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Its Winter...

By Bitter, December 6, 2006

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What household chemical can i pour in along with my washer fluid to melt the ice faster? i know some alcohols melt ice well, but which are safe for the pump and rubber hoses?

im not sure, i think they sell deicer stuff that is pretty cheap, household stuff um i dunno

the deicer spray cans are good and all,but i have to get out and spray and scrape alot still. i'd like something i can just spray out of the nozzles.

K_Watson

I just switched to the yellow Prestone washer fluid. haven't tried it but one of my friends swears by it.

thanks!

Bikeman982

I thought windshield washer fluid had some kind of alcohol in them that prevented it from freezing?

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I thought windshield washer fluid had some kind of alcohol in them that prevented it from freezing?

It does, but the cheap blue stuff you buy at the autoparts store and gas station doesn't have enough alcohol in it and it is lacking other chemicals that enhance freezing protection. The Prestone Yellow has never frozen on me, even in -20ºF temps. I highly recommend it.

-20 temps where are you living at, if it gets that cold id move ha thats a bit much my friend, your new name is the eskimo ha

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-20 temps where are you living at, if it gets that cold id move ha thats a bit much my friend, your new name is the eskimo ha

It's Ohio, it gets cold here, especially in January with the windchill. Ohio is flat lands until you reach Cincinnati thanks to our good old friend the glacier, and the winds in parts of the state whip and whirl themselves to fantastic speeds. Take 10ºF air and whirl it at 40 mph and it is 20 below.

I used to live North of Detroit, when we moved there in early June, 1992 it was snowing. Temperatures and windchill temps there routinely got cold enough to freeze fresh steaks solid if we put them out in our heated garage for a couple of hours. That is cold.

Quite honestly, I don't mind. I don't have to get out the snow blower nearly as often as I have to mow the lawn in the summer. The snow doesn't make driving any harder per-se, instead of protecting myself from sunburn, I protect myself from frostbite, and it doesn't take nearly as much time to warm up the car as it does to cool it down (it has to do with thermodynamics). The only bad thing is having to defrost the car, which I let the car do by running it with all the defrosters on, but that is only when I have to park outside, which is not very often when I'm at home.

ya well im just over here in fort wayne it gets cold but i wasnt thinking of windchill. cold is ok but anymore i am just looking forward to warmer weather, not in the mood to shovel snow, anyone wanna heat my driveway?

Bikeman982

I was stationed in Michigan for four years where it was pretty cold.

I used to start my car up, go inside and have breakfast, then come out and drive to work.

Of course, the cost of gas was cheaper then!!

I was stationed in Michigan for four years where it was pretty cold.I used to start my car up, go inside and have breakfast, then come out and drive to work.

 

Of course, the cost of gas was cheaper then!!

the cost of gas as well as i dont want to leave my car running outside of work for 15 minutes or sit in it running for 15 minutes after work, or class. i just want to get the ice off and go the heck home!

 

especially this upcoming semsester where i'm at school tues and thurs for 2 classes in a row, 4:30 till almost 11 at night ONTOP of working thursday morning unloading a truck for atleast 6 hours.

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ya well im just over here in fort wayne it gets cold but i wasnt thinking of windchill. cold is ok but anymore i am just looking forward to warmer weather, not in the mood to shovel snow, anyone wanna heat my driveway?

We don't need a heated driveway. Our driveway is 35 feet wide and 45 feet long; it takes 10 minutes to clear with our Toro Snow Thrower. It is a 8hp beast left over from the Michigan winters where more than a foot of snow was common on a regular basis. Here we usually get less than 3 inches at a time and the Toro has no problem with that. It can throw snow 30+ feet when it's the light powdery stuff. We have the biggest snow blower on the block by at least 5hp, and the neighbors always look at us like we're stupid for having something that big to take care of the snow we get. We're not about to get rid of it though.

We didn't have a snow thrower until 1998, and those Michigan winters were miserable without it, so I feel your pain about having to shovel snow. Sometimes I shovel snow just for exercise when there is only an inch or less and it makes me all the more thankful for the Toro when there is 3 inches of the white stuff covering the driveway.

-the99contour

our is a little 3hp 85cc 2stroke toro thats about 5 years younger than me default_laugh and it runs great! it'll toss snow upto 12 inches deep over 20 feet and can do the entire driveway on about 1/2 tank of fuel.

Bikeman982

Since moving to CA in 1986 I have seen only 1 day where there was snow flakes.

I ran outside with my video camera to record it. It melted before the day was over.

What is shoveling snow like ??? - I seem to have forgotten!

-20 temps where are you living at, if it gets that cold id move ha thats a bit much my friend, your new name is the eskimo ha

I use -45 fluid and unless you have a warmed up car, it's just going to freeze with the windchill as your wipers have removed the washer fluid. Once your wipers have made a pass....the stuff is gone and will just keep freezing.

Just don't do what I did a couple of years ago! I was about a half hour from home and had been driving for a while when it started getting a bit slushy. The temperature wasn't that much of a problem as the van was quite warm. I ran out of washer fluid and had to pull over and the only thing I had in the vehicle was a large bottle of ginger ale, which I threw in. Man....talk about a messy winshield. It DID get me to a gas station a few miles up the road in a pinch, but it was like shaking a bottle of beer and throwing it on the window.

A bit of a change of subject.

I am happy of what I did a couple of hours ago on the way home from work.

I took a different route after work at 2am and the temperature was a few degrees below freezing. After bypassing the downtown area, I was passing a bit of a field and barely noticed a pair of legs sticking out of the few inches of snow we had yesterday. (I once noticed a dollar bill on the side of the road while going 50mph).

I made a couple of passes and immediately drove downtown where there are always police watching the University students finishing their bar rounds. After telling them what I saw, I went back a few minutes later and the cops were there with the guy on the ground and he was moving around, so at least he was still breathing.

Yea, Prestone De-Icer works great.

I went back a few minutes later and the cops were there with the guy on the ground and he was moving around, so at least he was still breathing.

Wow, thats really a weird story. Was the guy Asian by any chance ( PIC joke, ok ). A few years ago, I saw a guy slumped over his steering wheel. Called the cops, turned out he was just sleeping.

Another time during a horrific snowstorm ( and its was only 10F with a monster wind ) I found a phillipine family stranded in their disabled car on the highway. The guy was literally fresh off the boat and had never even been in snow before! I told them I'd be happy to give them a ride to the police station, and they did. There were also 2 kids and a newborn in the car. I tell ya, it could have been bad for them.

Bikeman982

A bit of a change of subject. I am happy of what I did a couple of hours ago on the way home from work.

 

I took a different route after work at 2am and the temperature was a few degrees below freezing. After bypassing the downtown area, I was passing a bit of a field and barely noticed a pair of legs sticking out of the few inches of snow we had yesterday. (I once noticed a dollar bill on the side of the road while going 50mph).

I made a couple of passes and immediately drove downtown where there are always police watching the University students finishing their bar rounds. After telling them what I saw, I went back a few minutes later and the cops were there with the guy on the ground and he was moving around, so at least he was still breathing.

You are a life-saver.

My son-in-law once helped a man that was stabbed in a hold-up robbery. The man was bleeding very badly and was helped to the hospital. The problem was that the car ended up with blood all inside the back seat area.

I once came by a man whose engine was on fire. I grabbed the extinguisher I had in my van and put it out. He was very happy.

My father once saved two kids that were playing in the sand area behind our house. The kids made a little tunnel and it caved in on them - burying them both. My dad went to them with a shovel and dug them out before they suffocated. He was recognized in the local paper for his actions.

I once went to a super market on a very hot day in August. In a car next to me in the parking lot, there was a baby in the back, in a car seat. None of the car windows were open, and the baby did not appear to be moving. I immediately called 9/11. The police arrived in less than 2 minutes, luckily just as the mother was emerging from the store. Judging by the size of her grocery order, she must have been in there quite some time. I never found out what happened to the woman, but last I saw her she was in handcuffs in the back seat of the police car. I guess the baby was OK, thank God!

 

A cheap way to lower the freezing point of your windshield wiper fluid would be to add a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Just a thought, I haven't tried it myself. However I do carry a gallon jug of water with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol in it as a quick de-icer for days when my windows are frosted over. It's half the price of the sprays, and works as well. I keep it in the trunk all Winter, and it has never frozen even with overnight temps in the 20's. You could get fancy and put it in a sprayer bottle, but I just dump it liberally over the glass from the top, each application uses about a pint or so and it seems to work just as good as the de-icer sprays which cost $3.50 a quart. The alcohol is about a buck a bottle at Wal*Mart.

Bikeman982

I once went to a super market on a very hot day in August. In a car next to me in the parking lot, there was a baby in the back, in a car seat. None of the car windows were open, and the baby did not appear to be moving. I immediately called 9/11. The police arrived in less than 2 minutes, luckily just as the mother was emerging from the store. Judging by the size of her grocery order, she must have been in there quite some time. I never found out what happened to the woman, but last I saw her she was in handcuffs in the back seat of the police car. I guess the baby was OK, thank God! 

 

A cheap way to lower the freezing point of your windshield wiper fluid would be to add a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Just a thought, I haven't tried it myself. However I do carry a gallon jug of water with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol in it as a quick de-icer for days when my windows are frosted over. It's half the price of the sprays, and works as well. I keep it in the trunk all Winter, and it has never frozen even with overnight temps in the 20's. You could get fancy and put it in a sprayer bottle, but I just dump it liberally over the glass from the top, each application uses about a pint or so and it seems to work just as good as the de-icer sprays which cost $3.50 a quart. The alcohol is about a buck a bottle at Wal*Mart.

Sounds like a good habit. Carry isopropyl alcohol.

Can it also be added to the windshield washer fluid?

Bike: Sure, that was what I was suggesting. It would have the effect of reducing the freezing point of the fluid which was already in the washer fluid reservoir. Of course, it would take a hygrometer test to determine exactly how low the freezing point had shifted, based on the amount of isopropol alcohol added. However, if your washer fluid already possessed anti-freeze protection, it would be a waste, unless you were expecting very low sub-zero temperatures -- something I'm sure you people in California don't know anything about. But in Duluth, Minnesota, it may be a help!

Bikeman982

Bike: Sure, that was what I was suggesting. It would have the effect of reducing the freezing point of the fluid which was already in the washer fluid reservoir. Of course, it would take a hygrometer test to determine exactly how low the freezing point had shifted, based on the amount of isopropol alcohol added. However, if your washer fluid already possessed anti-freeze protection, it would be a waste, unless you were expecting very low sub-zero temperatures -- something I'm sure you people in California don't know anything about. But in Duluth, Minnesota, it may be a help!
Never gets that cold here. It was 48 degrees when I took my dog for a walk and I thought that was cold.

 

 

I dont rem the company, but there is a device out there that will heat the washer fluid.

No idea if it really works, but I think GM is planning on using it on some of their luxury vehicles (Caddy?).

The company has been around for a few years. I think I rem seeing them at the Detroit Auto Show... 4-5yrs ago, mainly as aftermarket, and now they have made it into the OE side...

tdk

  • 1,424 posts
I dont rem the company, but there is a device out there that will heat the washer fluid.

No idea if it really works, but I think GM is planning on using it on some of their luxury vehicles (Caddy?).

The company has been around for a few years. I think I rem seeing them at the Detroit Auto Show... 4-5yrs ago, mainly as aftermarket, and now they have made it into the OE side...

tdk

It is called the HotShot and it is made by Handiproducts. Its debut was on the Buick Lucerne last year or two years ago. Buick had tons of commercials advertising the Lucerne's heated windshield wiper fluid. Lame IMHO when the only thing you can find to advertise about your car is heated windshield wiper fluid. Especially when probably greater than 90% of Buicks are parked in a garage overnight.

Anyway, I've seen it in action and it does work. It costs 150 USD, and that does not include any installation costs. Here is a link to the HotShot website for anyone who is curious.

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