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Hello from frozen Montana

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007.

  1. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    [​IMG]
    First, allow me to introduce myself. I am a graduating senior at Montana Tech in Butte, MT. I purchased my 06 package 5 in may and love it. Perhaps the most interesting thing that I can impart is the fact that I am going to work as a petroleum engineer upon graduation. You might say that I am a rather green petroleum person, thus I did not buy the prius just to save money on gas, though that is a great benefit. Just thought I'd stop in and say hello (long time reader, first time poster).
    By the way, the above image was taken this morning before I went to work. Sorry about the quality (cell phone). Butte, MT is one of the coldest places in the lower 48. I am not sure what the sensor bottoms at, but the actual outside temperature was -25 F. It is supposed to be -33 F tomorrow morning. Talk to you later.
     
    #1 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  2. MegansPrius

    MegansPrius GoogleMeister, AKA bongokitty

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ewhanley @ Jan 12 2007, 05:59 PM) [snapback]374863[/snapback]</div>
    Nice photo! What kind of mileage are you getting in those temperatures?
     
    #2 MegansPrius, Jan 12, 2007
  3. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Jan 12 2007, 03:02 PM) [snapback]374868[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks. I haven't reset in the last three tanks, and I am sitting at 39.4 right now. That includes some warmer temperature driving too, though. This is a marked change from my running average (rough) through the summer and early fall of ~52 mpg. The car seems to be okay even in very cold conditions, though on my drive to work this morning it gave a strange surging sensation when accelerating. It has been my experience that no car is quite itself at subzero conditions. My commute here is very short, so cold weather destroys my average.
     
    #3 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  4. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ewhanley @ Jan 12 2007, 04:12 PM) [snapback]374872[/snapback]</div>
    The MFD resets its mpg value when it detects that more than 3 gallons were added, so it likely has reset on its own. Have you tried blocking the grill? That's good mileage for a short commute, I don't think I could get that on my 8-mile commute in even single-digit temperatures, based on my few measurements before I blocked the grill. (I bought my Prius in late Feb. so the first couple tanks were in cold weather, since then there's only been one or two weeks of real winter so far here in Chicago.)

    I've also been seeing some surging the first couple minutes I drive, I'm not sure what's behind that. But it hasn't even been below 20'F the last month, so it's not as severe conditions as your subzeros.

    I lived for awhile NE of Billings, I have a sister NW of Helena, between Polson and Idaho. I grew up near International Falls, MN, so -33' is very familiar to me. Not as of late, though.

    Should be good demand for your career skills. Would that require travel, or does it depend on the actual position you would get? Not any slight towards you, since we badly need petroleum for the forseeable future, civilization depends on it, but I look forward to the day that we don't need it.
     
    #4 nerfer, Jan 12, 2007
  5. MarinJohn

    MarinJohn Senior Member

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    I spent the summers of my youth in Kalispell riding motorcycles high in the Rockies to the end of the paved roads, onto and to the end of dirt roads, onto and to the end of deer trails. Once spent the winter in a teepee near Polebridge. I worked that winter with an Amish outfit hauling logs out of the woods with horses. It was a 'religious' experience every day to never hear any machinery, only the sound of horses, creaking leather and men giving them verbal commands, smelling pristine air laced with working man and horse odors. When 'spring' came I had to be towed 65 miles to the nearest paved road by a logging truck. Still have relatives in Whitefish. NW Montana is my favorite part of the country. Those were the days in Flathead Valley before Hollywood 'discovered' it as country home territory.
     
    #5 MarinJohn, Jan 12, 2007
  6. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Jan 12 2007, 03:54 PM) [snapback]374895[/snapback]</div>
    I noticed that the miles reset when 3+ gallons are added, but the mpg doesn't unless the reset button is pushed. I haven't blocked the grill, but I am going to this weekend. I have been extremely pleased with the mileage from this car.
    There is a tremendous demand for petroleum engineers, and I have already accepted a job in Anchorage, AK. My position, reservoir engineer, will require minimal travel. I will, however, have the opportunity to work internationally in 18 months, and that is something that I am very much interested in. I understand your desire to end our dependence on petroleum. I consider myself a realist, and until we find the magic bullet to solve our problems, we must continue to use petroleum as our primary source of energy. That being said, I think we could be vastly more responsible in our usage and not blindly destroy the planet in the name of "the American Dream" otherwise known as driving a massive SUV combined with rabid consumerism.
     
    #6 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  7. Rangerdavid

    Rangerdavid Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ewhanley @ Jan 12 2007, 06:56 PM) [snapback]374929[/snapback]</div>
    ewhanley:

    I admire your attitude! I wish more engineers had such a forward looking and realistic attitude. You know we have another poster on here from Alaska, so you won't be alone up there. Thanks for posting and best wishes for success in your future......... :D
     
    #7 Rangerdavid, Jan 12, 2007
  8. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Great photo documentation!

    I was worried for a second there. But I've still got you beat. -18F is what I was able to capture with a camera.

    Enjoy the cold. Here in Minnesota, it's been unusally warm... not much like the typical winter, which is strangely disappointing.
     
    #8 john1701a, Jan 12, 2007
  9. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Jan 12 2007, 07:10 PM) [snapback]374989[/snapback]</div>
    I will try again tomorrow morning. It is crystal clear here tonight, and I don't think we ever got above 0 F today. :)

    Also, thanks Rangerdavid. I think you would be surprised at how few of the younger generation of petroleum engineers still exhibit the "drill it all" attitude. I was.
     
    #9 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  10. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    Yeah and next year Carroll Saints will whip your collective butts. Welcome to PC. My son is a Carroll Grad!
     
    #10 hdrygas, Jan 12, 2007
  11. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas @ Jan 12 2007, 08:05 PM) [snapback]375001[/snapback]</div>
    Rather go to hell than be a saint!
    Thanks for the welcome.
     
    #11 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  12. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Petrolium engineer, eh? (Canada boardering state Joke) Our Summer home is in Kalispell ... the WARM side of the rockies ... where it was a toastie 6 degrees in town today. If you know the area, you know that's about 25 degrees below the average for this time of year. No one but Montanans would ever believe the west side of the Rockies is that much warmer. If you've ever visited the city, our home is right across the street from the historic Conrad mansions's gardens.

    How far in years or semesters are you away from graduation? What do the profs teach (presuming your past the general ed junk) ... if anything, about "Peak Oil". Good 'ol Mr Hubbert. Crackpot? or not. It would be interesting to hear from the insiders. I only ask because during the 1970's ... when nuke engineering was the rage (even as lobyists were killing nuke power), acadamia said little about it, and that left a few folks with less to do in the industry that was supposed to be the wave of the future.
     
    #12 hill, Jan 12, 2007
  13. ewhanley

    ewhanley New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Jan 12 2007, 08:50 PM) [snapback]375031[/snapback]</div>
    I would have to agree that the Kalispell area is probably the best in Montana. Butte is also just west of the divide, but it doesn't share the same fair weather.

    I will graduate in May. I am actually about a semester from a master's degree, but I gotta get while the gettin's good. Not to mention, I don't really want a masters in petroleum. My degree is techically geological engineering, but all of my upper division coursework is in petroleum engineering, so I am about half and half. I have only ever had one professor mention "hubbert's peak," unfortunately said professor is such a cranky old geologist, he rarely gets his point across. I can say that most petroleum engineering courses are geared towards secondary, tertiary, and enhanced oil recovery. In other words, for the most part, gone are the days of finding new fields. The focus now, in the US at least, is primarily on recovering oil from fields that would have been considered dead 10 or 20 years ago. The Middle East and Russia are a different story altogether, though.
     
    #13 ewhanley, Jan 12, 2007
  14. Bill Lumbergh

    Bill Lumbergh USAF Aircraft Maintainer

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ewhanley @ Jan 12 2007, 06:12 PM) [snapback]374872[/snapback]</div>
    I, too, have felt the surging while accelerating when it's very cold out. Around 0 F or below for me. I asked a question about it last winter and someone mentioned the mass airflow sensor could be bottoming out.

    I have a short commute, and despite blocking my grills and using a block heater, I'm barely averaging 31 MPG the last three tanks. I don't even drive aggressively.
     
    #14 Bill Lumbergh, Jan 13, 2007
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