there is a new washer fluid being marketed by Prestone that is a mix of propylene glycol, methanol, and water. it is designed to prevent the washer fluid from freezing on the winshield at very low temps. i've used some and here's my impression: it does indeed work at lower temps. while the 'blue' methanol-only based stuff freezes into a blue smear at say, 0F, this stuff stays liquid. it is particularly good at removing a real thin layer of frost, the kind that is almost too thin for a scraper to effectively remove. the down side is that it leaves a little bit of a glycol smear on the glass. it is also expensive. about $3 a gallon. i will use it for winter only, due to cost. it is probably worth it if you don't park your vehicle inside for the frost removal aspect alone. you warmer clime people can stick with the blue stuff. at cold temps, say below 0F, it is neat to watch as it fractionates into its various components on the windshield; the water freezes after the alcohol evaporates leaving a glycol 'wet' spot on the glass. the ice then sublimes into vapor. quite a little phase-change physics show from a little squirt of washer fluid... you probably don't need to comment on the dynamics of the phase-changes to your passengers. they may already think you're strange and you don't need to confirm it. -dan
|
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.