated through the charger in the course of my work, my helmet light is always ready to go, and my phone, of course, hits the charger when it drops below 50% charge. and my helmet light can light up retroreflective from about 200 feet away. how far does your glow stick project? |
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Post by Lonewolf on Nov 17, 2012 4:15:58 GMT
If you see a gate that is capable of being rotated and blocking the road AND has a lock hanging off it, there are 4 major things this tells you:
-this is NOT a maintained road.
-this road does NOT get snowplowed.
-this road does NOT go anywhere most people want to be in good weather, much less in winter.
-this road probably dead-ends umpteen miles up a deserted drainage with no turn around.
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Post by blazerrose on Nov 17, 2012 4:19:01 GMT
Those metallic space blankets are great for cars - they take up hardly any room, they will keep you warm, and they don't get soggy if they get wet.
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Post by silverdragon on Nov 17, 2012 9:19:43 GMT
Good ideas, thanks.
Blankets... Yes, good idea, but, no bloody good if your trying to dig yourself out the snow bank?...
Add them to the list, but two coats, outer and inner, work better than one thick coat when you are outside the vehicle trying to "Fix" whatever you did wrong?...
I have a "Headlight" that straps to my head/cap/helmet with elastic straps, its has a White and a Red light, it can be used in emergency if the tail lights go out.
I also carry a magnetic torch that is powered by the Cig lighter.
It also has a flash function that is good for alerting help.... it will flash for several hours.
I also have high intensity LED flashers that should work for several days, they are powered by small watch type batteries, and are magnetic... god for fixing onto vehicles outsides.
Batteries dont go dead on their own that quick... I am suggesting things hat need to be put in the car before winter, check them before winter they SHOULD last...
Emergency kit should be serviced twice every year at least?.
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Post by c64 on Nov 17, 2012 12:59:08 GMT
and my helmet light can light up retroreflective from about 200 feet away. how far does your glow stick project? Far enough to fix stuff on your car and can be seen from reasonable far away to warn other drivers. I've never fixed any retroreflective engine or changed any retroreflective wheel from 200ft away… |
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Post by c64 on Nov 17, 2012 13:12:39 GMT
Good ideas, thanks. Blankets... Yes, good idea, but, no bloody good if your trying to dig yourself out the snow bank?... […] I have a "Headlight" that straps to my head/cap/helmet with elastic straps, its has a White and a Red light, it can be used in emergency if the tail lights go out. I also carry a magnetic torch that is powered by the Cig lighter. […] , they are powered by small watch type batteries, and are magnetic... god for fixing onto vehicles outsides. […] Batteries dont go dead on their own that quick... If you do hard work, putting on too much clothes will make you sweat - and then you freeze to death in your wet cloths. Not good. So either sit in your blanket inside the car or be outside in your normal clothes working hard to get your car moving. Of course you need to always dress like you would be outside on foot. When your tail lights go out, turn on the emergency flashers and/or the fog tail light. They are on separate fuses and circuits. And I wouldn't want to watch a flash light charge before I can use it. Batteries go dead all by them self over time. They self discharge. And in winter, their inner resistance goes up since the chemical reactions slow down. Especially small batteries loose performance dramatically. |
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Post by freegan on Nov 17, 2012 13:39:54 GMT
For those of you concerned about self-discharging batteries, may I recommend to you (at risk of being accused as an advertiser's shill) Recyko batteries.
They represent a recent advance in rechargeables and retain up to 85% of their charge over a 12 month period of idleness.
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Post by the light works on Nov 17, 2012 15:49:10 GMT
and my helmet light can light up retroreflective from about 200 feet away. how far does your glow stick project? Far enough to fix stuff on your car and can be seen from reasonable far away to warn other drivers. I've never fixed any retroreflective engine or changed any retroreflective wheel from 200ft away… my helmet light shines far enough to search for evidence on a rain wet roadway after full dark. and I'm due to change batteries in it. it's giving me low battery indications. |
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Post by the light works on Nov 17, 2012 15:51:00 GMT
For those of you concerned about self-discharging batteries, may I recommend to you (at risk of being accused as an advertiser's shill) Recyko batteries. They represent a recent advance in rechargeables and retain up to 85% of their charge over a 12 month period of idleness. and the cyalume (glow stick) chemical reaction also slows significantly in sub freezing conditions. |
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Post by c64 on Nov 17, 2012 17:35:58 GMT
But unlike a battery, it keeps shining even longer when cold and after putting them under your coat, they are as good as new.
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 17, 2012 19:01:48 GMT
Arguing as to if glow sticks or flash-lights are 'better' is a little pointless, they both have their advantages and disadvantages and there is no reason why you couldn't carry both. In fact having both is a good idea - a good strong torch (or two) with spare batteries for when you need bright light for short periods and glow sticks for longer term light.
Clockwork flash-lights would be a good investment, although as always if you are getting something for a survival kit aim for good quality equipment that is above all going to last.
Other tips would be;
Carry spares of vital items, both so that loosing the original item or breaking it isn't catastrophic and because you should assume that you may have a passenger.
Keep a spare pair of socks in the car. This may sound daft, but the last thing you want to be worrying about is having cold damp feet. Having spare socks allows you to change should your feet get wet, or you can put both pairs on to help keep your feet warm. If you keep a couple of small thick plastic bags with the socks they can be used to cover your feet to provide waterproofing - either over your shoes or just over your socks.
A pair of gloves - its called a 'glove-box' for a reason.
Don't rely on equipment that uses power from the car's battery or engine. If either stops working that equipment becomes useless. It is probably most important to save battery life, as you then retain the option of using the cars own lights to signal for help.
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Post by c64 on Nov 17, 2012 19:22:41 GMT
That's what I said, at least use them as a backup. Also if you have enough, you can give them to other people at a crash site and secure the area by laying them out. You can't do that with flash lights. For lots of light, I have a large torch without battery which is plugged into the cigarette lighter. And if you have no car battery power any more, then the glow sticks is all you need. I've already fixed my car in the shine of the glow sticks. Works just fine.
Extra socks is a good idea. I don't have them in my car since I use handkerchiefs for this and other purposes. All oyu have to do is to learn how to use them as "socks". Socks are a pretty recent invention, people used pieces of fabric wrapped around their feet for millennia! The one sock I do have in my car is filled with salt. You need to put it into a plastic bag to prevent leaking it salt water from condensation. With a sock full of salt, you can clear seriously iced up windscreens! At first you bang it against the ice to sprinkle some salt and when the sock soaks up the water, it donates more salt when simply rubbing it over the ice.
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