Miscellaneous desk
< February 11	<< Jan \| February \| Mar >>	February 13 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

February 12

Disease

Can I know the spelling of the disease which smoethin' sounds like "manezitic" Which occurs in brain ???? Sawongam (talk) 14:38, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you have meningitis in mind? --76.71.6.254 (talk) 18:50, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like a combination of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis and protozoan.--WaltCip (talk) 15:02, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Tyres frozen

Does anybody know how much damage will be done to tyres if driven on while frozen? I'm looking at going about 500 m (1,600 ft), after that they tend to thaw out, several times a day at −35 °C (−31 °F) and colder. I know there will be some because of the tyres will be under-inflated by then. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 08:00, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Check out this page [1]. --Xuxl (talk) 15:19, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

AFAICT, that page only seems to describe what happens to tyres at such low temperature and how that affects occupants of the car, and how long it takes for the tyres to recover to somewhat usable state, all of which seem to be stuff CambridgeBayWeather has already well experienced (well the middle one wasn't specificially mentioned but I think it's a resonable assumption). It doesn't actually mention how much damage results. Nil Einne (talk) 15:49, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I have seen lots of advisories about specific tire models cracking at low temperatures. Perhaps you can tell us the specific tires on your car, and we can try to look those up? Someguy1221 (talk) 19:43, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Not really any specific tyre and I can't remember right now what is on our truck. From what I have seen I would think that Hankook Tires are the most used. Probably a cheaper brand. By the way no cars here as most wouldn't be able to cope with the gravel roads. I think the guy at minus40.info is exaggerating a bit. You can sometimes hit the roof but not often and it can happen in summer too. The only time it is a problem is if you are wearing a baseball cap with a hard button on the top. I did search before asking here and found that minus40.info site. I thought Canadian School Closure Policies due to Weather Conditions was amusing. In Cambridge Bay if there is a blizzard (40 km/h (25 mph) and 400 m (1,300 ft)) then the government offices close and both the high and primary schools close but that is about it. We have the parents discretion if conditions are marginal. For the primary school if the temperature is −50 °C (−58 °F) or the wind chill is -50 or lower then they have indoor recess. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 11:21, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Have you tried the CAA or Transport Canada? They would normally be the experts on such matters, and both have toll-free numbers. --Xuxl (talk) 15:49, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Are you concerned about damage due to the brittleness of the rubber or damage because of low tire pressure? I doubt that modern winter tire rubber compounds would have much of a problem with the temperature. This issue was already being addressed in the 1950s. See "Effect of Extreme Arctic Cold on Materials" http://collections.dartmouth.edu/arctica-beta/html/EA02b-02.html Meters (talk) 17:57, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

As a reference point, the 2012 "Advances in Cryogenic Engineering Materials" https://books.google.ca/books?id=D5uyBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79#v=onepage&q&f=false mentions cryogenic separation of tire materials for recycling at -62 C. Meters (talk) 18:05, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

A light bulb has come on (just and very dimly). 500m does not seem far enough to me for a tire to warm up significantly. So the rubber compound is probably also acting thixotropicaly. After all, the industrial way to soften rubber is to masticate for some 20 minutes between rollers Rubber production process. So driving off too fast is likely to break the polymer bonds. Therefore, tires made from natural or butyl rubber would be better (and in this day an age the tire compound for each brand of tire should be available online). A little silicon grease applied between the seal and the rim may also help to mitigated deflation. Silicon grease is inert so should not degrade the rubber (it is used as a rubber lubricant). Third suggestion is move further south. Mexico should be most efficacious ;¬). Insistently, even if your running on Radials you can still have tubes to prevent deflation. --Aspro (talk) 23:46, 13 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I would have thought you would need a heated garage to store a car in such conditions, as tires aren't the only thing that might not work well at such low temps. And why do you only want to go 500 m ? Wouldn't a snowmobile (also stored in a heated area), be a better choice ? StuRat (talk) 01:15, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It was more the lack of flexibility in the tyres rather than the low pressure. Thanks to the links from Meters it looks as if it isn't a problem as long as nobody is driving off fast. Which, given how rough this is, nobody is doing anyway, plus the power steering hoses broke due to the cold and it's hard to steer. Aspro, I'm not sure that the tyres are up to the correct operating temperature after 500 m (1,600 ft) but they have thawed out enough that the flat spot is gone. StuRat, I'm not driving only 500 m (1,600 ft) but 3 km (1.9 mi) to work. A heated (or even and unheated) garage would be better. However, there are few here and we have no access to one. Other than a few businesses, the government and hamlet only a very few private residences have a garage. Most people have their snowmobiles sit outside. In trucks we use things like block heaters, oil pan heaters and battery blankets. By the way, beyond the cost of building a garage there is the cost to heat with power and fuel (fuel is listed under the Kitikmeot). CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 07:56, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The cost of heating could be kept down since you only need to heat it to maybe freezing, and then only before you plan to drive somewhere. If attached to the house, the heat leaking out of the house might even be enough. For a snowmobile, maybe a shed would do. Not having to dig them out of the snow and ice would be another plus. StuRat (talk) 17:46, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The heat leaking out of a house might keep a garage above freezing? Not a chance at the temperatures we are considering here. Anyways, let's not go off on a tangent about heated garages. Some homes might have garages (heated or not) but the vast majority of places northern trucks are going to be parked won't. Whether it's an urban mall parking lot or a mine exploration road on frozen muskeg makes no difference. Square tires are square tires, and anyone who has ever driven in extremely cold climates has experienced them and knows what this question is about. Meters (talk) 22:39, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder if some form of solid foam tires would work better. The general problem with those is that they overheat, but at such temps that might not be a problem. StuRat (talk) 23:02, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I would hope my house isn't leaking enough heat to warm a garage. In Jan/Feb it already costs over C$800 a month in fuel. I know southern places can get the same low temperatures we do (Edmonton#Climate) but not for days on end. The cost of plugging in runs about $150 a month, based on what we pay the school bus driver to plug it in. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 08:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]