Yay or nay on this?
http://www.amazon.com/AlphaTherm-AT-38OD-Windshield-Washer-Heater/dp/B0034GW1WW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1296844652&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/AlphaTherm-AT-38OD-Windshield-Washer-Heater/dp/B0034GW1WW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1296844652&sr=8-1)
How does it not crack glass in the winter ???
easy answer for this is just buy good washer fluid that doesn't freeze...
but to answer your question about windshields, alot of cars come with heated spray jets that just elevate the temperature enough above freezing, but the multilaminate layered windshields shouldn't fracture generally speaking....but anything can happen with extremes...
I've never seen a windshield washer fluid that would freeze, even the cheap blue stuff.
A couple years ago I switched to the orange RainX stuff and love it.
I just seem to have a lot of trouble with ice buildup on the wipers and on the glass in really crappy weather.
Oh hell yes to the Orange RainX!!! [thumbsup]
My Subaru Outback had the cold weather package with a heated strip for the wipers to sit on, keeping them ice free.
No heated strip here :(
I would kill to have the heated strip that the windshield wipers park on.
Not enough to buy the few minivans that I see them on, however.
Anyone know if there's a company that sells those?
BC.
the fluid heater seems like a solution to a non problem (unless you live in Alaska or Siberia).
mitt
Quote from: Bladecutter on February 04, 2011, 12:16:42 PM
I would kill to have the heated strip that the windshield wipers park on.
Not enough to buy the few minivans that I see them on, however.
Anyone know if there's a company that sells those?
BC.
how about this
http://www.amazon.com/Heatflexx-Heated-Wipers/dp/B001R94018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1296850694&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Heatflexx-Heated-Wipers/dp/B001R94018/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1296850694&sr=8-1)
Quote from: mitt on February 04, 2011, 12:18:07 PM
the fluid heater seems like a solution to a non problem (unless you live in Alaska or Siberia).
mitt
to me it also seems like a repurposed piece of equipment...a fishtank circulation heater pump maybe?!?!?....
as far as fluid, I get this wonderful stuff through work that zee germans have labelled "Rain Repellant" and it is blue and works like rainX....and applies itself to the windshield with every spray!
Quote from: mitt on February 04, 2011, 12:18:07 PM
the fluid heater seems like a solution to a non problem (unless you live in Alaska or Siberia).
mitt
Sort of.
I have to have my hvac on defrost with the heat all the way up to keep the windshield clear.
That works in all but the worst weather but leaves the rest of the car freezing. If i make changes, it doesn't take long for the wipers to quit clearing and ice to start building up.
I don't live in Alaska or Siberia but 6"-20" of snow at a time here isn't uncommon nor is freezing rain and single digit temps :-\
Quote from: zooom on February 04, 2011, 12:22:21 PM
to me it also seems like a repurposed piece of equipment...a fishtank circulation heater pump maybe?!?!?....
as far as fluid, I get this wonderful stuff through work that zee germans have labelled "Rain Repellant" and it is blue and works like rainX....and applies itself to the windshield with every spray!
That's what the orange rainx juice does!!
I like the concept however I'm thinking the same thing could be accomplished with some creative washer hose routing.
Just not sure about temp regulation tho. The kit ensures a consistent 135degF
Quote from: Monsterlover on February 04, 2011, 12:23:46 PM
That's what the orange rainx juice does!!
yeah, but I get this for free....
we normally sell it for $4.18 a half gallon...VW pt#ZVW-177-101
There is this radical idea that used to exist some years back
it was called
warming up your car
One would actually go out to the car well in advance of actually leaving and start it
and
then just let it idle so things like the heater would work and the temps under the hood would increase so fluids would work better
like washer fluid and oil...
Instant gratification is the debil's chariot
Quote from: alfisti on February 04, 2011, 12:26:22 PM
I like the concept however I'm thinking the same thing could be accomplished with some creative washer hose routing.
Just not sure about temp regulation tho. The kit ensures a consistent 135degF
It could. A quick look at some older cars in the JY (either volvo or volkswagon i think) routed the rubber supply line to a metal loop that went around the upper rad hose.
The number of turns around the hose basically controls the temp.
However, when it's not in use I imagine that 3" of fluid would be up to rad temp.
Not sure how glass would feel about 200 some degrees of juice though ;D
Also, the electronic version is armed in like 30 seconds.
Quote from: Mother on February 04, 2011, 01:03:46 PM
There is this radical idea that used to exist some years back
it was called
warming up your car
One would actually go out to the car well in advance of actually leaving and start it
and
then just let it idle so things like the heater would work and the temps under the hood would increase so fluids would work better
like washer fluid and oil...
Instant gratification is the debil's chariot
My issue has nothing to do with that. I do let my car warm up.
Leaving my house with a clear windshield is not an issue. I even own an ice scraper ;D
The problem is when im out and about, particularly when Im on the slab, the ice starts to take over.
Quote from: Monsterlover on February 04, 2011, 01:06:40 PM
My issue has nothing to do with that. I do let my car warm up.
Leaving my house with a clear windshield is not an issue. I even own an ice scraper ;D
The problem is when im out and about, particularly when Im on the slab, the ice starts to take over.
"...I even own an ice scraper"seems a simple solution to me
but
I'm an over-engineered item hater
Hard to use at 70mph on the highway. Only one place to pull off on my route unless I take an exit, which would be a pain to stop and scrape.
make the beast with two backs it.
Im getting a snowmobile.
You've got something wrong with your heater, there's no way the defrost shouldn't keep up. (unless The Deal King just found the fly in his ointment)
Ahh grasshopper....
I never said the defrost wont keep up...
We had this guy in high school that adjusted his fluid nozzles to hit pedestrians. He would slowly drive by the freshmen waiting to get on the bus to go home and squirt those in front. If only had the super heated washer fluid back then, i would totally have gotten my revenge.
Quote from: Monsterlover on February 04, 2011, 12:23:07 PM
Sort of.
I have to have my hvac on defrost with the heat all the way up to keep the windshield clear.
That works in all but the worst weather but leaves the rest of the car freezing. If i make changes, it doesn't take long for the wipers to quit clearing and ice to start building up.
I don't live in Alaska or Siberia but 6"-20" of snow at a time here isn't uncommon nor is freezing rain and single digit temps :-\
This is not a description of a well functioning heat system, padawan ;D
I have a car with it (Golf TDI) and a car without it (Mazda 3) right now.
Gotta say it does make a hell of difference when in nightmare weather like raining and 20 degrees out.
With the Mazda I have to stop every so often to beat the ice out of the wipers.
As for warming the car up, do you know how long it would take the TDI to warm up if I just started it and let it idle in the driveway? [laugh]
It takes 10 miles of driving before the temperature gauge even moves on cold mornings.
-10 is pretty funny because the gauge will go up to 190 when driving up a hill (on throttle) and drop back down to 160 down a hill (off throttle) [cheeky]
Quote from: lethe on February 04, 2011, 04:50:42 PM
I have a car with it (Golf TDI) and a car without it (Mazda 3) right now.
Gotta say it does make a hell of difference when in nightmare weather like raining and 20 degrees out.
With the Mazda I have to stop every so often to beat the ice out of the wipers.
As for warming the car up, do you know how long it would take the TDI to warm up if I just started it and let it idle in the driveway? [laugh]
It takes 10 miles of driving before the temperature gauge even moves on cold mornings.
-10 is pretty funny because the gauge will go up to 190 when driving up a hill (on throttle) and drop back down to 160 down a hill (off throttle) [cheeky]
No thermostat in that thing?
Quote from: ducpainter on February 04, 2011, 05:01:49 PM
No thermostat in that thing?
At -10 was the only time I ever saw that.
I find it excusable because I don't care where you're from, that's pretty make the beast with two backsing cold.
Quote from: lethe on February 04, 2011, 05:05:09 PM
At -10 was the only time I ever saw that.
I find it excusable because I don't care where you're from, that's pretty make the beast with two backsing cold.
I agree that -10 is pretty cold.
I find it bizarre that they didn't build a system that allows the engine to reach operating temps in any conditions.
Quote from: ducpainter on February 04, 2011, 05:10:08 PM
I agree that -10 is pretty cold.
I find it bizarre that they didn't build a system that allows the engine to reach operating temps in any conditions.
The car is absolutely awesome in the winter so I'll not complain about little quirks.
Quote from: lethe on February 04, 2011, 05:15:15 PM
The car is absolutely awesome in the winter so I'll not complain about little quirks.
This is the internet...
you're supposed to rant about every little thing that pisses you off...
but doesn't really matter.
You
are bizarre. :-*
Quote from: Monsterlover on February 04, 2011, 11:59:59 AM
I've never seen a windshield washer fluid that would freeze, even the cheap blue stuff.
Trust me, the blue stuff freezes, even the good blue stuff.
Quote from: ducpainter on February 04, 2011, 05:21:33 PM
This is the internet...
you're supposed to rant about every little thing that pisses you off...
but doesn't really matter.
Yes like
Gas station attendants that spin the clicking gas cap in 4 complete revolutions
Auto insurance offers that look like checks
Business owners that hire tweakers to stand on the corner and spin signs
Commercials on Pandora that occur mid make the beast with two backsing song
How much Charlie Sheen spends on blow
and
how stupidly over engineered I feel cars are
These are the truly important issues
Quote from: Mother on February 04, 2011, 07:15:06 PM
Yes like
how stupidly over engineered I feel cars are
These are the truly important issues
My E320 Mercedes wagon comes standard with heated windshield fluid. There is a coolant circuit that comes from the radiator, and into the washer tank. The hot pipe heats up the fluid. Of course there is a controller to regulate the temp.
The benefit is, that there is an extra doohickey to fool around with under the hood. Otherwise I guess it keeps the fluid from freezing until it hits the window and instantly turns to ice.
frozen wipers
are
mother natures way of telling you to stay the make the beast with two backs home
My last winter in VT I had a ritual:
Wake up (wearing a union suit & long underwear)
Throw on jeans and boots and jacket
Go out and start car.
Go back inside.
Get Undressed, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast
Get into nice, warm, defrosted car.
See if any neighbors need a jump start.
Drive to work.
What's the big deal?
Quote from: Drunken Monkey on February 04, 2011, 11:20:11 PM
My last winter in VT I had a ritual:
Wake up (wearing a union suit & long underwear)
Throw on jeans and boots and jacket
Go out and start car.
Go back inside.
Get Undressed, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast
Get into nice, warm, defrosted car.
See if any neighbors need a jump start.
Drive to work.
What's the big deal?
Quote from: lethe on February 04, 2011, 04:50:42 PM
I have a car with it (Golf TDI) and a car without it (Mazda 3) right now.
Gotta say it does make a hell of difference when in nightmare weather like raining and 20 degrees out.
With the Mazda I have to stop every so often to beat the ice out of the wipers.
Quote from: Mother on February 04, 2011, 10:45:43 PM
frozen wipers
are
mother natures way of telling you to stay the make the beast with two backs home
no it's natures way of telling everyone else to stay home
Empty snow covered roads are like the playground of the gods.
The only reason I ever stay home from work on really bad days is because I know other people will screw it up for me.
Agreed.
I <3 e-brake turns :D
i also hate ice build up on the wipers
there is no way to get it off unless you pull over and get out of the car
which is not always convenient when there is 10 inches of snow on the roads
my audi does not have the heated strip on the windshield
i think that would solve the problem [thumbsup]
Quote from: Monsterlover on February 05, 2011, 04:41:11 AM
Agreed.
I <3 e-brake turns :D
plus VWs traction control is biased towards performance
It always allows just enough wheelspin for fun and to show people when your pissed off at them.
Quote from: lethe on February 05, 2011, 04:38:00 AM
no it's natures way of telling everyone else to stay home
Empty snow covered roads are like the playground of the gods.
The only reason I ever stay home from work on really bad days is because I know other people will screw it up for me.
we call them snowboarders
they take mother's playground and make the beast with two backs it up with ruts, gates, and cops
Quote from: lethe on February 05, 2011, 04:38:00 AM
no it's natures way of telling everyone else to stay home
Empty snow covered roads are like the playground of the gods.
The only reason I ever stay home from work on really bad days is because I know other people will screw it up for me.
This is right here is one of my fondest memories of living in the frozen North.
Quote from: ducpainter on February 04, 2011, 05:10:08 PM
I agree that -10 is pretty cold.
I find it bizarre that they didn't build a system that allows the engine to reach operating temps in any conditions.
Welcome to my world with buses. The antique V8 Detroit Diesel motors warm up fine and make plenty of heat. The new, modern Benz-powered Freightliner buses, even with the grill cover sometimes won't heat up at all when you are stuck traveling at a steady speed on the highway. It was in the negatives one morning and I froze. No heat, and ice formed on the INSIDE of the windows...
JM
thats odd. I have driven truck for 20 years and never had a truck that did not warm up and the heater be able to blow warm air within a few minutes. In the small straight trucks we used to have the Cummins motor have a built in block heater that keep it at 80*so that it will always start when it gets cold. That turd can break and when it does its an expensive fix, I seem to remember the heater being around $1400.00 or so. I have not driven semi with a new MB power plant in it but I have driven a new MB Sprinter van. The emissions on them are nightmares. There is a fluid that you have to refill into a reservoir that helps burn off the emissions....Its $130.00 to fill that up at MB , even though the bottle only costs $1.30 a quart. They take about 20 gallons of the stuff. Anyway, when that crap runs out you only are allowed to start the vehicle so many times before a sensor interlocks the ignition so it will not start. Then you are stuck in Egypt with a van that wont start until you buy this emission stuff pour into a tank under the hood and have a reset button reset by the factory using a datatool. What a con. Yes I like MB cars, but this? Insane.
I'll stick to Cummins power with a ten speed Eaton Fuller in a Volvo tractor. My idea of what a truck should be. My 1989 Volvo had 1.9 million miles on her when I left that company in 2003.Yeah, she had power, all you'd want and then some. [thumbsup]
As far as heated windshield fluid? Con. Decent washer fluid comes with a non freezing chemical agent that works fine. Cars are over engineered for the gizmo gadget crowd these days. Did a 1947 MB come with a heated windshield washer fluid? Nope They had just as severe winters then as they do know.
Quote from: badgalbetty on February 06, 2011, 02:39:33 PM
thats odd. I have driven truck for 20 years and never had a truck that did not warm up and the heater be able to blow warm air within a few minutes. In the small straight trucks we used to have the Cummins motor have a built in block heater that keep it at 80*so that it will always start when it gets cold. That turd can break and when it does its an expensive fix, I seem to remember the heater being around $1400.00 or so. I have not driven semi with a new MB power plant in it but I have driven a new MB Sprinter van. The emissions on them are nightmares. There is a fluid that you have to refill into a reservoir that helps burn off the emissions....Its $130.00 to fill that up at MB , even though the bottle only costs $1.30 a quart. They take about 20 gallons of the stuff. Anyway, when that crap runs out you only are allowed to start the vehicle so many times before a sensor interlocks the ignition so it will not start. Then you are stuck in Egypt with a van that wont start until you buy this emission stuff pour into a tank under the hood and have a reset button reset by the factory using a datatool. What a con. Yes I like MB cars, but this? Insane.
I'll stick to Cummins power with a ten speed Eaton Fuller in a Volvo tractor. My idea of what a truck should be. My 1989 Volvo had 1.9 million miles on her when I left that company in 2003.Yeah, she had power, all you'd want and then some. [thumbsup]
As far as heated windshield fluid? Con. Decent washer fluid comes with a non freezing chemical agent that works fine. Cars are over engineered for the gizmo gadget crowd these days. Did a 1947 MB come with a heated windshield washer fluid? Nope They had just as severe winters then as they do know.
The urea injection is the common emissions thing for the cars now too. My TDI does without it instead doing some weird little changes in the fueling from time to time but just about all the other passenger cars go the cow piss route.
Still gotta disagree about the heated fluid though as back to back drives between my two cars prove out the difference to me. I was driving all around yesterday in the freezing rain here in my car that doesn't have it and had to have a dragon's fire level of heat blowing out on the windshield to keep from ice buildup and had to stop to bang off the wipers a few times. Just doesn't happen in the other car.
Quote from: zooom on February 04, 2011, 12:22:21 PM
to me it also seems like a repurposed piece of equipment...a fishtank circulation heater pump maybe?!?!?....
as far as fluid, I get this wonderful stuff through work that zee germans have labelled "Rain Repellant" and it is blue and works like rainX....and applies itself to the windshield with every spray!
Don't have trouble with ice but for rain repellent, I was using RainX but a friend told me to use car polish on your windshield. Let it dry and then rub it off. Has the same effect as RainX. [thumbsup]
Quote from: badgalbetty on February 06, 2011, 02:39:33 PM
thats odd. I have driven truck for 20 years and never had a truck that did not warm up and the heater be able to blow warm air within a few minutes. In the small straight trucks we used to have the Cummins motor have a built in block heater that keep it at 80*so that it will always start when it gets cold. That turd can break and when it does its an expensive fix, I seem to remember the heater being around $1400.00 or so. I have not driven semi with a new MB power plant in it but I have driven a new MB Sprinter van. The emissions on them are nightmares. There is a fluid that you have to refill into a reservoir that helps burn off the emissions....Its $130.00 to fill that up at MB , even though the bottle only costs $1.30 a quart. They take about 20 gallons of the stuff. Anyway, when that crap runs out you only are allowed to start the vehicle so many times before a sensor interlocks the ignition so it will not start. Then you are stuck in Egypt with a van that wont start until you buy this emission stuff pour into a tank under the hood and have a reset button reset by the factory using a datatool. What a con. Yes I like MB cars, but this? Insane.
I'll stick to Cummins power with a ten speed Eaton Fuller in a Volvo tractor. My idea of what a truck should be. My 1989 Volvo had 1.9 million miles on her when I left that company in 2003.Yeah, she had power, all you'd want and then some. [thumbsup]
As far as heated windshield fluid? Con. Decent washer fluid comes with a non freezing chemical agent that works fine. Cars are over engineered for the gizmo gadget crowd these days. Did a 1947 MB come with a heated windshield washer fluid? Nope They had just as severe winters then as they do know.
We have a Dodge 3500 pickup with a Cummins in it. I can let it Idle for a half hour in the driveway and go out there and it's still cold. but drive it down the road 3 or 4 miles and it warms right up. I'm pretty sure it has some kind of motorized or electronic thermostat because the temperature ocilates a bit when its warm on a regular interval. I see it going up to just over halfway on the the thermostat and then it cools back down. Then it creeps back up there and then cools back down again. Ive gotten used to it now. I don't care much for that transmission, it has but the engine makes a lot of power, and its one of the older 2 valve engines.
Anyway the truck has no heated fluid or heated strips, just defrosters that don't work until you drive it.
sounds like a sticking thermostat or a bad electrical sensor at a guess. Once a vehicle is moving it will warm up quicker that is because at idle you are at around 700 rpm .Driving in a pick up you are going up to around 2000 rpm before shifting.