I tried that last night.....just succeeded in making more ice. Couldn't get water near the coils, couldn't even see the coils. I tried to thaw out the fan motor with water that was boiling when it left the kitchen stove. It was icicles hanging from the motor by the time I got back out there with another batch.
Last night I took the fan motor assembly out and hung it in a 5 gallon bucket in the garage overnight. This morning it was mostly thawed and spins freely.
I was making progress last night by running the AC and blasting with the heat gun, but gave that up when the house got down below 62 degrees. That's the lowest setting on the thermostat, so the AC refused to run anymore.
Some of the water from the melting ice refroze in the bottom of the unit blocking the drain holes. There was almost 2 inches of ice in the bottom of the unit.
I melted some with the heat gun a few minutes ago but had to quit when water got into the heat gun and tripped the GFI inside the house. I had 2 drain holes clear, but I will bet that it has frozen over again when I go back out. There is a lot of thermal mass in that brick of ice.
The central heating unit has a backup "emergency heat" system. It's basically a 10 kilowatt glowing piece of wire wired across the 240 volt line! It will keep it in the 60's inside.
After reading this thread, I really feel lucky living here in Mexico City, where the only thing you need to heat your house is an Aleph J.
Rgds and keep warm.
Rgds and keep warm.
Yea, Mine used to ice up when the temp was near freezing. I don't think I ever defrosted it when it was this cold.
How much salt have you got? Fertilizer works too. Neither is going to be good for the metal though.
How much salt have you got? Fertilizer works too. Neither is going to be good for the metal though.
I screwed around with it for a while before I had to go out to the construction site to argue with the builder. I have decided to wait until tomorrow when the ambient temp should be ABOVE freezing.
No gas in this house, otherwise I wouldn't be discussing a heat pump.
I did stay in Rochester Mn. for 2 weeks during the blizzard of 78 (or 79?) during which time the high for the 2 week period was 1F. My neat little Rollei 35 camera froze and never recovered. The Yashica mat TLR ceased functioning, but recovered inside a heated car. It would work for about 5 minutes outside.
Cameras in the cold -- when it gets down to 0F the cloth shutter curtain of a Leica M carries enough static electricity to show up on your negatives.
It was nippy here today, too. I had to put up the top of the Miata going to work this morning. I put the top down for the ride home, but I wore a sweat shirt.
I like California. 😀
Bill
I like California. 😀
Bill
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Man, it's nasty out today. First problem was the roads, so missed my flight out of Toronto to Montreal and had to catch a later flight. Second problem was actually being in Montreal - the wind and cold cuts through outer clothing in no time, brrrrrrr !
Yeah, my buddies back in Florida are whining because it got down to 55 last night.
Sherri was in rural Ohio at the time. Her family and several others were dug out by the National Guard. The entire trailer park was buried and the power was out.
The entire two weeks I was in Minnesota all I heard was "Did you plug in the car." "Even if you stop for 5 minutes, leave it running, or plug it in."
No, hybrids weren't invented yet...it was a big old T-bird. Not just a block heater, but a radiator blanket and a hot plate under the battery too.
Still having fun with the heat pump. The 8 cubic foot popsicle is mostly melted, but I still can't get the compartment with the electronics open. The weather forecast has changed, It won't get above freezing today......not until maybe Saturday.
The excavators that were supposed to backfill around the new house today cancelled. Ground too cold.
Tuesday part of Buffalo New York got hit with 'lake effect snow'. While the airport a few miles away got about 5 inches of snow, parts of the city got 60 to 70 inches of snow in one day!
There was a picture on our local TV station from Buffalo. A guy had a snow drift covering the front of his house such that if you opened the front door it was solid packed snow. He carved out two compartments, added some beer, and took a picture. Unique beer cooler.
I was on a conference call with one of my colleagues in Buffalo today. She was calling in from home, the plant (right on the riverfront) is closed until at least Saturday.
It's about 25 degrees below normal here in central Minnesota at the moment.
Lows have been in the single digits...and it has been windy ;(
Lows have been in the single digits...and it has been windy ;(
January in November here in SE MI...we have had dustings of lake effect but happily spared the Buffalo syndrome.
I would suggest replacing it immediately - modern car batteries are the worst ever, the lead is getting thinner and thinner, and the overall quality is just awful across the board.
It used to be, if you were feeling frugal, poor, and/or didn't want to buy a new battery, be able to trickle charge a weak/dying battery overnight every night and keep it going for an extra month or two. That is no longer possible. After the first slow start you have, maybe, 2 more days before it's completely effed.
Hooray EPA! Making people buy many more batteries since it's illegal to smelt lead in the US. 😡