Frozen screen wash

ashmanq said:
I've driven for 45 mins on the motorway and it still hasn't thawed. I have some screen wash I a spray bottle but you can't use it in the morotway where I really need it.
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Not surprised with the wind chill at motorway speeds, 45 mins in town traffic would have done it as the heat would be radiated into the bodywork and melt it slowly.
 
I asked the guy at the store i got the bluecol screen from what to do and he suggested putting it in a garage and having a heater in there to warm it up, failing that use a hair dryer on the reservoir!

So I put the car in the garage, got my mums hair dryer and put it on full heat and aimed it in the general vicinity i thought the reservoir was (its really hard to see where it is without a flash light its hidden deep behind the headlight cluster) and voila after 15-20 mins of this i tried spraying the screen wash and it worked!

I also decided to blast heat on the rear screen wash since that wasnt spraying and now it works though in cold weather it will probably just freeze over again, the front spray nozzles are hidden underneath the lip of the bonnet where it meets the windscreen so are more protected (though one out of the four doesnt spray meaning i have to unclog it..).

Ive put in a 50:50 mix of the high concentrate bluecol windscreen wash. Lets see how it fairs in this weather.


Ashmanq
 
Mine was frozen this morning, I THINK, maybe it was just the pipes? Once warmed up after 20 mins and fully working, I topped up the tank with neat -70c concentrate I had in the boot, didnt notice the coolant had dropped below min also! so topped that beast up also :D
 
Lashout_UK said:
Wind chill only effects living organisms with skin, not anything else :)
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Wind chill = evaporation of sweat in the skin.

Evaporation of water requires heat and therefor you feel cooler as the heat is taken from your body

Much the same as if a puddle was around 1ish degrees it is possible for the wind to increase the evaporation rate and thus cooling the puddle further as heat is taken to evaporate the puddle. The effects of this can cause the puddle to freeze...


So it does have some effect on things... Wind mainly, not wind chill
 
I recommend some readymix from Halfords.
However don't get the blue stuff in the translucent bottles that they usually put at the front of the store, get the green stuff from the shelves in the blue bottles.
Mine (green stuff) hasn't frozen at all this weather, even when the car said it was -17C. Just a squirt of hot water on the nozzles to thaw them before I set out. Unfortunately my wipers are too cold to properly mould themselves to my windscreen.
 
I for one welcome the heated element in my cars washer bottle. Pity on some occasions recently it's frozen as soon as it hits the windscreen :o
 
Tomsk said:
I recommend some readymix from Halfords.
However don't get the blue stuff in the translucent bottles that they usually put at the front of the store, get the green stuff from the shelves in the blue bottles.
Mine (green stuff) hasn't frozen at all this weather, even when the car said it was -17C. Just a squirt of hot water on the nozzles to thaw them before I set out. Unfortunately my wipers are too cold to properly mould themselves to my windscreen.
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the green stuff in the blue bottles is supposed to be mixed with water.

You can use it neat, but then it works out hardly any better price wise than the readymixed stuff.
 
MrLOL said:
the green stuff in the blue bottles is supposed to be mixed with water.

You can use it neat, but then it works out hardly any better price wise than the readymixed stuff.
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I'm using Halfords Double Concentrate at the moment. It's £5 for a 1L bottle but it hasn't let me down yet even at -8c. In the summer it makes almost 100L :)
 
ashmanq said:
Is this safe???(The siphoning bit)
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The components of screenwash and petrol are both poisonous. It it will kill you if you ingest it in sufficient quantities.

Don't follow the example that retarded other guy who siphoned some into his mouth. Use a siphon pump if you have to.

Getting back to the original post, unless your screen wash take is frozen to the top, just pour in concentrated screen wash (the undiluted stuff). It will lower the feezing temperature and dissolve the ice.
 
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MrLOL said:
the green stuff in the blue bottles is supposed to be mixed with water.

You can use it neat, but then it works out hardly any better price wise than the readymixed stuff.
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True, but undiluted it's good to -16C (I think).
In spring, I top up with water or a mix. I autumn I start topping up with it neat, so when (if) the freeze arrives in December/January my washer bottle is more conecentrated.
 
An update!

So far the screen wash hasnt frozen! :D Makes me a happy driver to be able to see when driving on the motorway tbh the weather hasnt become more mild so Im guessing that helps too. Got some change for a tenner for the bluecol stuff hope i wasnt ripped off as i was in a desperate situation at the time and didnt bother about the price.
 
I thought mine had frozen given the conditions over the last two weeks. I filled the bottle up on Saturday and the washers worked, but it appears as though its now empty.

Looks like I have a leak! The the ground is too wet to see where it's comming from at the moment. I assume either the reservior has cracked or theres a split in the pipe leading off of it (is it one pipe or two?).

It's a Mk 5 golf and i'm not exactly sure if I need to look from underneath (i.e. by the front wheel) or if I'll be able to see it from down into the engine bay.
 
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