As it gets colder, I'm thinking about the change to below freezing temperatures. I've never carried food or water in my car before. I had considered not filling my water container full, to allow for the expansion when the water freezes, and then hope that it I need it I would be able to thaw it somehow (keep it inside the warmed up car maybe). But I'm also wondering about canned food. Do I just let that freeze too, and thaw it and heat it up at the same time?

I am just beginning the car kit process and don't have any sort of stove or heat source yet. Are Sterno type cans affected by freezing temps? Or are there other methods that work well in those cold temps? What do others of you in cold winter climates do? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I tend to carry low moisture foods and enough water to prepare them... but then again, I've also got a Coleman stove and fuel in the back of the Suburban to prepare them on. Canned goods can and will freeze if it gets cold enough, and as such, they'll bulge or burst... not the kind of mess you want in your back seat or trunk. For the short term, jerky and energy bars could probably cover you for a few days, and if you're stuck in your car in the middle of Winter for longer than that, food's not gonna be your biggest problem.

Troy

I'm with Troy on this.

A number of years ago, my wife and I were unexpectedly snowed-in for three days at a friend's cabin outside Cripple Creek, Colorado during a heavy November snowstorm.

Happened on the day we were scheduled to leave, so we'd exhausted the food we brought with us. Had plenty of water, but the only food was two cans of Dinty Moore's Beef Stewleft by the owner, that had been throught the previous season's freeze/thaw cycle. It had turned to mush, but we ate it anyway. Wasn't pleasant; haven't touched the stuff since. (I'm a little smarter now, and wouldn't allow myself to be caught with my pants down, so to speak).

These days, like Troy, car kit includes mostly foodstuff that won't freeze, since we venture beyond the desert, some requiring added water. Kit includes a First Need water purifier (not filter, but purifier), so water needs beyond carried supplies hopefully should be less problematic.

It's gelled methanol, IIRC, so it should be fine down to zero, but it might get a little quirky below that or above, I think 3000 feet. The time to test is now. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I carry a euro-mil surplus alcohal stove that I know will work on HEET drygas, along with a small bag of charcoal and a midget stove that will run off it. I figure between the two, I've got something to cook with.

For the food items, I like things that you don't have to do much with, like granola, cheesie crackers, dried fruit and some small chocolate bars. I am looking for a really good beef jerky I can add, but so far nothing I like and can afford has the staying power I want. I also stuff in a couple packs of raman, but this year I'm also putting in some of the "just add water", premeasured packs of things like rice and mashed potatoes. The Zataran's packs are likely to freeze, but until they do (and go into my indoor supply box), those don't even need to be heated, but they are better hot.

For the water, the old metal GI canteen, if you can find it, is very good, becuase you can thaw the water in it if it freezes, but they are getting harder to find in usable condition. Look at some of the euro-mil stuff, particularly coming out of the old Warsaw Pact nations.

Here in Ohio, I have not had problems so far with water freezing in my car, that said, my car does spend winter nights in a garage, if it were outside all night, my water pouches might freeze. As far as food, I stick mainly with beef jerky, mre breads, crackers and mre cheese spreads [all of which are nearly impossible to find right now due to hurricane relief] and candy bars, which are no big deal if they freeze, many like them frozen in the summertime anyway. Sometimes carry pop tarts as well [but in the heavier style vending packages, not the thin foil in the grocery stores] you can usually find the vending style packages in some of the stores like GFS [gordon food service] if you have any of those in your area.

Try minimus.biz for the spreads. A friend of mine ordered spread packets, including cheese spreads, from them about a week ago. A bit pricy, but they have them.

There is also another site that I ran over a few months ago, epicurious or something like that, don't remember it exactly. They had a bunch of very high end, gourmet items in wet pack retort pouches, including a couple of spiffy sounding spreads and few high brow items like shrimp cocktail.

Corection, it was theepicenter.com, but I don't see the shrimp cocktail any more. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I figured it would make a good trade item. They also seem fresh ouf of the cheese, but give cheapndirt a try.

I was in the Air Force in North Dakota for four years, and we all carried winter survival kits. A few candles to warm the car (with windows cracked), blankets, and food. But back then, it was either C-rations or K-rations, I can't remember which. Freezing had no effect, and all was in metal cans we could heat over a candle. (Be sure you have something to light the candle.)

I used to eat the meals in the spring or summer, so they didn't go to waste, and having been in the car all winter in below-zero temps had no effect on those rations. Of course, who could tell if there _were_ a bad effect on that stuff?

In North Dakota, water was not considered an issue in winter survival. If you got stranded, you had all the water you could want in huge piles outside your car. The issue was staying warm inside the car; blankets, thermal undies, and big boots. Everybody was told to carry a couple of candles and crack the window a little so you didn't die from carbon monoxide, and _don't_ keep the car running, as you could never be sure the exhaust pipe wouldn't be buried in drifting snow.

Mileages vary, locations and dangers vary, neeeds vary. Use your judgment and make your choices.

Good question !!

In France, the Weather Bureau predicts a cold winter, so we are preparing for that, too.
Forget the Sterno can, it won't heat much.

We are presently testing - on a wide scale - the following method :
- leave the freezed can in the car's trunk ;
- open one window ;
- get out of the car and close the door ;
- throw a Molotov cocktail inside the car ;
- wait for the burned out car to cool down a bit ...
- open the trunk (watch your fingers, it's still hot...) and get the can : it should be thawed ....
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Good to hear from you. Any chance you can just stay inside until things quiet down?

How well does that work, exactly? I've never tried (and living in Florida, I don't get the chance much anymore <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

How much of a temperature rise can you expect from a single candle? Seems like cracking the window enough to prevent CO buildup would let in so much cold air it wouldn't be worth doing. Obviously, I'm wrong, just curious if anyone's actually tried this...

I guess you'd want a can or something in which to burn the candle. And it seems like this would have some of the same precautionary warnings that having a flame in a tent would have.