ACtion Magazine - April 2014 - (Page 54)

H Snow: The other four-letter word ere in the Great Northeast, we've added the term "polar vortex," previously unfamiliar to most of us, to our water cooler and dinner table chat. While this is a complex meteorological phenomenon, when it is visited upon a region, it breaks down to this: record-breaking cold, ice and snow. Recently, we dodged a weather bullet in the form of a storm predicted to drop another 12 inches of snow on the region. We only got a dusting, but that hasn't been the case with a multitude of other storms that have swept through the area this winter. While some in colder climes might label us wimps for complaining about six feet of snow and single-digit temperatures, those kinds of snow totals and blasts of arctic air placed us near our historical records (not to mention our endurance levels). The ubiquitous food staples, "bread, milk and eggs," have taken a beating, snow blowers have to be ordered over eBay, and salt and other de-icing products have become rare commodities, causing some to use sand, cinders and cat litter. State, county and municipal budgets have taken a beating between overtime man-hours and salt supplies expended in the battle to make roads passable and Snow totals and blasts of keep drivers safe. The high demand for road salt has many towns scrambling to augment their dwindling supplies. arctic air placed us near There is concern about how the use of salt on sidewalks our historical records. and highways can damage vegetation and road surfaces. A recent article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. discusses more eco-friendly alternatives to sodium chloride for keeping roads clear. According to the report, cheese brine is now part of the de-icing process in Wisconsin, some towns in the U.S. are mixing molasses into salt brine to help it stick to roads, and Toronto does the same using beet juice. Further, vampires may want to steer clear of Ankeny, Iowa, where reportedly nine tons of garlic salt from a spice factory was used to de-ice the streets. Hurricanes, tsunamis and ﬂoods typically are assessed in terms of lives lost, injuries, and the economic cost to public infrastructure and private holdings, but it's more difﬁcult to assess a "polar vortex" in these terms, given the geography and span of the event. Trumping all other considerations, of course, are lives lost and injuries suffered. Sadly these are more common than one would hope, resulting from massive, multi-car pileups on icy interstates, thousands of single car accidents, home ﬁres, falling trees and other events. The budgetary demands of snow and ice removal and repairing potholes may have a domino effect on the public infrastructure, siphoning funds earmarked for other road improvements or bridge repairs. The impact on private holdings includes widespread power outages and the resulting costs, building losses and damages from ﬁre and ice, and the toll on vehicles. Collision repair shops are seeing increased demands this winter as a result of vehicle accidents. Tire and suspension shops must also be hard pressed, as a short drive to almost anywhere is reminiscent of a grand prix slalom event, requiring the driver to frantically weave between potholes capable of blowing a tire or trashing a suspension. And then there's the road salt. We asked longtime MACS Member Tim Iezzi, owner of Iezzi's Auto Service in Reading, PA about this. Tim said, "One thing we're already seeing in our shop, with the amount of snow we've had, and the amount of road salt and de-icing chemicals that Pennsylvania's DOT has had to put down on the roads, is more corrosion damage to underbody A/C lines and condensers. I'm seeing more condenser failures, more underbody line failures, more low-mounted suction and discharge lines corroding through. Obviously brake lines, brake rotors, radiators - basically just more corrosion damage." The severe weather has also been a detriment to customers keeping their regular service schedule as snow days and bad travel conditions have made for an easy excuse to delay that needed service appointment. Now that April is ﬁnally here, let's all have faith that one day soon the sun will come out, spring will have sprung and bays will be full repairing the damage left behind by a winter we'd all rather forget. " Elvis Hoffpauir, Editor-in-Chief You can reach Elvis at elvis@macsw.org 54 ACTION * April 2014 Advertiser Index 1-800-Radiator & A/C............................2 A/C Designs ....................................... 39 AGS Company..................................... 14 AirSept .............................................. 46 Arizona Mobile Air ................................8 Austin Baker Industries, Inc. ................ 23 Bergstrom.......................................... 41 Behr-Hella............................................9 Blue Devil Products............................. 47 BVA Oils ............................................ 36 Dealer Automotive Service .................. 42 Delphi ............................................... 51 DENSO ............................................. 55 Ford Parts .......................................... 19 Four Seasons ...................................... 56 Gates Corporation ........................ Center Global Parts ....................................... 44 Honeywell ......................................... 17 Johnson Manufacturing....................... 23 MACS Worldwide ..................... 30-31, 38 MEI Corporation ............................... 6, 7 Old Air Products ................................. 40 Omega .............................................. 15 Polar Mobility .................................... 16 Robinair ............................................ 27 RTI .................................................... 11 Santech ............................................. 53 Schrader ............................................ 16 T/CCI Mfg. ......................................... 21 Tracer ................................................ 25 Trans/Air Mfg. .................................... 45 TSI Inc./SuperCool ................................3 Tubes 'n Hoses ................................... 37 TYC/Genera ........................................ 33 Universal Air Conditioner ......................5 To request information from our advertisers visit www.macsw.org and click on the ACtion Reader Reply button. 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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - April 2014

A/C Season Opener
Networking in the Big Easy
Getting Legal
Outlook
Freeze Frame
Leonard's Law
Virtual View
Service Port
Last Watch
By the Numbers
Cooling Corner
Industry News
Association News
Letter to the editor
New Products

ACtion Magazine - April 2014