Ultra-low Temperature Windshield Cleaning Solution

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: BalticBob
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: BalticBob
In Siberia, they use a 50/50 blend of distilled water and methylethylreallybadstuff.
Banned here, but I have a huge stash stored in my freezer.

Why would you store it in your freezer?

No one I know has a freezer.
Would you let me store it in your freezer?

Not only are you a troll, you're a bad troll.

Really. Work on your game.

 

[Papa Bear]

A good windshield washer antifreeze won't freeze in the reservoir but will freeze at the spray tips if not used regularly as the alcohol will vape off to the atmosphere leaving only water in the tip.
I shoot a little juice on the windshield regularly in winter to keep the tips full of water/alcohol mix

 

[NHGUY]

I don't think Obama ever had to worry about putting washer fluid in his own car....he got rid of his Chrysler 300 and Jeep Grand Cherokee when he ran for election the first time....

 

[MI_Roger]

Originally Posted By: Bandito440
By the time it took you to type this, you could have called customs and already had your answer. I don’t know why you’d want to rely on internet strangers for this.

https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/detroit


I ask such things here so that people like yourself can share their knowledge with others if they know the definitive answer, or provide the details of where to find the definitive answer.

An answer such as; "My cousin Billy Joe Bob up near Buffalo has the same problem. He shoved a couple of those plastic sausage like swimming pool winter cover water tubes into the hollow frame rails of his pickup truck and brings across a few gallons at a time whenever he visits the Casinos. Never been stopped yet.", would only be laughed at and not followed.

Thank you for the link.

 

[MNgopher]

To Mainia, you were fed a line of garbage from whomever you supposedly talked to.

The manufacturer makes multiple different strengths, and slaps a label on it for whomever will pay for it. That's why the same branded product a retailer A is good to -20 and at retailer B is -25 or -30. Same color, same general label, different UPC and price.

The retailer can charge what they want and that's where you find the diluted stuff.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
In my experience, at speed, they all freeze on the windshield during cold weather. Below 0 degrees F.


I've used this stuff @ -15°F with zero freeze-up issue at speed. The trick is to completely purge the washer fluid system before adding this; any old fluid (if lesser quality) will degrade performance significantly.

 

[PimTac]

Brands like Sonax and P21S have strong and non-freezing washer fluids.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: MNgopher
To Mainia, you were fed a line of garbage from whomever you supposedly talked to.

The manufacturer makes multiple different strengths, and slaps a label on it for whomever will pay for it. That's why the same branded product a retailer A is good to -20 and at retailer B is -25 or -30. Same color, same general label, different UPC and price.

The retailer can charge what they want and that's where you find the diluted stuff.


There are EPA regs for VOCs of which Methanol is one. Generally the state gets busted for a number of "bad air days" per year then have to come up with a consent decree of how they'll fix things. It could be coal-stack catalysts, vehicle smog checks, or in this example, chemical subsitutions.

The amount of time elapsing between coming up with the specs for clean air and actually enforcing them spans many years so IDK how one could pin them on one particular administration.

Butbutbut, the stuff below -20F rated has something "better" than methanol... apparantly ethylene glycol.

https://prestone.com/products?detail=AS250
http://www.kernair.org/Documents/MSDS/prestone de-icer.pdf

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Butbutbut, the stuff below -20F rated has something "better" than methanol... apparantly ethylene glycol.

https://prestone.com/products?detail=AS250
http://www.kernair.org/Documents/MSDS/prestone de-icer.pdf


The SDS you posted is from 2006; this stuff had a -34°F freeze point. The product currently sold is at -28°F (per SDS), and omits ethylene glycol.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

I've had good luck with the orange rainx. Good to -29 I believe

 

[bbhero]

Me too SilverFusion. I just got more of that this am.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Butbutbut, the stuff below -20F rated has something "better" than methanol... apparantly ethylene glycol.

https://prestone.com/products?detail=AS250
http://www.kernair.org/Documents/MSDS/prestone de-icer.pdf


The SDS you posted is from 2006; this stuff had a -34°F freeze point. The product currently sold is at -28°F (per SDS), and omits ethylene glycol.


I've seen that Prestone booster with ethylene glycol aka coolant, and I also know that most owners manuals say not to put coolant in the washer fluid tank. So my question is, isn't the booster and any other washer fluid with ethylene glycol not safe to use in washer fluid?

 

[yugrus]

So, can I buy a gallon of Methyl Hydrate for next to nothing and boost whatever fluid mixture is in the system with it? I imagine this would be more effective then spending on brand name mixtures that would be essentially the same?

 

[eljefino]

I suspect the smallish amount of ethylene glycol has a synergistic effect with the methanol in dipping its freeze point. IDK how much cheaper it would be buying pure methanol from a paint store vs just getting the $2 jugs of blue stuff from the gas station.

I top off my reservoirs with the yellow stuff in the coldest part of winter. Makes it green, LOL. Seems to cut the flash-freeze when it evaporates on the windscreen, which is what I was going for.

 

[AVB]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Butbutbut, the stuff below -20F rated has something "better" than methanol... apparantly ethylene glycol.

https://prestone.com/products?detail=AS250
http://www.kernair.org/Documents/MSDS/prestone de-icer.pdf


The SDS you posted is from 2006; this stuff had a -34°F freeze point. The product currently sold is at -28°F (per SDS), and omits ethylene glycol.


I've seen that Prestone booster with ethylene glycol aka coolant, and I also know that most owners manuals say not to put coolant in the washer fluid tank. So my question is, isn't the booster and any other washer fluid with ethylene glycol not safe to use in washer fluid?
I would be concerned about it leaving residue on the glass, maybe it isn't a problem at low concentrations.

I use rainx brand here, freezing isn't much of an issue. What I have noticed is that the winter formula has a disclaimer on the label that states it isn't for sale in certain states.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

Yep, has lots of VOCs. That means it's the good stuff

 

[eljefino]

Potentially high-VOC fluid could evaporate from the reservoir as well, particularly the "best parts". One wants fresh bug juice in there.

 

[Garak]

That's actually why I use the premium, -45 C stuff up here year round. Some are advertised as having extra detergents for the bugs, and we get enough of those in summer. When I do use a dedicated summer fluid, I never go through enough and wind up having to dispose of what's left in the reservoir when the weather gets cold.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: Garak
That's actually why I use the premium, -45 C stuff up here year round. Some are advertised as having extra detergents for the bugs, and we get enough of those in summer. When I do use a dedicated summer fluid, I never go through enough and wind up having to dispose of what's left in the reservoir when the weather gets cold.


I syphoned the fluid out of my wife's new car (2017 Impala) that we purchased used from a Ford dealer as I didn't know if it was a summer or winter concoction? It is pink(ish) but I don't know if that is GM's or Ford's?
Either way, unless I can find out what it is, it won't be going back in as I just run winter stuff year round anyways. Personally, I find once summer comes, it is a very rare occurrence that the wiper/bug juice is used anyways.

Is there any way of finding out if the pink stuff I have is winter or summer? I put some in an empty water bottle and placed it in my freezer but I don't know if that is cold enough to actually freeze it?

 

[Garak]

Mostly up here, as long as I can remember, the pink stuff has been summer fluid. The really low temperature stuff that is meant for all seasons and with a -45 C rating is purple, in my experience, and that's included those branded as Esso, Husky, Petro-Canada, and Turbo Power, off the top of my head. They're probably all the same product with a different label.

In fact, I generally use the Esso or Petro-Canada versions, and they're in identical jugs, too, except for the label sleeve.

I know Rain-X and Canadian Tire have had a couple peculiar colours and the high end Loblaw's stuff is bluer than Toilet Duck and looks to be about as likely to cause messy stains. I don't know what colours GM and Ford use for their premium offerings.

I'm not sure at what temperature the Canadian summer bug wash would freeze. I recall it did smell like it had some alcohol content in it. I doubt it would freeze at 0 C, but I wouldn't want to tempt fate too much, either.