I think my washer fluid has frozen
- Thread starter dparm
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JHZR2
Staff member
Ive frozen mine before. No permanent damage... No bit deal (hopefully).
I jsut dont use mine enoughso the alcohol flashes off.
Id probably try to figure what the correct alcohol is that is usually used (ethanol or methanol), and warm some up then pour it in... Figure out the boiling point and heat it up pretty good. Dont breathe too much!
I jsut dont use mine enoughso the alcohol flashes off.
Id probably try to figure what the correct alcohol is that is usually used (ethanol or methanol), and warm some up then pour it in... Figure out the boiling point and heat it up pretty good. Dont breathe too much!
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dont breathe too much!
Or do.
Dont breathe too much!
Or do.
The color of the fluid is just a dye, and "blue" fluid can be good to anywhere from non-freezing temperatures only to -20 deg F and below. It all depends on the formula.
Around here, the "cold" fluid is good to 0 deg F, which is plenty of protection for when it does freeze. I just buy a few jugs of the "cold" stuff when it's in stores and use it year-round, so I never have to worry about the concentration in the reservoir. It does dip into the single digits here on ocassion, and I have had the reseroir to be frozen on some of the work vehicles due to others topping off with water (or using the summer blue fluid).
Around here, the "cold" fluid is good to 0 deg F, which is plenty of protection for when it does freeze. I just buy a few jugs of the "cold" stuff when it's in stores and use it year-round, so I never have to worry about the concentration in the reservoir. It does dip into the single digits here on ocassion, and I have had the reseroir to be frozen on some of the work vehicles due to others topping off with water (or using the summer blue fluid).
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
At the AutoZone near me, the only RainX stuff they had was good for above-freezing and seemed to be targeting "bug removal".
Originally Posted By: dparm
Since my car has spent its whole life in California, it probably doesn't have the cold weather washer fluid. This morning, I went to spray the window and got about 1 second of fluid before it just stopped completely. No warning light about fluid being low, and I noticed that the stuff I did spray turned to ice/slush very quickly on the window. So now I'm left with the dilemma of how to thaw the existing fluid. It won't be above freezing for at least a week.
One idea I had was to buy a bottle of fluid, get it as hot as possible, then pour it into the fill hole and hope that it starts to melt and "dilute" the stuff that's already there. I'd then run the washer fluid until the tank was dry, and refill it with the correct cold weather fluid.
The tank itself is in the fender and you can't get it out without removing the entire fender and wheel. Perhaps I can just get a hair dryer/heat gun and try to soften it that way?
Thoughts?
Techincally if your car spent its whole life in Ca, it should still be there? So not sure why its freezing, try parking it ouside in the sun? With the hood open? A warm jug of the low temp stuff or a package of additive should cure your res & most times the line will clear also with engine heat. Parking in & doing a manual heated car wash if you don't have a garage can also help thaw.
Since my car has spent its whole life in California, it probably doesn't have the cold weather washer fluid. This morning, I went to spray the window and got about 1 second of fluid before it just stopped completely. No warning light about fluid being low, and I noticed that the stuff I did spray turned to ice/slush very quickly on the window. So now I'm left with the dilemma of how to thaw the existing fluid. It won't be above freezing for at least a week.
One idea I had was to buy a bottle of fluid, get it as hot as possible, then pour it into the fill hole and hope that it starts to melt and "dilute" the stuff that's already there. I'd then run the washer fluid until the tank was dry, and refill it with the correct cold weather fluid.
The tank itself is in the fender and you can't get it out without removing the entire fender and wheel. Perhaps I can just get a hair dryer/heat gun and try to soften it that way?
Thoughts?
Techincally if your car spent its whole life in Ca, it should still be there? So not sure why its freezing, try parking it ouside in the sun? With the hood open? A warm jug of the low temp stuff or a package of additive should cure your res & most times the line will clear also with engine heat. Parking in & doing a manual heated car wash if you don't have a garage can also help thaw.
Get the -35 degree rated fluid and dump it in the reservoir, it will melt the frozen fluid in a few hours. This happened to my wife's car last week before I was able to run the blue fluid out. Filling with the -35 fluid and letting it sit worked, the lines cleared themselves after 10 seconds or so holding the fluid spray button down.
In colder climates they sell wiper fluid booster/deicer, which is basically a pint of mixed alcohols and a bit of rainx, will bring the freeze point down and make it melt ice faster. I suppose a bottle of "heet" gasoline antifreeze would work the same in a pinch.
Originally Posted By: dparm
Meh, the -20 F stuff is fine. I don't even remember the last time it was that cold in Chicago, and I've lived here for nearly 3 decades.
I remember our group renting a car at O'Hare Airport in December. The first thing I noticed was that the washer fluid cut right through the ice on the windshield, and that they prepared it with an ice scraper on the floormat.
Meh, the -20 F stuff is fine. I don't even remember the last time it was that cold in Chicago, and I've lived here for nearly 3 decades.
I remember our group renting a car at O'Hare Airport in December. The first thing I noticed was that the washer fluid cut right through the ice on the windshield, and that they prepared it with an ice scraper on the floormat.
My wife got a GREAT deal on w/washer fluid last year from a dollar store but then we noticed it was only rated down to +30'F.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dont breathe too much!
Or do.
hahaha, if it turns out that everclear is the right product to use!!
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dont breathe too much!
Or do.
hahaha, if it turns out that everclear is the right product to use!!
Originally Posted By: djb
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
Just last weekend I bought some RainX branded "Booster" at a WM in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in a quart bottle and came with a long list of different requirements (with VOC levels) for maximum concentration. I can't find anything on the RainX website about this, and it may be something made under license by some other company. It had instructions for Texas, Maricopa County, AZ, etc. It said 2 oz to a gallon for most of California, but something like one bottle to 40 oz of water for "Type A" counties (mostly rural, although several of these have their population centers in metro areas). I always wondered how they treat cars that go across county lines, although I suspect it's hard to enforce. I did have an interesting experience adding it to the coolant overflow tank.
Quote:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/consprod/regact/awwf/awwf.htm
What kinds of AWWF are affected by the Regulation?
My reading of their rules is that it is legal to add this in higher concentrations if there will be freezing temps like we've seen recently. I also bought a bottle of spray deicer and an ice scraper.
It used to be possible to buy regular deicer here cheap (maybe $1 a gallon). That came with a recommendation that it should be added with the same amount of water. I used it that way and it worked pretty well. I've bought this stuff pretty cheap on vacation in Nevada. Besides that, I've bought methanol-laced concentrate, and the color has been blue, green, orange, or even red.
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
Just last weekend I bought some RainX branded "Booster" at a WM in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in a quart bottle and came with a long list of different requirements (with VOC levels) for maximum concentration. I can't find anything on the RainX website about this, and it may be something made under license by some other company. It had instructions for Texas, Maricopa County, AZ, etc. It said 2 oz to a gallon for most of California, but something like one bottle to 40 oz of water for "Type A" counties (mostly rural, although several of these have their population centers in metro areas). I always wondered how they treat cars that go across county lines, although I suspect it's hard to enforce. I did have an interesting experience adding it to the coolant overflow tank.
Quote:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/consprod/regact/awwf/awwf.htm
What kinds of AWWF are affected by the Regulation?
- Pre-mixed AWWF that is typically sold in gallon-size containers, labeled "summer formula" or "protects to +32 degrees." The regulation for this type is 1% VOC content, and it can be sold anywhere in California.
- Pre-mixed AWWF that is typically sold in gallon-size containers labeled "winter formula", "protects to zero degrees," or something similar. The regulation for this type is 25% VOC content, and it is only allowed to be sold in Type "A" areas of California.
- Dilutable, or Concentrated AWWF, typically sold in 1-quart size containers. The regulation for this type is that it must clearly state on the front label that it is a concentrate, or dilutable, and on the back it must have clear instructions of how to dilute it to Type "A" area specifications and to non-Type "A" area specifications. It is available anywhere in California, and is most often found at automotive supply stores and service stations.
- Service stations filling customers’ windshield washer fluid reservoirs must abide by the VOC limits for their location.In a Type "A" area, a service station may not fill an AWWF reservoir with AWWF above the 25% VOC limit, and service stations located in other areas of the state are required to fill AWWF reservoirs with up to only 1% VOC AWWF.
My reading of their rules is that it is legal to add this in higher concentrations if there will be freezing temps like we've seen recently. I also bought a bottle of spray deicer and an ice scraper.
It used to be possible to buy regular deicer here cheap (maybe $1 a gallon). That came with a recommendation that it should be added with the same amount of water. I used it that way and it worked pretty well. I've bought this stuff pretty cheap on vacation in Nevada. Besides that, I've bought methanol-laced concentrate, and the color has been blue, green, orange, or even red.
Originally Posted By: Y_K
Ethylene glycol can be procured at a pharmacy - standard part of laxative regimen preparation for colonoscopy. Very effective
Can be nephrotoxic if applied directly to skin
Ethylene glycol is toxic. A dozen or so humans (and a lot of animals) die from ethylene glycol poisoning every year.
Now propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol are not.
Ethylene glycol can be procured at a pharmacy - standard part of laxative regimen preparation for colonoscopy. Very effective
Ethylene glycol is toxic. A dozen or so humans (and a lot of animals) die from ethylene glycol poisoning every year.
Now propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol are not.
The lines will usually thaw out through the course of the day, since it will get warm enough to allow the fluid to thaw even if temps are below freezing.
A sunny day helps, since the car will absorb the radiant heat.
Once the pump is able to deliver fluid through the nozzles, just blow through it all and then replace it with something more resistant to cold.
Probably no damage done, since these systems are designed to freeze.
A sunny day helps, since the car will absorb the radiant heat.
Once the pump is able to deliver fluid through the nozzles, just blow through it all and then replace it with something more resistant to cold.
Probably no damage done, since these systems are designed to freeze.
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: djb
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
Just last weekend I bought some RainX branded "Booster" at a WM in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in a quart bottle and came with a long list of different requirements (with VOC levels) for maximum concentration. I can't find anything on the RainX website about this, and it may be something made under license by some other company. It had instructions for Texas, Maricopa County, AZ, etc. It said 2 oz to a gallon for most of California, but something like one bottle to 40 oz of water for "Type A" counties (mostly rural, although several of these have their population centers in metro areas). I always wondered how they treat cars that go across county lines, although I suspect it's hard to enforce. I did have an interesting experience adding it to the coolant overflow tank.
Quote:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/consprod/regact/awwf/awwf.htm
What kinds of AWWF are affected by the Regulation?
My reading of their rules is that it is legal to add this in higher concentrations if there will be freezing temps like we've seen recently. I also bought a bottle of spray deicer and an ice scraper.
It used to be possible to buy regular deicer here cheap (maybe $1 a gallon). That came with a recommendation that it should be added with the same amount of water. I used it that way and it worked pretty well. I've bought this stuff pretty cheap on vacation in Nevada. Besides that, I've bought methanol-laced concentrate, and the color has been blue, green, orange, or even red.
That is one of the most ridiculous things ever. Volatile compound? Do they regulate vodka and beer like that too?
Originally Posted By: djb
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Its methyl alcohol in washer fluid,not isopropyl.The better stuff even has ethylene glycol in it.They dont sell Rain X washer/Deicer fluid in California?
No, they don't. RainX brand fluid is available, but it is not the same as elsewhere. It's worse than a summer formula, which typically has a little alcohol for cleaning and slight freeze protection. (Water-alcohol slush might not pump, but it's less likely to crack parts.)
I spent weeks looking for the good stuff before I found out why it wasn't available.
Just last weekend I bought some RainX branded "Booster" at a WM in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in a quart bottle and came with a long list of different requirements (with VOC levels) for maximum concentration. I can't find anything on the RainX website about this, and it may be something made under license by some other company. It had instructions for Texas, Maricopa County, AZ, etc. It said 2 oz to a gallon for most of California, but something like one bottle to 40 oz of water for "Type A" counties (mostly rural, although several of these have their population centers in metro areas). I always wondered how they treat cars that go across county lines, although I suspect it's hard to enforce. I did have an interesting experience adding it to the coolant overflow tank.
Quote:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/consprod/regact/awwf/awwf.htm
What kinds of AWWF are affected by the Regulation?
- Pre-mixed AWWF that is typically sold in gallon-size containers, labeled "summer formula" or "protects to +32 degrees." The regulation for this type is 1% VOC content, and it can be sold anywhere in California.
- Pre-mixed AWWF that is typically sold in gallon-size containers labeled "winter formula", "protects to zero degrees," or something similar. The regulation for this type is 25% VOC content, and it is only allowed to be sold in Type "A" areas of California.
- Dilutable, or Concentrated AWWF, typically sold in 1-quart size containers. The regulation for this type is that it must clearly state on the front label that it is a concentrate, or dilutable, and on the back it must have clear instructions of how to dilute it to Type "A" area specifications and to non-Type "A" area specifications. It is available anywhere in California, and is most often found at automotive supply stores and service stations.
- Service stations filling customers’ windshield washer fluid reservoirs must abide by the VOC limits for their location.In a Type "A" area, a service station may not fill an AWWF reservoir with AWWF above the 25% VOC limit, and service stations located in other areas of the state are required to fill AWWF reservoirs with up to only 1% VOC AWWF.
My reading of their rules is that it is legal to add this in higher concentrations if there will be freezing temps like we've seen recently. I also bought a bottle of spray deicer and an ice scraper.
It used to be possible to buy regular deicer here cheap (maybe $1 a gallon). That came with a recommendation that it should be added with the same amount of water. I used it that way and it worked pretty well. I've bought this stuff pretty cheap on vacation in Nevada. Besides that, I've bought methanol-laced concentrate, and the color has been blue, green, orange, or even red.
That is one of the most ridiculous things ever. Volatile compound? Do they regulate vodka and beer like that too?
I took a road a trip with the "company car" and hit snow/ice/freezing temps. It didn't have snow tires, spare was flat, windshield washer froze up and it was about 10 degrees out. I had brought an extra jug of good -35 stuff and topped it off before the trip but never used the squirter. When we needed it as all snow and slush on the road it was frozen solid. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and I just let the car idle in the parking lot for twenty minutes. The heat from the engine was enough to thaw the whole system. Once the good stuff was in the lines it was fine.
Yeah I had hoped for the same result...big V8 under the hood should surely generate enough heat. Sadly, the car has too much ducting and venting (to keep it cool under track conditions) so it didn't work.
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