The cheap windshield washer fluids

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After my minor fiasco with the car having fluid only good to +32 F (California car where anything else is illegal), I hastily went to AutoZone and bought a gallon of the pre-mixed store-brand washer fluid. It claimed to be good to -20 F.

I have to call [censored] on it, truthfully. It was about +20 F last night and every time I sprayed it on the window, it would crystallize and ice up with 2 or 3 seconds, making it totally worthless. Mind you this is with heated washer nozzles.

Promptly went out and bought two jugs of purple Splash!-brand -35 F stuff and put it in. Low-and-behold, it did not crystallize or freeze up at all. I'm really questioning if those cheap fluids meet the advertised specs.

Anyone else have similar experiences with cheap fluids?
 
did it freeze while parked or moving?

you have an effect similar to windchill on liquids in the winter.


I totally agree though usually -20 is good to about 25F

if its going to be below that you need at least -25+ for use while moving.

or you can just look at the % of alcohol. you want 30-35%+

once you get it spread out in a layer 1/1000's of an inch thick by the wipers it doesnt take much evap.. to freeze it up.




Also the alcohol will evap faster leaving .. yep water on your windshield to freeze.
 
Hello, I have always thrown in a bottle of isopropyl alcohol into my blue washer fluid when the weather goes cold. I like the smell too.

What burns is that we can't buy 100% methyl alcohol and make what we need. Delivering all those gallon jugs to stores all over creation is a good thing for John Q. Public I suppose. Kira
 
Live in New York and buy the cheap blue fluid and no problems. That said I don't use the washer fluid much in winter or summer. In winter I have an unlimited car wash package for $25 a month and get a car wash every second day, weather permitting. In summer wash the windows as needed.

In the future will buy the better stuff with Rain-X in it or yellow Prestone.
 
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Up here in the winter, 'basic' blue washer fluid is rated to -35C, and 'premium' stuff is rated from -40C to -49C.

I've noticed a major difference in how little the -40C and below fluids ice over when they are used below -20C. The -35C stuff always leaves a glaze of ice, but the premium stuff barely does, and it goes away quicker.

I've switched to using premium stuff I buy on sale.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
did it freeze while parked or moving?

you have an effect similar to windchill on liquids in the winter.



Both. Went to wash the window before I drove out of the garage and the whole windshield was covered in crystals by the time I exited the garage.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: Rand
did it freeze while parked or moving?

you have an effect similar to windchill on liquids in the winter.



Both. Went to wash the window before I drove out of the garage and the whole windshield was covered in crystals by the time I exited the garage.


yea I edited my post to make it more booklike.,

basically its due to the small amount of alcohol in the cheap stuff.. combined with the fact that it evaps faster than the water.. leaving water to refreeze on your window.


this link is also fairly correct
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dri...article6191127/
 
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Originally Posted By: dparm
Anyone else have similar experiences with cheap fluids?

Your experience is SOP.

Alcohol is expensive, water is cheap.

I mix any store bought washer fluid 3 parts fluid to one part denatured alcohol. That eliminates any problems and also makes it more effective in clearing road film.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Anyone else have similar experiences with cheap fluids?


Yep, years ago with the cheap blue stuff...had it ice up going down the road.

Switched over to the yellow Prestone fluid (along with their summer counterpart) and I've never had an issue since. Sure, it's more expensive, but it's an incredibly small price to pay for what it delivers (clear, unobstructed vision).
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
After my minor fiasco with the car having fluid only good to +32 F (California car where anything else is illegal), I hastily went to AutoZone and bought a gallon of the pre-mixed store-brand washer fluid. It claimed to be good to -20 F.

I have to call [censored] on it, truthfully. It was about +20 F last night and every time I sprayed it on the window, it would crystallize and ice up with 2 or 3 seconds, making it totally worthless. Mind you this is with heated washer nozzles.

Promptly went out and bought two jugs of purple Splash!-brand -35 F stuff and put it in. Low-and-behold, it did not crystallize or freeze up at all. I'm really questioning if those cheap fluids meet the advertised specs.

Anyone else have similar experiences with cheap fluids?


I will say this much about the cheap WW fluid, its cheap and its blue.

I use one of the de-icer products year round.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: Rand

this link is also fairly correct
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dri...article6191127/




Sounds reasonable. I've noticed it's less of a problem after I've been driving for 15-20 minutes and the interior of the car is warm AND the washer nozzles are hot.

I think heated nozzles are just to thaw the nozzle as the odd time they freeze up after the car has been sitting as the alcohol evaporates out the line. They might even make the alcohol evaporation problem worse on a very cold day.
Any washer fluid hitting a freezing windshield will leave an ice film in my experience. On my deserted sideroad, 30 seconds at 40mph looking through a clear spot will sublimate all the ice and leave a clear windshield. Maybe not a good idea in a urban drive. Then a few minutes of driving will have the whole windshield above freezing and I can spray all I want with out any freezing. Also I will clean my window when I park the car so I don't have to deal with dirt on a cold windshield. Most days after a quick scrape for frost I don't need to spray any fluid at all until the windshield is up to temp.
 
I can't remember the last time I have had an issue with the cheap blue stuff - I just use the -20F year round now. 13F right now and no issues on the trip home, it's full of "Super Clean" or something like that from Kmart - saw the same bottles at AAP last week.
 
Here in Central Fl, I just use the Green Rain X bug wash. Works good in the "freezing 28 degrees" that we see for 12 hours a month in January. I use it as it gets the bug guts off the windscreen and helps water bead off, so I don't have to use the wipers as much.

D.
 
Originally Posted By: Deltona_Dave
Here in Central Fl, I just use the Green Rain X bug wash. Works good in the "freezing 28 degrees" that we see for 12 hours a month in January. I use it as it gets the bug guts off the windscreen and helps water bead off, so I don't have to use the wipers as much.

D.


Okay, but as I had previously mentioned, it gets way colder than that where I live.
 
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