19
So I found a way to keep my truck from freezing solid at -20 in Fairbanks
Last winter, my battery kept dying overnight even with a new one. I was plugging in the block heater, but that wasn't enough. I started putting a 60-watt trouble light under the hood near the battery, on a timer for 4 hours before sunrise. It's just a cheap bulb in a metal cage. The tiny bit of heat kept the battery from turning into a brick. Has anyone else used a dumb trick like this, or is there a better way?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
joseph_dixon22d ago
Just a lightbulb keeping your truck alive.
8
My uncle in Minnesota used a similar trick with a ceramic heat lamp for his chicken coop waterer. He said the bulb would burn out fast, but it beat breaking ice every morning. Joseph_dixon has a point about how simple solutions sometimes work. I wonder if that small heat source also keeps the engine oil from getting too thick. Seems like a lot of winter fixes come down to adding a little warmth where it counts.
6