Canterbury in January

[BigBaitsim (milo)]

So this Valet thread got me thinking. I'm moving to Chaska, Minnesota in three weeks and plan to play at CP about once or twice a week (still negotiating this with Mrs. Milo and may play even more until I get an actual job). I typically leave casinos at 3:00 a.m. or so, which is fine with the wife, but I wonder about my car. Will the damn thing (a relatively new Accord) start at 3:00 when the temp is like -10F?

And more importantly, how big of an idiot am I?

Milo

[TommyO]

I've lived here all my life (maybe I'm the idiot). It has to get much colder than -10F for most newer model cars not to start. You might want to wait 5-10 minutes before you start driving to let things loosen up however. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. If the recent winters are any indicator, there will only be a handful of nights it gets that cold.

[cottonmather0]

[ QUOTE ]
And more importantly, how big of an idiot am I?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good luck. I visited Minneapolis for the first time last March and I couldn't imagine how anyone can live there full time. It was March, 20 degrees and windy, and the locals were commenting on the "nice spring day" because the sun happened to be shining.

Although in all fairness, I have heard the place is beautiful in the summer and makes up for the winner. And it's a really nice town with good shops and restaurants and some beautiful hills and lakes.

And there IS legal poker 30 mins from downtown, too.

[WDC]

Hey Milo,

Most new cars will not have a problem with the Minnesota winter and Canterbury does offer free jump starts. Just make sure you buy a ice scaper and brush and I always have a smll shovel and some snad in the back of my car.

Hope to see you in Jnuary.

[Cooling Heels]

-10 in January is not cold, -30 with high wind is cold. My cars start right away with minor cold temps such as -10. Just let the engine warm while you scrape frost from the windows.

Cold winter weather is a big advantage to living in Minnesota. The winter months help hold down the number of layabouts and ne'er-do-wells. Who would want to live in an overcrowded locale?

good luck

[gavrilo]

you should never have a problem with a new car in that temperature, but one thing you should do is always let your car warm up, sometimes it will be really cold and you won't need to scrape and i see people hop in their cars and drive off, it's really horrible for your car

[Kellon]

So is letting it run in idle for 5 minutes. Running overly long in idle can actually be worse than just starting and going, so long as you are start out at a reasonable speed. One of many possible quotes from Car Talk:

"Other folks think it's a good idea to just sit in the driveway with the motor running for five minutes before driving the car. That's also a bad idea. It wastes gas, adds to the pollution, and doesn't do the engine any good. The engine warms up most efficiently while it's being driven, not while its [sic] idling."

Having been born and raised in MN, I read many articles over the years discussing the harm done to engines by letting them idle too long. I spent many nights getting up every couple of hours to start the car in the apt. parking lot and driving it for 10-15 minutes to get the engine up to temp before parking it again, but only if the temp dropped below -30. Of course, the worst was folks who started theirs cars and then raced the engine a few times, but that's another story.

[wuwei]

Actually, with the global warming setting in we don't really get winter anymore in MN. It's like high 30s and rainy out today, wtf? 40s expected later this week.

[TommyO]

I'm ready for snow. Bring it on!!!

[Holm Fries]

You shouldn't have a problem unless your car is more than let's say 10 years old. If you were really worried you can get a tank heater installed for about $80. This would ensure that your engine would never get too cold to start. It would require an electrical outlet and I have no idea where you would locate one at CP. Food for thought.

HF