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Michigan De-Icing
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Feb 11, 2021 10:15:05   #
Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States
 
2Dragons wrote:
If there is only a thin coating of ice, I turn on the windshield washer and the alcohol or whatever it is that they put in that stuff, dissolves the ice almost immediately.


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Feb 11, 2021 10:16:17   #
gsmith051 Loc: Fairfield Glade, TN
 
SteveR wrote:
I heard the neighbor scraping her windshield this morning to get the ice off. I looked out and all the windshields are covered in ice.

It reminds me of de-icing in Michigan. You can scrape all you want, but the easiest way to get ice off the windows is to start the car and let it warm up with the heat and whatever you call the selection the diverts heat to the windshield, as well as the de-icer to the rear window. A small layer of water will develop beneath the ice, allowing you to easily push the ice off the windshield, sometimes with just the wiper blades.

I know many of you may know this, but a lot of people in Texas do not.
I heard the neighbor scraping her windshield this ... (show quote)

Oh the good old days!!😀

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Feb 12, 2021 05:39:07   #
gcolegate1
 
sippyjug104 wrote:
Brush off snow and defrost ice. It is also wise to lift the windshield wipers into the air....BEFORE...the ice forms and snow falls.

Heat travels from warm to cold in the transfer process, which is why ice cubes melt in the glass while cooling the drink. As heat enters the car all of the air and surfaces in the car absorb the heat in an effort to reach equilibrium in temperature. The glass surfaces of course are one of these surfaces in the car. Because solid glass is a poor insulator the heat that gets absorbed by the glass passes through to the cold outdoor side thus warming the ice stuck on the glass. Warming the ice raises its temperature and when it reaches 32-deg. F it will change state from solid to liquid making a small film of liquid to form against the glass which eases the removal from the glass.

In other words, turn the car on and wait for it to warm up so that the ice can easily be removed from the glass.
Brush off snow and defrost ice. It is also wise t... (show quote)


You should never leave the wipers in an up position, it will stretch the springs.

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Feb 12, 2021 05:52:17   #
Ollieboy
 
Start the car and turn the heat to the hottest setting. Go inside get a cup of coffee and about 10/15 minutes later the ice will start to slide down your windshields and windows. Use a scraper on the slower sections. I never cleaned my car with the cabin cold (too much work).

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Feb 12, 2021 05:54:34   #
Ollieboy
 
fourlocks wrote:
Just playing the Devil's advocate here, I wonder how much gas is burned, letting a car run long enough for it to warm the windshield enough to remove an ice layer. Multiply that by several hundred thousand cars.

My other issue with this is that I had to get up pretty early to get to work and I rarely had the opportunity to waste 10 or 15 minutes waiting for my car to warm up and still make it to work on time. Yeah, yeah I could have gotten up that much earlier to let the car warm up but when it's pitch dark in the pre-dawn hours in the middle of winter, every minute I could sleep was precious.

I purchased a heavy, teflon-coated cloth covering that fit over the outside of my windshield and as long as I remembered to put it on the night before, all I had to do is lift it off and toss it in the car in the morning. Voila; no frost or ice on the windshield and I didn't have to run the engine. Among environmentalists, that strategy is known as Source Reduction that eliminates the need for a waste-generating tactic to achieve a desired outcome.
Just playing the Devil's advocate here, I wonder h... (show quote)


Too bad for them. They should move to Florida so they don't have to witness such tragedies.

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Feb 12, 2021 07:04:13   #
Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV
 
In some places it is against the law to let a car sit running more than a few minutes to warm up and in some places leaving it running without someone being with it is against the law. Just be aware of local laws where you are!

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Feb 12, 2021 08:11:11   #
dpfoto Loc: Cape Coral, FL
 
I've had to scrape frost off the windshield 3 or 4 times in the 37 years we've lived here. It's 73 degrees outside this morning, and it feels cold. I love the weather here in Cape Coral, FL.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:07:01   #
Canisdirus
 
fourlocks wrote:
Just playing the Devil's advocate here, I wonder how much gas is burned, letting a car run long enough for it to warm the windshield enough to remove an ice layer. Multiply that by several hundred thousand cars.

My other issue with this is that I had to get up pretty early to get to work and I rarely had the opportunity to waste 10 or 15 minutes waiting for my car to warm up and still make it to work on time. Yeah, yeah I could have gotten up that much earlier to let the car warm up but when it's pitch dark in the pre-dawn hours in the middle of winter, every minute I could sleep was precious.

I purchased a heavy, teflon-coated cloth covering that fit over the outside of my windshield and as long as I remembered to put it on the night before, all I had to do is lift it off and toss it in the car in the morning. Voila; no frost or ice on the windshield and I didn't have to run the engine. Among environmentalists, that strategy is known as Source Reduction that eliminates the need for a waste-generating tactic to achieve a desired outcome.
Just playing the Devil's advocate here, I wonder h... (show quote)


People want to drive the cars...so warming up the car is done anyway. Unless one likes driving in a 20F car for 10 minutes first thing in the morning.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:07:10   #
paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah
 
SteveR wrote:
I heard the neighbor scraping her windshield this morning to get the ice off. I looked out and all the windshields are covered in ice.

It reminds me of de-icing in Michigan. You can scrape all you want, but the easiest way to get ice off the windows is to start the car and let it warm up with the heat and whatever you call the selection the diverts heat to the windshield, as well as the de-icer to the rear window. A small layer of water will develop beneath the ice, allowing you to easily push the ice off the windshield, sometimes with just the wiper blades.

I know many of you may know this, but a lot of people in Texas do not.
I heard the neighbor scraping her windshield this ... (show quote)


Long ago a Student at BYU, Provo. who was from CA did not want to scrape his windows, so he went in heated a pot of water to boiling and poured over his window. Crack! Lessons learned the hard way.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:36:02   #
JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois
 
Jim70 wrote:
Gee, I don't use any of these ideas. I keep my car in the garage


This was going to be my reply. We have the best solution.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:39:50   #
2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond
 
[quote=chase4]
fourlocks wrote:
Just playing the Devil's advocate here, I wonder how much gas is burned....."

fourlocks - Your comment brought to mind this photo from the web (no photo credit given). chase


I wonder what it is that they are spraying on those blades? When wind turbines were first touted as being the answer to our energy problems, my other half, who had an extremely analytical mind, stated that they were not a good idea in areas that got below freezing in the winter, had extremely high winds as they had to be shut down in any wind over 30MPH, and cost would be prohibitive considering the excavating necessary and the environmental impact to put these monsters on ridge lines to take advantage of the most available wind. Then came the problem of the number of birds being killed by the blades. Sticking with solar, geo-thermal and hydro would have been a better idea if the whole idea is to protect the environment. Wind turbines aren't the answer. They are subsidized by taxpayer funds and certainly not renewable as are solar, geo-thermal and hydro. And they are definitely a visual blight on the landscape.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:42:25   #
Canisdirus
 
2Dragons wrote:
I wonder what it is that they are spraying on those blades? When wind turbines were first touted as being the answer to our energy problems, my other half, who had an extremely analytical mind, stated that they were not a good idea in areas that got below freezing in the winter, had extremely high winds as they had to be shut down in any wind over 30MPH, and cost would be prohibitive considering the excavating necessary and the environmental impact to put these monsters on ridge lines to take advantage of the most available wind. Then came the problem of the number of birds being killed by the blades. Sticking with solar, geo-thermal and hydro would have been a better idea if the whole idea is to protect the environment. Wind turbines aren't the answer. They are subsidized by taxpayer funds and certainly not renewable as are solar, geo-thermal and hydro. And they are definitely a visual blight on the landscape.
I wonder what it is that they are spraying on thos... (show quote)


They are all niche industries. None of them can power the US even put together.
Once cold fusion is mastered...it will all go away...except perhaps rural residential.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:53:20   #
SteveR Loc: Michigan
 
fourlocks wrote:
Hah; that's hilarious. Here's a valid wind power criticism Trump could have used instead of his ridiculous assertions that they were bird blenders and headache-inducing noise generators.

As Country Boy pointed out, idling a car for more than a certain number of minutes is illegal in many states including here in New Hampshire. Few residents know about the law and one exemption the law allows, is to warm up a car enough so windshield visibility is safe for driving...although that doesn't mean warming the car interior up to 75 degrees.
Hah; that's hilarious. Here's a valid wind power ... (show quote)


Ah...so warming up your car in NH to allow for my method would be legal.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:57:37   #
2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond
 
Canisdirus wrote:
They are all niche industries. None of them can power the US even put together.
Once cold fusion is mastered...it will all go away...except perhaps rural residential.


You are right, but like everything else in this world, energy has to go through its natural path of evolution to become sustainable, affordable and have as little impact as possible on the environment. I think we are still in the Kitty Hawk stages of energy development.

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Feb 12, 2021 09:58:00   #
SteveR Loc: Michigan
 
fourlocks wrote:
Hah; that's hilarious. Here's a valid wind power criticism Trump could have used instead of his ridiculous assertions that they were bird blenders


So, cats are terrible, but wind turbines are acceptable bird blenders because they contribute to the environment.

I don't understand the anti-cat group, because we've had cats for eons and we've had birds for the same amount of time. The biggest impact on birds is loss of habitat, not cats.

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