OK, first properly cold time this winter but even with virtually neat screen wash the nozzles were still freezing up.  Up to approx -5c I’d have screen wash from both sides, all good and green screen wash doing it’s thing.  Colder than that from just the passenger side, meant relying on the LHS wiper shunting enough screenwash rightwards to clear enough of my screen.  Below -9c absolutely nothing, coldest seen -10c.  And it is decent screen wash that, with the concentration in the washer bottle, should be fine, as witnessed by the rear screen scoosher happily doing its thing like a hippo marking its territory.
 

And finally cutting to the chase, can heated nozzles be retro-fitted to a car (bog basic SE Karoq) that doesn’t have the “winter pack” fitted?  Obviously I’d hope that it was just pull off the the “old ones” and put on the heated nozzles with the electrical connector just sitting there.  But I live on Planet Earth so I know that wouldn’t be an option.

 

Thoughts?

Edited 12 December, 20223 yr by DSL

Does the windscreen wash not just freeze on your screen at -9*oC ambient temp when the car is as cold inside even if you have -23*oC windscreen wash? 

 

Anything with heated nozzles that i have driven was no use unless there were heated pipes and insulation to the nozzles then it just froze on the screen or in the air intake meaning the interior screen steamed up. 

Edited 12 December, 20223 yr by toot

At -8.5c it was hitting the screen and staying liquid just fine, the wipers did their thing and all was good.  At -9c no idea re freezing on the screen as the stuff wasn’t putting in an appearance. 

Try tonight or tomorrow just spraying from a plant sprayer at the cold screen then if you are down at -10*oC or lower.

 

When i am on the road and the salt is drying on i try to get behind a lorry to get wet slush on the screen to use the wipers, everything i drive in freezing weather has the screen freezing.  

I have even had -70 *oC VW Washer Fluid that was crap. 

 

 

Edited 12 December, 20223 yr by toot

It’s -11c atm but I’m in a nice warm living room with the fire going nicely, cheeky little bottle of red Vino Collapso being consumed.  Going back out is deffo above and beyond.  Will have a look tomorrow, though due to be warmer and snowing. 

Whilst serving with England's senior infantry regiment in West Berlin, in the early 70's we found neat vodka worked well as a screenwash;

the only complaint was the tiny capacity of the screenwash reservoir.

 

I had to drive my BMC mini, with wind down/up windows from downtown Berlin to our camp in Kladow and never had a problem with the windscreen in the cold.

Incidently, the dealers in the  U.K were a little suspicious of the car, apparently export models were the first to have windups, the home market still had sliding windows. Mine was RHD for export, purchased in Berlin.

 

I recall a week or so when the daytime temperature hovered around -20c, and dropped at night..

I've been back twice since, and I'm pretty sure that this doesn't occur quite so much.

 

W11A

Over the years the same things crop up.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/420185-windscreen-washer-fluid

 

 

Is the hand sanitiser alcohol that all the distilleries & others were producing during the first covid years any use as windscreen wash in low temps?

There must be warehouses full of the stuff. 

(sit it it outside in the very cold weather and see.)

Edited 13 December, 20223 yr by toot

Have you considered a stick on heater pad and tracer wires for the tank and pipes?

Back in my Ford Anglia 105E days I bought a length of plastic tubing and used it to extend the washer tubing wrapped around the engine top hose to heat up the washer fluid.  

In the summer the windscreen got washed with warm water.

 

tom

My 105E never had windscreen washers, sometime in the 70's they became a legal requirement and there were loads of retro-fit kits on the market, I'm not sure if older vehicles had to be retrofitted for the MOT or whether they sold because of peoples desire to keep up, certainly seat belt fitment was not enforced on older vehicles.

People still wrap copper pipe around the manifold on Land Rovers and the likes to get liquid heated to the windscreen or even into the cab as heating demisting that came as standard might not even of done the job when new. 

On 13/12/2022 at 13:36, J.R. said:

My 105E never had windscreen washers, sometime in the 70's they became a legal requirement and there were loads of retro-fit kits on the market, I'm not sure if older vehicles had to be retrofitted for the MOT or whether they sold because of peoples desire to keep up, certainly seat belt fitment was not enforced on older vehicles.

My dad had to retrofit washers to our Ford Thames minibus to pass the mot in the late 60’s

I think my memory may be decieving me, perhaps it had already been converted, I can visualise a push button pump now sticking out of the dash like a sore thumb and I don't think even then I would have done such a bad job!

On 13/12/2022 at 06:37, w11a said:

Whilst serving with England's senior infantry regiment in West Berlin, in the early 70's we found neat vodka worked well as a screenwash;

the only complaint was the tiny capacity of the screenwash reservoir.

 

I had to drive my BMC mini, with wind down/up windows from downtown Berlin to our camp in Kladow and never had a problem with the windscreen in the cold.

Incidently, the dealers in the  U.K were a little suspicious of the car, apparently export models were the first to have windups, the home market still had sliding windows. Mine was RHD for export, purchased in Berlin.

 

I recall a week or so when the daytime temperature hovered around -20c, and dropped at night..

I've been back twice since, and I'm pretty sure that this doesn't occur quite so much.

 

W11A

I served at RAF Laarbruch, Germany 1973-76. We also used Vodka for screenwash as it was cheaper than actual screenwash….only problem was the sore neck from trying to lick it off the edge of the screen.😊