Mix your own washer fluid?

Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Probably going to get roasted for this but BMW sells a concentrate for both winter and summer which you dilute with distilled water. The winter formula contains a high percentage of methanol and you can adjust the ratio of water : concentrate to reach whatever temp range you want.


What's the cost though? You basically can't beat .98 cents for a gallon at Home Depot.

That -20F gallon has about 27-36% methanol.

http://www.thelsxdr.com/methanol-injection-101/

One place sells a pint for about $3.16 which to get a a 36% concentration only yields 3 pints or about 48oz or close to $10 to make a similar gallon, not even factoring in the cost of a distilled gallon of water which is almost $1.

Consider yourself roasted.

Here's one guy that sells 55 gallon drums at $277

http://www.cqconcepts.com/product-category/methanol-99/

So you could get over 150 gallons of windshield washer fluid out of it. But your costs for the methanol alone is still over $1.60 a gallon. Plus you then have over 150 gallons of windshield washer fluid....




First the HD stuff is already mixed. The BMW winter concentrate would run me about $2 (w/discount) for 16oz (1 pint) of concentrate. Mixed with distilled water at a 2:3 ratio yields a freeze point of -25F.

The reason why I mentioned it is because it's a concentrate and is a readily available option to buy in a quantity he would need rather than a 55 gallon drum. Seriously, other than someone who makes their own biodiesel who in the world would buy a 55 gallon drum of methanol. just to mix up washer fluid?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by StevieC
I only mix my own because it performs better than anything I can buy and it also comes in handy for defrosting the windshield. I get a lot of frost / thin pesky ice thanks to living near the lake. A high alcohol content makes this go away in a hurry.

I also mix my own because the de-icing brine they spray on the roads here is sticky as heck thanks to it containing beet juice and the conventional stuff just doesn't cut it. Literally.

My Homemade Windshield Washer Fluid:

2 cups isopropyl alcohol 99% (or more if you can't find 99% Iso-Alcohol and then just adjust water below) Or less if you don't live where cold temperatures is a concern.
1 cup white vinegar
3 quarts water
2 Tbsp liquid dish soap (Dawn seems to work best)
5-10 drops blue food coloring

I've never had mold or anything else grow in my bottles, my wipers are always squeaky clean and last, and it doesn't harm the paint. It's also a lot better for your health because there is no toxic chemicals like those that are typically found in standard washer fluid. Also better for the environment too.


Just a FYI..Dawn strips wax/sealant and dries out the paint.
 
amazon sells concentrates for WW fluid and a rain-ex DIY concentrate. Above freezing I've been happy with this - as I don't need full strength most times. WW use is daily here during pollen season and daily here during dusty season.
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Probably going to get roasted for this but BMW sells a concentrate for both winter and summer which you dilute with distilled water. The winter formula contains a high percentage of methanol and you can adjust the ratio of water : concentrate to reach whatever temp range you want.


What's the cost though? You basically can't beat .98 cents for a gallon at Home Depot.

That -20F gallon has about 27-36% methanol.

http://www.thelsxdr.com/methanol-injection-101/

One place sells a pint for about $3.16 which to get a a 36% concentration only yields 3 pints or about 48oz or close to $10 to make a similar gallon, not even factoring in the cost of a distilled gallon of water which is almost $1.

Consider yourself roasted.

Here's one guy that sells 55 gallon drums at $277

http://www.cqconcepts.com/product-category/methanol-99/

So you could get over 150 gallons of windshield washer fluid out of it. But your costs for the methanol alone is still over $1.60 a gallon. Plus you then have over 150 gallons of windshield washer fluid....




First the HD stuff is already mixed. The BMW winter concentrate would run me about $2 (w/discount) for 16oz (1 pint) of concentrate. Mixed with distilled water at a 2:3 ratio yields a freeze point of -25F.

The reason why I mentioned it is because it's a concentrate and is a readily available option to buy in a quantity he would need rather than a 55 gallon drum. Seriously, other than someone who makes their own biodiesel who in the world would buy a 55 gallon drum of methanol. just to mix up washer fluid?


Well yeah, basically the whole point of the thread doesn't really make sense as you can't really make your own cheaper than you can buy it. At that ratio, even at $2, you're talking almost $8 just for the concentrate and then maybe another 50 cents for distilled water when you can just buy a gallon for less. Normally most areas sell whatever they think the lowest temperature will be for the region so other sections of the country get windshield washer fluid stronger than -20. The only value that might have is to add it to some -20F fluid to get to -25 or whatever you actually want. But you basically can't save any money making it on your own. One of those rare things where DIY can't overcome volume and the industrial complex.

As for those concentrates, they don't have any methanol, you can just as easily add water to whatever you have left over from the winter.
 
It's such a waste of shipping to sell gallon containers full of the stuff. Doesn't anyone make a concentrate? Maybe an ounce you can mix with water into a gallon jug that would be good to -20F.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
It's such a waste of shipping to sell gallon containers full of the stuff. Doesn't anyone make a concentrate? Maybe an ounce you can mix with water into a gallon jug that would be good to -20F.


Did you read the previous messages? Windshield washer fluid is about 36% methanol with -20F protection. There's no methanol concentrate. The only way you'd get methanol concentrate is to get a gallon of about 100% methanol and maybe you can make yourself close to 3 gallons of windshield washer fluid. However, that gallon of methanol will cost a lot more than the .98 cent gallon of windshield washer fluid that you buy at home depot.

The waste of shipping is still cheaper than making your own. If shipping really was a waste, Amazon wouldn't exist. But it turns out shipping is really a very small part of the overall cost.

There's no chemical that's one ounce that you can add to a gallon of water and get -20F protection.
 
Well, engine coolant is sold in concentrated form such that you mix it 50/50 with water. Why couldn't they make a stronger concentrate, like 10% antifreeze to 90% water and then why couldn't they do that with washer fluid too? I'm not familiar with methanol but assume its like alcohol? Doesn't alcohol come in different concentrations? 20 proof, 80 proof, 151 proof?
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Well, engine coolant is sold in concentrated form such that you mix it 50/50 with water. Why couldn't they make a stronger concentrate, like 10% antifreeze to 90% water and then why couldn't they do that with washer fluid too? I'm not familiar with methanol but assume its like alcohol? Doesn't alcohol come in different concentrations? 20 proof, 80 proof, 151 proof?


I take it you didn't take chemistry. There is no stronger concentrated form of engine coolant. The pure stuff is 100%. It's diluted with water to come up with a 50/50 mixture. If you just did 10% antifreeze to 90% water, you get a mixture that has different properties at different temperatures. You'd have to look at the chart to see what temperatures it freezes and boils at. They can't do it with washer fluid because it's the same thing. The gallon you buy that's good to -20F is basically 36% methanol. More concentrated is 100% methanol. But there's not really a market for people making their own antifreeze so you don't see 100% methanol sold. Normally they should just sell 100% antifreeze and let you mix it yourself, but they found out that if they mixed it for you, they could just charge 10% less even though you're getting 50% less.

Alcohol comes in different concentrations, but that just means that it's the percentage of alcohol in the mix. So 80 proof just means that it's 40% alcohol by volume. You can't get more concentrated than 100% alcohol.

There's basically no such thing as a concentrated form of alcohol or antifreeze. It is merely diluted with water. No concentrated gas, no concentrated oil, etc....
 
Originally Posted by DirtyOilGuy
Originally Posted by MolaKule
Do NOT use "Rubbing Alcohol"
31.gif
because it is isopropyl alcohol mixed with a very thin mineral oil, castor oil, diethyl phthalate, and methyl salicylate.

I don't think you want films of oils left on the windshield.
33.gif



ummmmm.....can you elaborate on this?

is there a difference between "rubbing alcohol" and isopropyl alcohol? because a quick google search isn't telling me much.

i'm looking at and have been using a bottle of "70% isopropyl alcohol" for cleaning random things around the house and i have NOT noticed any kind of oily residue.

also, a LOT of car detailers say that after you compound or polish a car's paint, you should use a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol (70%-90%) and water to remove any kind of residue/oil from the paint before applying the final layer, aka the wax or sealant.





You have to check the bottles carefully. Some rubbing alcohol products do contain oils and moisturizers. If you purchase plain isopropyl alcohol then you should be good to go. Always check the label.
PimTac is correct.

Pure or nearly pure isopropyl alcohol in solution is better but both ethanol and methanol have lower freeze points in solution, which is why methanol is usually used in Windshield washer solutions.

However, if one tried to purchase individual components, the cost is higher than just purchasing over the counter because those suppliers buy those components in large quantities and their component costs are much lower.
 
I buy the stuff at WM for $1.xx a gallon and then I cut it 50/50 with water. That puts me roughly at $1 a gallon. Yeah I think I can handle that. Not worth my time or effort to make a home mix.
 
As someone that has drums of Methanol on hand it maybe the only way to make it cost effective to blend your own.
 
You won't be able to make a quality washer fluid for less per gallon because you arent making it utilizing economies of scale and you are purchasing your ingredients at retail
Stay away from homebrews and especially those that use ammonia, which will attack certain plastics and rubber like windshield wipers and moldings.Shipping alone or the gas you use to go buy the ingredients will far exceed 98 cents a gallon for the Walmart stuff. Just buy the premade stuff and dont over think it.
 
Skip a single Starbucks coffee and BOOM, there's your washer fluid budget for the next 10 years. LOL

Seriously, the stuff is barely more expensive than low-grade bottled water at Walmart.
 
As someone that has drums of Methanol on hand it maybe the only way to make it cost effective to blend your own.
Oh yeah, lots of people have drums of methanol on hand. Comes in handy for all sorts of stuff like.....
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
Do NOT use "Rubbing Alcohol"
31.gif
because it is isopropyl alcohol mixed with a very thin mineral oil, castor oil, diethyl phthalate, and methyl salicylate.

I don't think you want films of oils left on the windshield.
33.gif



ummmmm.....can you elaborate on this?

is there a difference between "rubbing alcohol" and isopropyl alcohol? because a quick google search isn't telling me much.

i'm looking at and have been using a bottle of "70% isopropyl alcohol" for cleaning random things around the house and i have NOT noticed any kind of oily residue.

also, a LOT of car detailers say that after you compound or polish a car's paint, you should use a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol (70%-90%) and water to remove any kind of residue/oil from the paint before applying the final layer, aka the wax or sealant.
Just want to butt in here.

Maximum ipa content in a panel prep solution should be 10%.
 
Like others have said, I don’t see it as being cost effective to make your own, especially now with the coronavirus wiping most of the ingredients you may need off the shelves at stores. You can’t even go into a cvs and buy rubbing alcohol without a fight...stuff is gone. Peroxide? I could barely find that stuff over the summer.

When you’re out some weekend, just take a drive around to various places (Walmart, homedepot, Market Basket) and I think you’ll be able to get your hands on washer fluid for around $1-$2 dollars a gallon. I think you can buy concentrated formulas online and mix as well.
 
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