Slightly less than a year ago the residents of one of the hottest states in the country woke up to find their power out, pipes burst and icy havoc everywhere. The big freeze that hit Texas, February 13, 2021 and lasted almost a week, killed more people than the Alamo and racked up billions of dollars in damages.
That should be warning enough to take winter seriously. Whether it’s your tools or equipment you should understand the worst that could happen and prepare for it. Here’s a checklist of the dangers and what you can do to prevent them.
No set of rules could possibly cover all the contingencies for different brands and types of equipment, mobile, stationary, rubber-tire, tracked, low and high horsepower, diesel, gas, hybrid or fully electric. So the #1 rule is to check with the equipment dealer or OEM or consult the manual first.
Also don’t do this slapdash or just whenever you get around to it. Use our list here as a starting point but then study your equipment and needs, develop an action plan and then execute—before it’s too late.
The rechargeable batteries used to run saws, drills, flashlights and even some demolition tools should never be left out in cold weather. Below 40 degrees lithium-ion batteries won’t hold a charge and leaving them out in freezing temperatures can permanently reduce run time. Don’t store these in an unheated shop, or your truck toolbox when freezing weather threatens.
If you build a charging station to hold these tools, batteries and chargers, make it portable so you can bring it inside when necessary and always keep the batteries and tools within the temperature range recommended by the manufacturer.
