1 hour ago, JohnnyType2 said:

Scandinavians don't salt roads though do they?

 

salt is my big issue mixed with spray when it hits the screen it smears really bad especially with street lighting its hard to see. I've found on occasion the jets froze solid no matter what i use in the bottle, makes for a dangerous drive.

oh yeah salting roads is now very popular in Norway and where i live in northen Norway it's very annoying since most of the time the salt is making perfect winter roads to slushy roads. there are rules on when they shoud use salt but they ignore it and just dump salt on snow and that makes it dangerous. 10-15 years ago they did not use salt here and it usally was great to drive on winter roads, just had to slow down when it was slippy.

and yeah, the screen get's smeared with that crap.

Edited 13 December, 20178 yr by bytterga

1 hour ago, JohnnyType2 said:

Scandinavians don't salt roads though do they?

 

salt is my big issue mixed with spray when it hits the screen it smears really bad especially with street lighting its hard to see. I've found on occasion the jets froze solid no matter what i use in the bottle, makes for a dangerous drive.

My problem exactly!

 

Salt is not an issue really, but it is not clean SEA SALT,  it is Rock Salt, dirty salt, and sometimes when contractors are running short as in 2010 in goes crushed sand stone etc, not even sand.

(Come the Spring time drains are blocked inn time for rain, snow melt and floods.)

 

So nice very cold dry air driving on treated / pisted roads is rather different from a thawing road surface with slush as the air temp is several degrees below freezing,  or far below freezing. eg many locations around the UK.

I'm having issues with salt on my lights. I've having to stop half way home and wash the crusted salt/mud combo off so I can see.

 

I don't remember the problem being as bad in previous years but don't know if it's a change of car or a change to the gritting.

I think one of the problems is that too much salt is used. Every thing just turned into a muddy type liquid. The salt eventually dilutes with the slush/snow so it doesn't work any more. Then they put more salt down and the whole process starts again. The salt doesn't do the roads any good either. 

ROAD (rock) salt IS an issue if your wipers and/or washers are frozen.... its mined in its raw state with impurities and all, and spread directly on the roads we all know that.  The presence of impurities in a substance results in a lower melting point due to a process called melting point depression hence dirty impure salt used.

 

you would need to live in a pretty posh borough if your council is spreading purified salt. 

 

 

Or in a Housing Association scheme or such with un-adopted roads and private contractors that fill the Salt / Grit bins from bags, 

and spread from their hoppers filled from the Public Works yard or the Building Suppliers with lovely white salt not mixed grit / sodium.

Well most of the time. 

Location location location, and no need for posh, just cold & wintry.

 

Councils in many areas of the UK do not do the Road Maintenance or Winter maintenance, that can be contracted and they do not do the Routes that BEAR or AMEY will be doing in Scotland. But then maybe the same Employees that were Council Employees previously will be doing it.

 

Maybe Farmers contracted are out with tractors and spreaders are doing in the towns and villages and Direct Labour the pavements.

 

PS 

Go to some roads  with or without Snow Gates and severe gradients and the Salt Bins will have Sharp Sand in not salt.

If you see a diesel spill, or oil spill and a Gritting Lorry working it might well be sand going down not Salt / Grit, 

even when roads are below freezing point, or going to be.

 

 

Grit job _worst_ councillor has seen in decades _ Press and Journal.mhtml

11,000 tonnes of salt stockpiled for winter blitz in Aberdeen _ Press and Journal.mhtml

Edited 13 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

I have no idea what your talking about? So salt on roads is not an issue (not really)? when the weather gets cold and my windscreen gets pasted up? its my "imagination" that its the salt on the roads causing this?

 

I really don't know what to say, all these years and i never knew it wasn't road salt? so ill shut up

 

way to **** on a thread...

 

 

Yes salt makes a mess, even dried on salt, but there are lots of salt / grit types , 

Salt on pavements easy for feet to crush at 6*oC,  and that goes in drains if the rain comes and not the frost.

 

Then salt on single carriageways, country roads, and maybe different on dual carriageways / motorways.

Salt chosen to spread and lay, and not just be washed aside easily on faster / busy roads.

 

Then grit put on compacted snow ice can be rather different. Horrible stuff, and if red sandstone grit is in then really bad on paint, glass,. brakes, suspension, steering through a winter, if a freeze stays on and more builds up without a thaw to get cleaned off.

Like last week where there was 7 days at or below freezing, or 7 years ago and 5 week before Christmas.

 

All salt is down to absorb H2o , put down @ about 6*oC is perfect & to get to get crushed & make brine, change the freezing point of H20, stop the ice forming or adhering

or inhibiting at least.

Some places where heavy grit / salt is used a lot through a winter Gully Cleaning is required.

 

Its well tried and sorted and done differently in different parts of the 4 countries in Britain. 

Edited 13 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

Doesn't help that nowadays, screen-wash/ lights wash tanks on cars are moulded to squeeze in behind the bumper, where they are in coldest air flow.

In earlier times, many screenwash bottles were mounted up and behind the engine on the bulkhead, where they were kept warmer by being in the warmer air flow running from the radiator, up and over the hot engine.

 

Some cars have electrically-heated screenwash nozzles; a previous Mk4 Golf TD had that feature.  Or perhaps as has been suggested by one of our Scandinavian members, plumb-in some extra screenwash pipe wrapped around a heater-hose.  But the wind-chilled reservoir remains the fly in the ointment; if the stuff in there has frozen or is already mushy, no heated jets or pipes will help!  A heated garage would be nice...

 

Don't know if any current Skoda models have heated nozzles, or whether only in certain markets?  By the way, that scum which builds up in the screenwash filler-neck filter, I've found that you can grip the filter and extract it (its like an inverted top-hat shape), take it to a tap, back-flush it, perhaps use a washing-up brush on its underside, worth doing several times a year!!

Richard

I can not find a good picture, but we used to run a pipe from the radiator through the Washer Bottles as well as wrap the pipes to the nozzles around a pipe.

No good pics i can find but on my 110 LR i had a heater element in the washer bottle and then the pipes to the bulkhead & nozzles were zip ties to a pipe which was heating quick as the engine and LPG system was getting hot coolant.

(Still froze on the screen outside, and the screen inside froze as well, but at least i tried and used de-icer on the inside of the screen.)

Sometimes the gas stove was on in the rear to make it warm enough to be bearable, even with a Leisure Battery powering and electric heater at the windscreen.

 

 

Edited 13 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

2 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

Yes salt makes a mess, even dried on salt, but there are lots of salt / grit types , 

Salt on pavements easy for feet to crush at 6*oC,  and that goes in drains if the rain comes and not the frost.

 

Then salt on single carriageways, country roads, and maybe different on dual carriageways / motorways.

Salt chosen to spread and lay, and not just be washed aside easily on faster / busy roads.

 

Then grit put on compacted snow ice can be rather different. Horrible stuff, and if red sandstone grit is in then really bad on paint, glass,. brakes, suspension, steering through a winter, if a freeze stays on and more builds up without a thaw to get cleaned off.

Like last week where there was 7 days at or below freezing, or 7 years ago and 5 week before Christmas.

 

All salt is down to absorb H2o , put down @ about 6*oC is perfect & to get to get crushed & make brine, change the freezing point of H20, stop the ice forming or adhering

or inhibiting at least.

Some places where heavy grit / salt is used a lot through a winter Gully Cleaning is required.

 

Its well tried and sorted and done differently in different parts of the 4 countries in Britain. 

 

 

*Yawn* sorry you lost me after 'yes salt...'

 

what has any of that diatribe got to do with windscreen wash frustration [the original question]? [genuine question]

You like that Yawn.  You do it quite a bit in threads.

Best just use your ignore button, no point reading stuff from me,

what it was to do with was something you posted about 'inpurities',  but hey hoe, its just a forum.

2 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

You like that Yawn.  You do it quite a bit in threads.

Best just use your ignore button, no point reading stuff from me,

what it was to do with was something you posted about 'inpurities',  but hey hoe, its just a forum.

 

good advice.

I'm running neat genuine VW / Skoda screenwash.

 

They still freeze up.

 

The most annoying bit is the gamble, the temperature display is well below freezing so you know your in dangerous territory. Do I risk trying to wash the screen or not!?

 

If the gamble pays off you get water on the windscreen and all is good, if like me your unlucky you get 4 wipes of smeary mess, making it even worse to see.

 

I've even resorted to tracking down trucks and sitting behind them for a few seconds in an effort to get as much moisture on the screen as possible   

4 hours ago, RichardatWakefield said:

Don't know if any current Skoda models have heated nozzles, or whether only in certain markets?  

 

My Scout has the winter pack which includes heated windscreen and supposedly heated washer nozzles, which as alluded to already, is not much use if the pipes and/or reservoir are frozen up.

Some people top up their washer bottle with neat screenwash, but forget they still have "summer strength" liquid in the water lines. That can freeze up.

 

I've never needed to use screenwash at -7°C. If the screen is dirty before leaving home, I throw a bit of snow on it and then once it thaws, I use the wipers.

 

We use Lasol : https://www.lasol.fi/tuote/lasol-100/

 

 

Its funny that snow and ice is a much bigger problem in GB than in Norway 

Not really seeing as it does not fall in the same way as in Norway, and the temperatures do not stay low for long in many areas and the road departments and contractors have different equipment and budgets.

 

Where snow does fall and build up or drift like that in the UK there are ploughs and snow blowers / cutters that can cope with them.

Still not on the exposed roads when blizzard conditions mean snow gates need closed as the police that would have to be responsible could be risking their lives 

where closing the roads to all vehicles, or unsuitable vehicles is what gets done.

http://lecht.co.uk 

 

This is the most exposed route in Scotland and closed 4 days in the past 2 weeks.

The Owner of the Ski Centre was a Snow Plough Driver & then the Director of roads, so knows well you can only do your best.

 

My route home is 60 miles, and if one side of the hill route is closed i can have to take a 120 mile detour on one or another route north before heading south and that can mean an extra 80 to 120 miles. Either of these routes are no guarantee of getting home the same day if roads are closed going that way, and this does happen on occasions.

 

 

A939,  top pictures,

The Lecht is Fun in the snow / winter and even still winter when no snow.

 

Bottom the highest through route public road in the UK, the A93 through Glenshee Ski Centre.

Road closed twice last week.

Edited 14 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

Doesn't help that it is that infrequent that we get snow. A couple of flakes and the inexperienced drivers as well as some who should know better go into panic mode, which has knock on effect to everyone else and we soon come to a standstill.