Everyone freezes differently
Even if it shouldn't be very cold outside after degrees Celsius - everyone feels low temperatures differently. Experts have investigated this. How we freeze differs between women and men, between overweight and thin, even between Europeans and Aborigines in Australia. The difference between woman and man has first of all anatomical reasons: men have the advantage of more muscle mass. Women, on the other hand, are better insulated by a thicker layer of fat and on average have a more favourable ratio between body volume and surface area. The smaller the surface area relative to the volume, the less heat the body emits. In short: small overweight people freeze less than large slim people.
37 degrees Celsius is our core temperature
Probably the brain also has an influence on how, when and where we freeze. For example, a central core temperature of about 37 degrees is set in our head. Similar to an electronic heating valve, the body then reacts. If the core temperature is undershot by about half a degree, we freeze. If it is exceeded by more than half a degree, you start to sweat. By the way: The researchers do not know exactly why the body aims for a core temperature of 37 degrees. However, they have measured the core temperature of animals: a cat has a constant 39 degrees, a goat 40 degrees, and a robin an impressive 44 degrees.
Cold places
From a purely local point of view there is the local church "Kalt", in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate. The place Kalterherberg in the Eifel (near the Belgian border) is called "Kältekammer". Here there were already lows of - 22 degrees Celsius. But really cold it is elsewhere in our world. The coldest inhabited place on earth is in Russia. The small village Oimjakon is said to be the coldest place in the world where people live, together with the small Siberian town Werchojansk. Oimjakon is located in the northeast of Russia and has, together with two other villages, 761 inhabitants. A small tip in this context: For long distances and unknown destinations, you should obtain comprehensive information about the weather and road conditions in advance. A suitable winter equipment is worth its weight in gold if the worst comes to the worst.
Weak battery or frozen brake valves!
Back to Germany and back to German cold and freezing truck drivers. The good advice is still to take precautions in time. This applies especially to trucks and other commercial vehicles. After all, even with "professional vehicles", the most frequent breakdowns in the cold season are weak batteries, defective lighting and frozen brake valves. Cold weather, many electrical devices and the higher load when starting a cold diesel engine place a much greater demand on the battery in winter. Therefore, carry out the winter check in the workshop!
Safety first!
Kettles, coffee machines and parking heaters in trucks should also always be installed in specialist workshops to prevent short circuits and fires caused by incorrect installation or overloading of the wiring harness. The winter inspection also includes checking the frost protection in the brake system and proactively actuating the drain valves on compressed air boilers. Once a brake system has frozen, the breakdown service is called in. The professionals work with special hose adapters through which hot exhaust gases are directed to the frozen area and the vehicle is quickly back in action.
Tyres need the right grip
Last but not least, the right tyres are important for ice, snow and cold weather. Experts recommend high-traction winter tyres with at least four to six millimetres of tread. The right air pressure is crucial for good grip, because if the air pressure is too high or too low, the tread will clog more quickly. Snow chains must also be checked for wear before winter sets in. It is also advisable to practice putting the chains on before the onset of winter. This will save time and increase safety. Even more comfortable is the automatic snow chain system from OnSpot, which improves traction at the touch of a button. It is permanently mounted and ready for use whenever it is needed. To learn more about the automatic snow chain system, visit www.onspot.com.
Also check the roofs
The roof solutions installed on the respective vehicle, as for example from Edscha TS, should also be tested. Here the handling and safety of the attached roofs should be checked above all. This also includes the function test of electrically operated roof tops. The already mentioned topic of weak batteries also applies here.
Snow and ice are unpleasant and often dangerous loads that can accumulate on the roof tarpaulin of trucks in winter. Failure to remove these roof loads properly before the start of the journey not only means a high risk of accidents, but also economic losses due to damaged roofs or loads. With the DrySystem Edscha Trailer Systems offers an intelligent drainage system for sliding roofs which prevents the accumulation of large quantities of water and thus counteracts the formation of ice.
The dry ice cleaning: Cool!
Did you know that you can also clean with dry ice? Supposedly insoluble dirt such as grease, industrial dirt or deposits can be removed perfectly with dry ice, which is gentle on the material. In dry ice blasting, dry ice pellets are applied to the surface to be cleaned using high pressure air through a nozzle. When the ice pellets hit the surface, the dirt is shock-frozen, broken up and removed without damaging the surface. The dry ice cleaning process is extremely gentle on the material and substrate. That is why, for example, engine washing with dry ice is the safest way to carefully and sustainably maintain the engine compartment, where a lot of electronics are hidden.
