# Winter Giveaway!



## Milbank_Grace (May 18, 2018)

Brrrr it's snowy and icy up here! We will select five people below for a Milbank branded winter prize pack with all your cold weather essentials. 

Tell us about a time worked in crazy weather! :vs_rain:


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I have worked in a new building in upstate NY in winter where it was so cold the plastic sheeting covering the window and door openings froze, cracked and fell off in the wind.


----------



## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

I am from Miami and moved to SC about 35 years ago. The worst conditions I have ever worked in up here is on top of a resin silo, in the middle of the night, with 8 degree temps. 
It was so cold it made me feel sick.
Almost record temps for this area. And a record snowfall the following morning.

I am so glad that can never happen to me again.
I am retired so I don't want or need the prizes. But there are guys here that really could I'm sure.


----------



## Voltron (Sep 14, 2012)

Last week, I froze my but off in -20 wind chills pushing my cart from building to building doing service work in downtown Detroit. This week somehow feels like spring.


----------



## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

When working on generators in the cold, I leave the truck running and the heat cranked up. I work for awhile and retreat to the van to warm up my hands. I have these great Canadian made boots for my feet. I wear very thin gloves because I need to be able to work with small parts so my hands get cold quickly. That said, hats off to those guys working outside in the Midwest over the last couple of weeks. We’ve had some cold here, but nothing like what you’ve had.


----------



## canbug (Dec 31, 2015)

As an apprentice my JM and I drove 2.5 hrs in a winter storm to change a photo cell on a compressor building. We took 5 minute turns outside to work on the PC. It took the two of us 45 minutes to change. Damn it was miserable.


----------



## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

This morning i spent about an hour 40 feet up in the air mounding a telemetry antenna . _9 25 mile an hour winds. 
Last week I was on the same job putting in one of your OPPD rated 200 ampere 7 jaw sockets that I paid about $400. I wasn't as cold then as I was still livid pissed from taking the screwing on the socket.


----------



## Forge Boyz (Nov 7, 2014)

Last week when it was so cold I kept pushing an outside job off. I ended up driving there in a snow storm to get it done.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk


----------



## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

I was working on a job 11 years ago putting a service in a building when it was -something outside, and we had to heat up the wire over a propane heater and pre-bend it so the insulation wouldn't snap when fighting with it from a disconnect to a panel.

Another time I was working on a service when it was -something and I went over to open the sliding door of my van, but there was a little bit of ice holding the door closed. I gave the door handle a good tug and the handle broke and back I flew into a snowbank.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Forge Boyz said:


> Last week when it was so cold I kept pushing an outside job off. I ended up driving there in a snow storm to get it done.


Fickle finger of fate....


----------



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

I can’t really think of a cold weather story except for the time I ran into a white car parked beside a snow bank.

Mostly cold weather work is slow and methodical with lots of warm up breaks. Fixing heat tracing on frozen sewer lines can be chitty.


----------



## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

I once used a jackhammer with an asphalt bit to get through frozen ground to dig a ditch for some underground work. 

Never again.


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I recall a job where we had all our stuff in a locked closet and the wire lube froze up over night so when I got there after a service call they had an apprentice splitting up the lube with an ax like cord wood and melting it in a metal bucket next to a fire...


----------



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

MikeFL said:


> I once used a jackhammer with an asphalt bit to get through frozen ground to dig a ditch for some underground work.
> 
> Never again.


Reminds me of a job where my helper was cutting the ground out in chunks in front of a crawlspace opening with a sawzall so he could get the access panel out of the opening.


----------



## jw0445 (Oct 9, 2009)

Two weeks ago had to replace wiring to well pump 400 ft. away in 15 degree weather and windy. Backhoed the snow away, dug trench, laid pipe, and pulled wire. Brother that was cold.


----------



## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

One time back in the 80's, I spent two hours in the middle of January chipping an 8 inch block of ice from the ground to the gutter off the side of a building so I could put up a new service riser. :vs_mad:

On the same job, I had the end of a ground rod I was pounding in come right back up behind me. 

Unrelated to the trades, I drove a car carrier for Anchor Motor Frieight in the late 70's for awhile. While loading cars in Wellesley Island N.Y. Up on the Canadian boarder, I fell off the headramp and laid unconscious for two hours in sub-zero temperatures before a security guard found me. 

I spent a week in the the hospital in Watertown, NY recovering from hypothermia and frost bite to my hands. The effects of the frostbite bothered me the whole time during my electrical career. To this day, I still suffer the effects of the frostbite in my hands.

God, I'm loving my first winter in Florida!:biggrin:


----------



## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

*inside colder than outside*

When I work repairs for welding machines we would go out and work on the ships in dry-dock. It was 15 degrees colder in winter and 15 degrees hotter in summer in the ship than outside, because the metal held the temperature. So 10 outside = -5 inside. 90 outside = 105 inside.


Cowboy up


----------



## manchestersparky (Mar 25, 2007)

I installed a 1600 amp service switch along with a 12x12 x x20 foot long wireway, 8- 200 amp meters, and 8- 200 amp disconnects on the exterior of a building in a sleet storm one winter. That just plain sucked. 
I also spent a winter doing outside work at a prison. We installed a 5" 6 way concrete encased duct bank that was 1 1/2 miles long. We were installing pvc and pouring concrete while it snowed. I had to borrow frost blankets from a concrete company to cover the concrete when we poured it so it would cure properly.
Between the duct bank, the 50 pole bases, and the generator /transformer pads, I poured a little over 1200 yards of concrete on that job


----------



## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

Yes, it has been really cold around here recently, but my cold story is from several years ago.

I worked 15 hours on a Saturday night, on the roof of an industrial plant doing the controls on some process equipment. This was during an ice storm. Supposedly, the job "had to be finished that day". The temperature was not super cold, upper 20s F, but he wind was 20 MPH +. I know that is hard to believe, but the ice would freeze on my coat and break off. 

I finally finished the job at about 2200. Then i had to get off of the roof, that was covered in about an inch of ice. The only exit was a temporary scaffold with the stair like ladders zig zagged to the top of a 40 foot high building. This was a real challenge do climb down without falling. I get down without killing myself and discover that the roads are not drivable to get home, so I had to spend the night in a small town "Bates motel". 

On Monday, I discover that all of the piping, where I was connecting instruments, was installed incorrectly by the pipe fitters and would all be removed.


----------



## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

There are no good stories that come to mind. They all suck. I took a while to think of one that stood out. 

I was wiring a townhome development. In the winter when it snowed bad I would use my lifted truck to get supplies from the trailer instead of the site van. I was lifting a 1,000’ spool of Romex to the tailgate. I arched my back to get it up that little bit more. Suddenly both feet slipped forward, I was completely up in the air, nailed both shins against the bumper, landed on my back with head hitting the ground hard and a 1,000’ spool of wire bouncing off my chest. 

By the time I got up there was the sickest looking snow angle left in the snow that anyone would ever see. 

Same job I almost blacked out when a 2” hole saw bound up on a 1/2” drill. I was drilling out the box plate in the basement when the handle came around and clocked me in the side of the head. My head was between the joist and the drill. Fell off the short ladder flat on my back on the concrete floor. I was out for a second. 

They only had the decks done of the four unit, and I liked to put sleeves in before the block firewalls. None of the other trades were there that day due to weather. If I knocked myself out I don’t know who would have found me.


----------



## Navyguy (Mar 15, 2010)

Two things come to mind with my cold weather stories...

Once as an apprentice I tried to pull wire off the roll at about -30*C and the insulation just cracked off in little pieces. The second is we had to wear our hardhats on a job and my hat was tucked under my hood. I turned around and my hat flew off and it broke in half right where between the hood was covering and where it was exposed to the cold. That was another day around -30 or -40*C.

Cold is one thing, but even in the "warmer temps" of the winter, sliding on the ice is a big issue. Cleats are a must on some of these jobs where you can have a serious accident just getting in and out of the truck. I have a great pair of Red Wing boots but in some conditions I still slip and slide without my cleats.

Cheers
John


----------



## bill39 (Sep 4, 2009)

1977-78 was an extremely cold winter in Indiana and we were working outside of a factory doing the electrical on a huge dust collection system. A lot was on a scaffold about 20 ft. in the air. 

What really sucked was it was across the street from a time & temp sign. We would cheer when it got above zero (F). One day it got up to about 32 degrees and sun shine. We ate outside that day in the sun. It felt great.

One of the old timers asked me if I knew how to tell when it was really cold..... It’s when the clothes you are wearing are 5 inches thick and you only have 2 inches of [email protected]


----------



## Galt (Sep 11, 2013)

I think it was 2006 worked all day just got my work clothes off and the phone rings it's a good customer of mine. He said he turned a silo unloader on and all went dark. Said he had no power in the house,barn or any other buildings. Best thing about it minus 38 with 30 to 40 mile an hour winds. I have clothes to work in this and lots of facial hair but your eyes start to hurt after a while. The farmer stayed out there with me the whole time holding a sheet of plywood up wind.Except when he was in the house calling the line men from the co-op giving them the great news that we had nothing coming in. All the equipment at the pole was burnt must have been quite a show. We just hooked everything direct to the power co. and came back when it got above zero.


----------



## A Little Short (Nov 11, 2010)

Two stories:


Had to replace a well pump motor, working with a plumber. He did the piping and I did the electrical. It was about 5° but the wind was blowing about 40 mph. I had to put some heat shrink on the electrical connections that went down the well shaft. I was using a torch but couldn't couldn't light it easily and when it would light the wind blew it out.
There was nothing around to block the wind. So I took off my coat and had the plumber hold it around the torch while I used the torch. I was froze stiff when we finished!


Worked in the dark night during an ice storm that took out a lot of services. Had one that was a mobile/mfg home and the service was on a pole. The pole was broken off when a tree fell and hit the power line and jerked the pole over. We had a new pole but couldn't get the old pole out of the ground because the ground was frozen.
We finally had to use a torch to heat up the ground enough to thaw it some. That kind of worked but we had to add some "fuel" and set it on fire. Then we were able to get the broken pole out and set a new one.


----------



## Milbank_Grace (May 18, 2018)

Brrr sounds freezing... let us help you warm up with a few prizes for sharing your story! Please look for a private message from me requesting shipping information. Thanks! :yes:


----------

