During a couple of our below-freezing days here in Philly I noticed that my empeg would appeared to freeze during playback. I was able to switch and listen to the radio, but not MP3 playback. This makes total sense since the operating temperature for the radio is lower than that of MP3s. I just wasn't sure if this was one of those buggy lockups that I had experience before.

But according to Tanstaafl, the empeg has temperature monitoring circuitry that will prevent the hard drives from spinning up if these temperature limits are exceeded. Since the empeg controls when the hard drives can be spun up, why not display a message that the current temperature is not within the acceptable operating temperature range?

Craig Elliott
elliott@g-cnet.com

But according to Tanstaafl, the empeg has temperature monitoring circuitry that will prevent the hard drives from spinning up if these temperature limits are exceeded.

There was another thread on this subject recently. Anyone have that link?

In that thread, it was revealed that, at the current time, despite what it says at the Empeg web site (which is where tanstaafl got his information), this feature is commented out in the software because of some problems with it. So it tries to spin up the hard disk and play MP3s even when the temperature is outside the allowed range.

So I'd recommend leaving the Empeg turned off in subzero temperatures until they can get around to fixing those bugs and re-implementing the feature.

In a related note, I have a suspicion that the lack of this feature might have indirectly led to the failure of one of my hard disks. I'm not trying to accuse and point fingers (in fact, if true, it's my fault anyway), but shortly before my hard disk failed, I had replaced my home entertainment center to accept a new TV set. The new cabinet had the tuner/amplifier inside a closed space behind glass doors instead of in the open air as the previous one did. Because of logistical reasons, I had taken to placing the Empeg inside this cabinet, resting it atop the tuner/amp unit, closing the door, then letting the Empeg play. Because of the enclosed space and the heat from the tuner/amp, the Empeg would get pretty hot. I paid little attention to this, assuming that it would shut itself down if the heat were a problem. Now that I know otherwise, I wonder if the heat really did cause the damage? I've had improperly-cooled hard disks in my file servers fail, so I know that heat can definitely damage a hard disk...

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Tony Fabris

There was another thread on this subject recently. Anyone have that link?

Try right here

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Thanks, I just updated the corresponding FAQ entry with a link to that thread.

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Tony Fabris

I'm from Québec (Canada) and it's F..ing cool up here :)

every morning i start my car 15 min. before i go to work (anyway it's better for the car to).

the empeg work fine even at -25C last week...

i had to buy a case to keep the empeg with me when i leave the car for more than an hour ...

A+

every morning i start my car 15 min. before i go to work (anyway it's better for the car to).


Ummm... there is room for argument there.

What damages a car in cold weather operation is running the engine at less than optimal temperature. The longer you run it "cold" the more damage you do. The fastest way to get the engine warm is to drive it. You are probably running the engine for twice the number of revolutions to warm it up by idling it than you would by driving, not to mention the fact that the time spent idling is wear on the engine with no productive use made of the running time. In other words, you idle it 15 minutes, then spend 15 minutes driving to work -- you've doubled the running time and the engine wear for the trip.

Now, the above argument assumes that you are starting a somewhat pre-warmed engine (block heater, and oil pan heaters on the engine and transmission) and that you are not using heavy throttle loads immediately on starting off. Under those conditions, the engine will reach optimal operating temperature in as few as 3--5 minutes, as opposed to running 7--10 minutes with improper (cold) engine clearances at idle.

One of the best "engine savers" I have found is an electric interior heater that warms the interior while the block heater warms the engine. When you come out of your house and it's 25 C below zero, having the interior of your car comfortable reduces the temptation to start it up and let it idle. Not to cast any aspersions here, but I have found the great majority of people who rationalize that they are babying their car by idling their engines for extended periods of time in cold weather are really just babying their poor cold tushes!

Well, if this post doesn't get a mini-flame war started, then I've seriously mis-estimated my fellow bbs posters!

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Well, here is a link to THE only real solution for your freezing car.

http://www.webasto-thermo.com/

It do get cold here in Norway too...

TommyE

Under those conditions, the engine will reach optimal operating temperature in as few as 3--5 minutes, as opposed to running 7--10 minutes with improper (cold) engine clearances at idle.

Don't engines have thermostats to deliberately restrict the coolant flow, so that they warm up quickly at idle, whether you're driving the engine hard or not?

That was a rhetorical question, of course I know they exist, I had to replace one of those buggers myself. The question is whether or not they actually still do the job properly in subzero weather.


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Tony Fabris

The question is whether or not they actually still do the job properly in subzero weather.

Whether driving or idling, the thermostat does indeed greatly restrict the coolant flow to the point that virtually no coolant goes through the radiator until the engine reaches operating temperature.

However, an internal combustion engine is only about 15% efficient, in that of the thermal energy contained in the gasoline, about 85% of it is dissipated as waste heat rather than as energy used to propel the car. Driving the car you are using at least four times as much fuel per unit time as you would use idling. That means you are generating about three times as much waste heat. With three or four times as much heat being generated, the engine will warm up three or four times as fast.

Under extreme conditions (minus 40 degrees C or F and colder) some engines (particularly small ones where cube/square law becomes important and with alloy blocks and heads that radiate heat more efficiently) simply will never reach operating temperature while idling. You can drive home, leave the car idling and see the engine temperature drop as you watch the gauge.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"