Winter Screen Wash

[ARWadsworth]

Which are the best makes?

The bottle I bought from the local motor factors froze up after leaving it undiluted in the passenger footwell!

[Adrian]

"ARWadsworth" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I've just bought a bottle for three quid which claims to mix to 10 litres and protect to -26 (although, I suspect, not at the same time). It was just next to 5l of ready-mix which reckoned -8. For twice the price...

Didn't notice the brands, though. Not a lot of help, really.

[Dave Liquorice]

I use Holts Concentrated bought from CostCo for about a fiver for 5l. Diluted 1:4 with water it says it doesn't freeze until -6C, but I'd say it goes colder than that before the washers fail to work, it might go slushy in the tank rather than freeze solid. Used neat the label says it goes to -15C (IIRC).

I wouldn't buy a "ready to use" screenwash that'll just be very expensive coloured water. Look at the labels, do the maths on cost v amount required to protect down to say -5 or -6 to get the best value.

[dom]

Whatever the VW own brand is, it's good stuff. They filled it up on the last service, and it's not causing me any problems. Also good IME are the little bottles of ultra-concentrate (Wynn's I think). Worst is the forecourt shop ready-diluted stuff - little more than coloured water. Personally I'm willing to bear the expense of not diluting concentrate so much - a small price to pay for the comfort and safety of driving with a clean screen all the time.

[fred]

In article , ARWadsworth writes

I've always grown my own, a tiny drop of stardrops (concentrated detergent) and about 10% by volume of Isopropyl Alcohol which is about

6quid a litre from CPC.

Some say the alcohol evaporates off too quickly leaving water behind to freeze, suggesting a bit of glycol instead (watch the paintwork), but I've not had any problems with that mix.

[NM]

pound shop litre bottles loaded neat work ok.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have always found that alcohol mixtures are totally useless because of the evaporation chill.

[ARWadsworth]

Do you know if the refractometers used for testing antifreeze work on screenwash?

I can borrow one and do a comparison between brands of screen wash. I suspect it would not work as the refractometer is probably designed for a glycol solution not an alcohol solution. Any ideas?

[ARWadsworth]

I think I need it to work down to minus 10 or below. I had minus 11.5 showing on the dash yesterday morning.

[boltar2003]

Oh just use water FFS. If you use tepid water (10-20C) it won't crack the windscreen - the heat stress from using the demister at full power will be far worse - but it'll still melt the ice quite nicely. I've done it for decades and never had a problem.

B2003

[Adrian]

[e-mail] gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Agreed. Hot-tap-hot. Hasn't cracked a screen - or even extended an existing one - for me, either.

But that's a different kettle of fish entirely, of course. The conversation is about screenwash, not de-icer. You don't want to be stopping to pour warm water over the windscreen in the M25 roadworks because of the filthy spray that's being thrown up by the wagon next to you - but drying damn near instantly because the screen's warm.

[funkyoldcortina]

How do you obtain this tepid water at 60mph on a dual carriageway?

[Phil L]

[philipuk]

You could widdle into a cup I suppose.

Philip

[Adrian]

" [e-mail]" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Or out the window. Although beware splashback, and - perhaps even more seriously - windchill.

[Huge]

£9.05 per litre, plus VAT & shipping = £17.63

Bit expensive for screenwash.

BTW, don't try meths; it smells vile.

[The Other Mike]

[Nightjar]

I fitted a heated screen wash kit to one of may cars in the 1960s and it was very effective. The engine coolant heated the screen wash water in a heat exchanger. The weak point was the electrically heated nozzles, intended to stop the water freezing there between uses - the heating elements kept burning out.

Colin Bignell

[ARWadsworth]

Dennis like to drink it.

[Nightjar]

I used to have a licence to buy industrial meths and that worked very well.

Colin Bignell