Over at Priuschat, someone has a frozen windshield washer reservoir, looking for methods to thaw it out. One suggestion was to cover the car with a tarp and let it run for an hour or so.
What is in the reservoir ? I'm being serious some people throw in tap water and wonder why it froze. If your close to the house I'd use hot water to thaw out the reservoir. Pull the hose at the bottom after five minutes so as it melts it drains out. It may take ten or more minutes depending on the size of the ice chunk. Then fill with quality -20 windshield fluid. The hoses will not thaw out as easily until under hood temperature gets warm enough to thaw the ice inside. If it isn't too hard to pull them off, take them into a warm area and let thaw them out also. The tarp over the engine compartment may help speed this along if taking the hoses off isn't an option. If you didn't thaw them out off the car make sure you run the washer long enough to get the weak fluid out of the hose.
What you described in your yard (vehicle used as a heating/cooling shed) is a common tactic for crews that work in extreme conditions, but in your situation I'd probably avoid working far from the house in harsh weather. I've spent many days taking my hands to the edge of frostbite and back again working outside and using a truck heater to periodically warm my frozen hands and also alternating two pairs of gloves between thawing in the cab and freezing on my hands while I'm working. My understanding is that many of the new semi-rigs sleepers have small auxiliary generators that can power their household appliances, but they still need to run the main engine if they're powering a refrigerated trailer.
Yeah, I may not be the sharpest knife in the block, but it didn't take me long to conclude: unless you're in Hawaii, there's no point to using anything but freeze-protected fluid, year 'round.
Disagree, for over 30 years I've switched from water to the frost blasting stuff the month before the usual first frost and never had trouble. It's all about how often you check and top up the reservoir. If you check and refill monthly or more often there's no need to use the toxic stuff in the Spring and Summer. I also think water is a little easier on wiper blades. If you don't check fluids under the hood regularly , I'd recommend your plan though.
We don't get a lot of summer bugs here, and are low mileage, so whatever goes in the spring is likely still in there in October. The main time fluid's used is to cut through salty slush spray in winter. Yeah, depends on your usage I guess
I do check mine once in a while, but it's never been filled up since the dealer did it in March 2008. Guess I don't rely on that to keep my windshield clean , eh ? Wonder if it still works.
I don't know about you guys but, I use the squeegee whenever I visit the gas station. I also keep one in my trunk along with glass cleaner. In my nine years of ownership I have filled the washer fluid tank twice.
Yes , I so use the squeegee at the gas station every time , if my windshield is even a little dirty. Works MUCH better than wipers on bird poop.
I do a lot of idling, but I doubt that any of it is completely mindless. As for the windshield washer....... I make my own washer fluid so it costs me only a few cents per gallon. And I do use my washers a lot and refill the reservoir every time I have an occasion to pop the hood. I try to check out everything under the hood at least once a week. You won't know, if you don't look. It's called "Maintenance". A strange word, to way too many drivers today. That's one thing that the computer can't and won't do. Happy Holidays Everyone! The Doctor
