the soft generation

[BigDrawMan]

looks like most schools around here will be closed tomorrow because it will be a little chilly.

wah

if tptb up in kuschville were such pansies, his kids would still be in 4th grade.

wah its 4 below

wah my psd dont work in the cold

wah my ipod is frozen to my ears


kids today

[silvercamaro]

You have reached old coot status.

[BigDrawMan]

You have reached old coot status.

back in my day, we dint have old people

[lilclyde54]

Ha. Down here we got out of school for a day on the threat of snow the next day. It was back in December. I guess our new superintendent (who came from Chicago) is used to the weather men being right when they say it is going to snow the next day. It sure came in handy for me as I got most of my Christmas shopping done that day. (in bright sunny weather )

[Tocqueville3]

looks like most schools around here will be closed tomorrow because it will be a little chilly.

wah

if tptb up in kuschville were such pansies, his kids would still be in 4th grade.

wah its 4 below

wah my psd dont work in the cold

wah my ipod is frozen to my ears


kids today

What Sc said.


You're an old fart.


toot toot

[kayrharris]

guess our new superintendent (who came from Chicago) is used to the weather men
being right when they say it is going to snow the next day. It sure came in handy for me as
I got most of my Christmas
shopping done that day. (in bright sunny weather )

Just the mention of any type frozen precipitation in the south cancels schools. It's a given...

[VAdame]

It's not necessarily the snow -- it's the cold. Modern school buses run on #2 diesel, which tends to turn to gel when temperatures drop to a certain level. It clogs up the fuel filter and the bus just stops dead -- just like running out of gas.

[VAdame]

And whether it's the cold temps or slippery roads, do we really need to see any more scenes like this?




http://kdka.com/topstories/school.bus.a ... 81864.html

It happened about 2-1/2 blocks from my house in 2006. Fortunately, none of the kids, nor the 89-year-old homeowner sleeping in the house, were seriously injured.

[etaoin22]

It's not necessarily the snow -- it's the cold. Modern school buses run on #2 diesel, which tends to turn to gel when temperatures drop to a certain level. It clogs up the fuel filter and the bus just stops dead -- just like running out of gas.

so what do the selfsame yellow buses use in Canada? #9 coal??

[andrewjackson]

It's not necessarily the snow -- it's the cold. Modern school buses run on #2 diesel, which tends to turn to gel when temperatures drop to a certain level. It clogs up the fuel filter and the bus just stops dead -- just like running out of gas.

so what do the selfsame yellow buses use in Canada? #9 coal??

We ran diesel tractors all winter in Indiana and Michigan in temperatures down in the -20F range. We switched from #2 diesel to "winter blend" which is part #1 diesel in about October. Some northern/arctic areas just run #1 diesel all the time just in case.

Of course, we also had block heaters on the tractors that we plugged in at night so they would start in the morning. Most school buses in northern climates have the same capability.

[VAdame]

I'm not sure, but I think the #2 diesel is cleaner-burning than the fuel for the older style buses, and it was mandated by environmental laws. And some districts have enough indoor garage space to bring the buses inside overnight -- but most don't!

My first husband was a bus driver. I'll get his input next time we talk.

I remember one day a few years ago when the girls were still in school. Freezing rain was predicted for all day, and naturally they called off school. Hell, I wouldn't want to drive a car on our hills in freezing rain, let alone a busload of someone elses' kids!

But the trouble with weather prediction is that it's an inexact science. And a degree or two one way or the other can make the difference between "freezing rain" and "rain." Of course, the temp never dropped below 33 degrees that day -- so school had a "Rain Day" instead of a "Snow Day!"

[andrewjackson]

I'm not sure, but I think the #2 diesel is cleaner-burning than the fuel for the older style buses, and it was mandated by environmental laws. And some districts have enough indoor garage space to bring the buses inside overnight -- but most don't!

My first husband was a bus driver. I'll get his input next time we talk.

If that's true and buses have to use #2, they are going to have big problems in the winter in a lot of the U.S. and Canada.

Apparently someone already did. This was in Oregon after temps dropped to near zero on a Sunday night a few weeks ago.

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs. ... late=print

All Bend-La Pine schools will start classes two hours late this morning as a precaution after two-thirds of the district’s buses failed to start or run properly Monday morning because of fuel problems.

......

New federal emissions standards went into effect in 2007, requiring all diesel vehicles to use ultra-low sulfur diesel.

Deputy Superintendent John Rexford said Bend Oil vendors told him the new diesel can have a wide variety of freezing points.

“It looks like our most recent load happened to have a fairly high freezing point,” Rexford said.

There are two types of diesel. No. 2 diesel is traditionally used in mild months, while No. 1 is used in the winter months because it begins to gel at a lower temperature, according to Marie Dodds, a spokesperson for AAA Oregon.

She said vehicles are easier to start with No. 1 diesel, and that it isn’t uncommon for some batches of diesel to have higher gel points than others. Many retail fueling stations shift to No. 1 diesel as cold weather approaches.

But Rexford said the district always uses No. 2 diesel because it is recommended for the buses’ engines. In cold weather, he said, the transportation department will either mix in a winter additive or blend the No. 2 diesel with a small amount of No. 1 diesel. Those two additions work better to keep the diesel from gelling.

[VAdame]

Thanks AJ -- I was trying to find an article about the newer fuel and the gelling problem, and Google didn't find me anything suitable. I had to rely on memory!

That explained things nicely.