Screen-wash! (Yup, the blue stuff)

[RGuk]

Just in case you are considering a long distance drive in the middle of the night, can I recommend you check the strength of your screen-wash.

Seriously, tale of caution.

Last 3 nights, I've been coming home in the small hours. Being a fairly OCPD sort of chap, I always check my tyres and squirty wash before going out. Well, last night, I almost paid dearly for using well-diluted screen-wash.

Coming across the Midlands, the temp gauge was dropping faster than pinnacle gold. First -1, then -2.5, -5, -7!. At about -8, the washer fluid was freezing ON CONTACT with the windscreen. Eventually, I couldn't see a thing, and pulled over on a hard shoulder. Thankfully, I found de-icer and 2 litres of neat screenwash in the boot. 10 minutes later after removing the ice off the wipers with de-icer and topping up the fluid to almost undiluted, I managed to get home.

Dull story I know, but I've never needed neat mix in 20 years of driving....BEWARE, if you are out and about with 30% mix or so, it ain't gonna do the job in -8.

Drive safely.

 

[Imurg]

Its the usual story of either forgetting or not bothering. These days I'm almost anal about the regular checks as it would be awful if one of my learners crashed the car coz I hadn't checked the tyres.

 

[Herbie]

Its a good reminder not a dull story, I tend to keep on top of stuff but occasionally forget and you just reminded me, so thanks......trots off to garage to search for the blue stuff....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not even sure we've checked recently but I'll make sure we have some neat in the car.

 

[Imurg]

Doesn't have to be neat Homer. 3:1 ought to be good enough for the weather we've got now.

 

[Cernunnos]

If I've had to scrape my screen before setting off, the last thing I would even attempt to use no matter what the temperature would be the washer fluid, as chances are the nozzles would be frozen anyway if I've had to scrape the screen...!

 

[RGuk]

Doesn't have to be neat Homer. 3:1 ought to be good enough for the weather we've got now.

Mate!...

The whole point of my OP was to say that a 30% mix won't do the job at -8!!!

 

[TonyN]

Good point that, I will make a point of doing my checks. They wreckon tonight could be one of the coldest yet, althoughtoday was one of the warmest

 

[RGuk]

yes....-10 here tonight....

 

[Imurg]

Doesn't have to be neat Homer. 3:1 ought to be good enough for the weather we've got now.

Mate!...

The whole point of my OP was to say that a 30% mix won't do the job at -8!!!

Dave - are you talking 3parts water or 3 parts screenwash?

 

[RGuk]

I'm talking using the stuff diluted, 1 part wash to 3 or 4 parts water...or similar.

We were up to -10 last night and my mix is almost neat now I've been topping it up.

Today I used a hand-pump de-icer squirty to initially clear the screen and then didn't even touch the spray/wipers until the car was well warmed up. Seemed OK.

t.b.h. if the wind-chill is cold enough it's going to freeze anyway....I want to know why my old Ford has self-heating windscreen and yet a £25k Beemer doesn't. If the windscreen was warm, I'd not have nearly crashed on the motorway the other day!!!

 

[teetime72]

R G F. Wind chill does not affect the temp.of your car.

If the ambient temp.when parked is 0 degrees it will still be 0 degrees at 70 mph.not minus 70.

Wind chill only affects warm blooded animals who percieve it to be colder than it actually is. The wind does not affect the temp.it only feels like it does.

 

[CarpeDiem]

I didn't know that, I thought that it actually made it colder

 

[viscount17]

teetime, wind speed does affect temperature although you are correct in that the windchill factor that is reported is only relevant to its effect on skin. The first windchill measurements were based on the cooling rate of a bottle of water suspended in the wind.

I need to find the data that I was given when I did my Arctic training, the calculation was a damned sight easier than the one on this site: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_chill).

This is probably the more useful chart:

 

[Cernunnos]

I want to know why my old Ford has self-heating windscreen and yet a £25k Beemer doesn't. If the windscreen was warm, I'd not have nearly crashed on the motorway the other day!!!

Ford have the sole rights to the system that's why.

I supose if Ford bought out BMW then you might stand a chance of having the system, but as that's about as likely as me getting 12 birdies in a row, I wouldn't hold your breathe.

 

[teetime72]

Viscount.
I think the chart printed only shows the effect on the human body.
For an inanimate object,windchill has an effect if the object is warm.For example,fill 2 glasses with the same amount of 100 degree water.Put 1 glass in the fridge @35 degrees,and 1 outside where it is 35 degrees,and the wind is blowing at 25 mph (so the windchill makes it feel like 8 degrees ) The glass outside will get colder QUICKER than the glass in the fridge because of the wind.However,the glass outside will NOT get colder than 35 deg.-the air is 35 deg.whether it is moving or not. It is only the human beings perception of cold in the wind that makes it feel colder than it actually is.

 

[RGuk]

Crikey Viscount! That is AMAZING!

So 0 degrees at 110 kph has a wind chill of -11.

According to this chart the water hitting my screen was chilling to near -20.....incredible.

Anyway, I'm completely fed up with driving in this weather. I drove 20 miles e/way and had to stop 8 times to hand-wash the windscreen. The reserve bottle might be 90% blue, but that still didn't stop the jets freezing.....

What the hell do folk do in Scandinavia???

I am going to need to hairdryer my jets before I can go any-bloody-where.....

Totally fed up......what a nonsense....

 

[billyg]

What the hell do folk do in Scandinavia???

Not sure about Scandinavia but a mate of mine worked in rural Japan for a few years- they hook the car up to a feed from the house and have a heating system in the car that keeps it above freezing.

 

[viscount17]

Similar system in Norway when I was there, cars had mains fed heaters.

Less problem with windscreens icing I think due to the air being drier (you get the same dehydration problems as in the desert). In fact I don't remember there ever being a need to scrape the screen and you only needed the demisters on to cope with your breath condensing on the inside.

teetime - yes the chart is windchill on skin.

rg - not sure if you can apply this directly to the temp on your screen, might buy an inside/outside thermometer and test it.