washer fluid makes no sense

[opus1]

For the summer, almost anything goes for me, but in winter I only use name-brand washer fluid and at least -20F rating. -35F if I can find it. Meijer, Menard's, or Farm & Fleet have sales often enough that I never pay more than $2/bottle.

What I've noticed on my Sonata is that the nozzles tend to freeze up overnight with small ice-plugs when there's any snow buildup. When I'm cleaning the car off (one of the few in my neighborhood that actually *cleans* the accumulation rather than relying on the wind from driving to blow the car clean), I spritz the nozzles with a spray de-icer. I'm currently running through my stockpile of Turtle Wax's "Liquid Fire" to make sure they're clear. I don't see it on the shelves anymore, but any bottle of spray deicer should work. I've Never had a problem with the nozzles icing up while driving, though, so I suspect you weren't sold what you think you were...

 

[kkreit01]

I had the exact same issue with SuperTech blue. Temps while driving were 10-20. At freeway speeds, nothing came out. The fluid says it's good for -20.

 

[rjundi]

You get what you pay for at a dollar store.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Could also take into account, snow falls, snow melts even when it's cold, buildup of snow on top of your jets could possibly melt and the melted liquid could go down into the lines or the tip of the jet.

I've seen this happen especially after turning off a hot engine, snow hits hood, snow melts, drips into line tips or lines, then refreezes as engine cools down.

 

[Fleetmon]

Yeah, my wife got a great deal on washer fluid at a dollar store....later noticed it protected against freezing down to +30'F.....yes, +30!

 

[Wilhelm_D]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
I start my car and activate my wipers/ washer fluid. It works all fine, i start driving and on my way to work on the highway going about 60-75mph. I go and activate fluid for a wipe and no fluid comes out, pump is working. Nothing comes out. I dont force it fear it might burn out the pump. Got to work and checked around. Nothing no leaks nothing broken, pump works but no fluid is out. Go to work for 8 hours. Come back and it works! Pull out the garage and still working. Check the while on the highway SAME THING. Got home same still not working. Rinse and repeat for the 2nd day in a row now.

I have had problems like this on and off over the years. You get a bad batch and it freezes, sometimes destroying the washer pump when it does.

My current practice is to mix ANY brand of washer fluid I buy 3 parts to 1 part denatured alcohol. That guarantees that even if it is blue water I have 25% alcohol, which should be good to around 10 F.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: Fleetmon
Yeah, my wife got a great deal on washer fluid at a dollar store....later noticed it protected against freezing down to +30'F.....yes, +30!
Well, technically, that *is* below freezing...

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Sometimes, in cold wet weather when the car is sitting, the water wicks into the small nozzles (capillary action) and freezes up. Now you have a plug of ice blocking the good fluid from coming out. Many times, all I have to do is unfreeze the nozzles to get the washer fluid working again.

This. What the others are missing is that in the heated and sheltered engine compartment, the fluid will be at a higher temperature than the fluid in the nozzles themselves. I don't buy garbage fluid for that reason alone.

Of course, wind chill is a human concept. Nonetheless, motion of air will cool an inanimate object down to ambient temperatures faster than no airflow. I assume when people here insulate their houses, they also try to make them somewhat windproof at the same time.

An example - my G37's outside temperature sensor. If it's in the garage, the ambient temperature is 10 C and it will read that. If I move the car outside to -20 C, it will read the 10 C (or slightly lower, cooling slowly) for at least a couple hours if parked in a sheltered area. I hit the highway on the way to one of my businesses, it shows -20 C in under 5 minutes. I park it in the business, ambient 20 C, it'll still show -20 C (or thereabouts) a couple hours later.

 

[dlundblad]

I seem to be having the same issue with the same kind of product. Its very intermittent but mostly acts up when its been out driving for a while at high speeds.

I'm probably all wet, but it seems the larger body (the reservoir) resists freezing pretty well.. while the nozzle and hoses etc aren't. You would think if the bottle says "up to -20" you would be good to go.. obviously not.

 

[Corvette Owner]

Originally Posted By: AandPDan
Washer fluid evaporates. That right there lowers the temperature. Coupled with the flow of air from a moving car, the fluid will freeze faster than it would with no wind.



True. This is why a wet bulb thermometer shows a lower temperature. Also why we feel cooler when humidity is lower, sweat evaporates from our skin more, cooling us off. Absolute humidity and relative humidity are related to the dew point.

So a non-living object can be cooler IF it is wet and exposed to wind. This would apply to the wet nozzles, not the fluid inside a dry tank.

 

[xfactor9]

Put some washer fluid in an empty water bottle, then put it in the freezer. Does it freeze?

 

[steve20]

Originally Posted By: AandPDan
Nobody said it went to a lower temperature than dry bulb and we're not talking the fluid in the tank.

As you spray the washer fluid it begins to evaporate at the nozzle and in doing so it cools, fast. It was warmer sitting in the tank, under the hood.

Did you ever blow on a hot cup of coffee to cool it?




Nope Dan--they are off blowing on "tea"

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted By: nitehawk55
I use Rain-X and also use the summer and winter versions of the washer fluid they sell .

The winter stuff is good to -40
This is what I use as well. I buy the 4 jug boxes of it at Canadian tire when it goes on sale.

 

[dailydriver]

Has anyone tried that purple colored, Windex branded stuff they started selling at Sino Mart??

It says right on the label it is good for -35*F.

The yellow Prestone stuff used to say -34*F on the label, but that changed about two years ago to -27*F.

 

[Woody71]

Started using the Rain-X fluid this winter as we had a dangerous situation with a freeze up during a road trip last winter. Honda service rep suggested adding a half bottle isopropyl alcohol to standard washer fluid to prevent freezing. I also gave my wiper nozzles a quick squirt of WD-40 to help prevent them from freezing up.

 

[Garak]

I just use the Petro-Canada or Esso -45 C rated stuff all year round.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: Donald


Actually "wind chill" only effects things that create heat like a human.



I agree that "wind chill" is a silly term. I'd prefer "heat transfer rate".

But your statement above needs clarification. Airflow speed greatly affects heat transfer. So, from a non scientific point of view, "wind chill" or rather, the speed of the airflow around an object affects everything. Not by cooling it below ambient temps, but by cooling it more quickly to near ambient.

Think about the airflow through a radiator. The faster the airflow, the better the heat transfer.

 

[edhackett]

"Wind chill" as it applies to the human perception of cold is a combination of evaporative cooling and heat transfer rate due to the airflow. It applies only to bare, human skin. The use of the term outside of that context is improper.

It's easy to demonstrate how our perceptions of cold fool us into thinking something is colder. Look around the room and touch something that is cloth, wood, or plastic. Then touch something metal. The metal feels colder to us, but it is not. It is our perception of cold due to the metal object transferring heat from our body at a higher rate. A kitchen knife with a plastic or wood handle and metal blade works well for this demo.

The phenomenon seen with washer fluid is primarily driven by evaporative cooling. The wind speed increases the evaporative cooling. If the fluid is warmer than ambient the wind will help cool it to ambient quicker and increase the rate at which it will reach a colder temperature.


Ed

 

[dlundblad]

Windchill has no effect on liquid?

 

[Nick R]

I always get the orange rainx stuff. It has always worked well for me.