Prepping For Alaska!
 

It goes without saying that living in Anchorage will be cold. While living in extremely cold temperatures will be difficult for me and the "fam," it will be even colder for our Honda Element. Current advising includes: battery blanket, studded or snow tires, and a block heater.

I'm just wondering, though...in terms of warming the engine via block heater and batter blanket, how will this benefit me when leaving any location other than my house? For instance, if I've been at work for 10 hours and the truck's been parked outside or even inside without access to a plug, what's the point? Is it worth installing all this stuff just for a morning commute, especially considering the likelihood of coldness in the evening?

Who's dealt with this (surely I'm not the first one)?

I can't make any comments on a block heater as I have never/ used one. But I think it would definitely be worth some engine bay insulation, Belly pan, grill block, sealing gaps, etc. It will help the motor to warm up faster, and hold heat a lot longer after shutdown. If the Element doesn't have any insulation directly on the bottom of the hood, I would suggest finding some off of another car.

I've long been advocating engine blankets. Heat rises ya know, so it's good to keep it from going out the top. Combined with a grille block and you turn the engine compartment into an "upside down box" which retains heat much better than stock. Search my other posts on blankets.

Grille block and engine belly pan!

Even if you can use the block heater only on half of the trips, it's still worth it. Evenings may be cold, but mornings are even colder, and with enough insulation there might still be some heat in the engine bay after 4 hours. Also, there is always a chance that you'll find a plug somewhere (parking lot, friend's house, etc.).

You could look into things like a coolant thermos (gen 2 Prius) or using exhaust to warm coolant (gen 3 Prius), we'd all benefit from your experience and a detailed how-to with pictures;)

Most parking lots in Saskatchewan have plugins for your vehicle, I would imagine it would be the same in Alaska.

Battery blankets are often neglected. I don't think they would help with FE but sure make cold starting easier and prevent battery damage from the cold. Whatever you do make sure not to drain your battery as a weak battery will freeze and die really quick in the winter.

Block heaters will obviously make it possible to start your car and aid in warmup.

Engine blankets and cardboard grill block will help with warm up and retain heat better. You will also get less ice buildup on your hood when you park.

Anchorage isn't too bad, it doesn't get the bitter cold you get in central Alaska. I grew up just north of Anchorage and went to college in Fairbanks.

In Anchorage, I don't remember many places having plug-ins available, but in Fairbanks they were everywhere.

I recommend synthetic oil in the engine, tranny, and differential(s). I remember starting my truck once and leaving it in neutral to warm up but when I let the clutch out it still lurched forward and died because the oil in the tranny was so thick. That stopped when I changed to synthetic oil in the tranny.

I used a grill block long before I worried about fuel economy. My engine couldnt put off enough heat to warm up the cab of my truck without it. My truck was pretty old though, your Element won't have that problem but would still benefit from the grill block.

Watch out for the moose!

Thanks for all the great posts and replies.

I want more, though. ;)

I live about 60 miles from Anchorage. Most parking lots do not have places to plug in. Most people around here just get by with a single block heater. They leave it plugged in all night though.

I suggest an oil pan heater, coolant heater. A battery blanket is not really necessarily as this area of Alaska does not see the bitter cold. connect those to a timer that turns on about 1.5 hours before your commute, the purpose of the coolant heater is to get you warm air instantly, use just enough time to get that.

Good winter tires is a must. studded does not seem much better than a good snow flake rated tire. Michelin x ice, or hankook Ipike rock. Both have a 45-55 psi max rating, I noted no decrease in mileage with the Ipike on my civic. I did have to drop the pressure slightly as I would get wicked wheelhop if the tires spun at 55psi but if I dropped them to 48 they were fine.

Even if you cannot plug in during the day it is worth it for even just the morning commute.

Insulation helps for about 5-6 hours but after that with any kind of air movement it is ineffective. (This is based on my experience with aircraft which are more tightly cowled than cars).

If you have any other questions about Anchorage or the Valley PM me.

...and KEEP a long (50-feet) heavy-duty gauge extension cord in your car, you MIGHT be able to plug it "in" when having to park the vehicle while away from your house.

...the extra "added" heat going into the engine will make "restarting" a LOT easier on both the battery and engine in COLD COLD COLD weather.

Bestclimb is spot on. Oh, and 60 miles? That must put you around Big Lake then? I grew up in Wasilla, and my family is still in that area. I hardly recognize it every time I go back.

I would say oil pan heater or synthetic engine oil is needed, both would be nice.

As for the tires, studs are counterintuitive, they are more beneficial in more moderate climates. Most of the time up there, when it's icy, it's cold enough that it's not real slippery. Ice is worst when temps are right about freezing, and those are the conditions where you really want studs. Plus, the roads get cleared regularly and sanded. When it's snowy, studs do almost nothing, it is all about what tire you have. Most people have a set of winter wheels and summer wheels, especially if you run studs. As long as you're not off-roading, 2WD is all you need.

This won't be a popular suggestion on this forum, but I will say it anyway. Two words - remote start. When it's -xx degrees out you will need a bit of run time to ensure the windows are defrosted etc, might as well get that going from the comfort of your house.

I keep a snatch strap the car (I have pulled quite a few people out with my little cars). For the one or two days a year you "need" 4/AWD a set of cable chains works great.

Remote start is a nice connivance, but a coolant heater is more efficient. In 10 years of being up here I have never thought one necessary.

Eaaapp! Wrong answer.

The block heater takes care of that.

No, the block heater doesn't do all your window scraping for you, but if scraping causes that much duress then window covers of some sort are in order, or a garage, or move to a temperate climate.

Yes most people gravitate towards the extremes of lazyness and if there is a remote start it soon gets enlisted as a remote total window deicing device.

And that is why we don't see remote starts being used for a couple of minutes- perhaps somewhere online there is a real statistic on idle time when remote starts are employed but I'd wager it's closer to 30 minutes than a couple. :mad:

Well the OP posted this because he was in fact not moving to a temperate climate. Having lived with unpleasantly cold weather, I can say that the ideal way of doing things doesn't always apply, sometimes you just need to not be outside as quickly as possible. But as you said, most people do gravitate towards lazyiness, and all of the people I know around here fit into your 30 minute rule. One person I know lives 5 minutes from the beach, and hits his remote start on his Duramax a good 10 minutes before driving. And that's in the early fall! The windows aren't even frosted up! He likes the heated seats to be warmed up by the time he gets in. I shudder when I hear stuff like that, but short of snapping the antennas off his remote unit in the truck there isn't much I can do about it.

I think the damn things should be illegal. :mad:

I too live in an icebox; people that opt to live in places like this should employ jackets, hats, and gloves, not remote starters.

When I see the rows upon rows of idling SUVs and Pickups that have been running long enough to completely clear every speck of ice and are surely as hot as a sauna inside, I wonder if these puss ies are really the descendants of the hardy stock that homesteaded the area. :rolleyes:

I agree, you should need a license to own one. Another person I know lives 20 minutes from where they work, and she won't own a car that doesn't have a remote start! The weather here is very mild, if you aren't familiar with Vancouver just look at Seattle's weather, it is very similar. 10 minutes of idling for a 20 minute drive. I am starting to think I need new friends lol :snail:

It can be hard to have friends at times; when some of them cruise guzzlers, idle excessively, spam your inbox with neocon garbage, and listen to neocon talk radio while you're trapped in their car, a person sometimes just has to try to meditate their way out of grabbing them by the throat.

I wouldn't use a remote start on a cold day. Never know if the vehicle isn't starting what it will do (drain the battery).

Starting, especially on a -20 day is something I want to be there for.

Synthetic 0w-20 for sure in the element!

Use the specified oil especially as tolerances open way up that cold (not that -20 is very common)

You will know if the vehicle starts when it is super cold, the exhaust cloud is very evident. You know it's cold when an econobox leaves a contrail.

I am from fairbanks and I actually found this thread because im wondering how many people do we have from AK on the site?? But I second the block heater and oil pan heater and tranny heater although I have never lived in a warmer climate so we use autostarts and dont call me a ***** cat because you can come start my car at -40...

Don't have to go to AK from MN to start a car at -40F.

I grew up in Anchorage, and attended college at UAF. As far as I can recall, we winterized our cars more-or-less the same way, for either place. Block heaters were the norm, as was an oil pan heater, and a transmission pan heater. During the winter, I placed cardboard in front of the radiator to cover 80% of the area. I also mixed and used 60/40 coolant (50/50 being what is "recommended"). I remember wandering around a hardware store in Fairbanks one day in '96, finding a battery blanket heater, and thinking how awesome that find was. Of course, I bought and installed it. We used a good set of studded snow tires (studless winter tires being non-existent back then).

true, but how many weeks a year does it get that cold down there?

Sometimes it seems like about six months. :p

Feb 1996: -60F

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/01/2...-in-minnesota/

I didn't find where they list low temps as in x number of days below y; but it gets damn long.

Heh, we probably bumped into each other at one point then. I grew up in Wasilla and went to UAF from 1995-1999.

Never did use a remote start, even at -40°.

And I suppose you were in Tower, MN that day?

I've personally experienced -60°F (Tok, Alaska) and it's rather unpleasant. Actually, my stint in Fairbanks where -40°F and colder temps are a regular occurrence enticed me to move south. No extreme weather where I'm at now.

Just 37 different kinds of rain. :p

No, I wasn't. I'm about 200 miles from Tower and slightly further North- pretty much the same ****.

Regardless, I know what -40F is and I know what months and months of less than -20F are. Guess what- I don't own anything with a remote starter.

Well congrats my man but on my diesel I'm gonna wait till it's nice and warm to run it in cold temps

PS it came with one.. Haha

Kewl! I also went from 1995 to 1999. I was mostly a fixture at Duckering. Where were you at?

Never really saw the point, myself.

I did once make the mistake of not checking that my car was plugged in, before going to bed. The next morning, we had a cold snap where temperatures dropped to -60 F, and my car turned over e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y...

I was in Anchorage in '86... but just for the summer.

Here's my eco-winter-commuter car:

http://www.quick-break.net/c/2012/12...snow_plow.jpeg

that thing is sweet frank!!

What darcane said. The OP is moving to the south-central AK banana belt, not Fairbanks. In my 6 years in Anchorage, the local temperature never dropped below -18F.

This summer a warm blooded European would do quite well.

especially up in fairbanks its been high 80's the last two weeks!