paulfromwire:
Know what you’re saying there ROG however is an inoperative windscreen washer an MOT failure/immediate prohibition or would VOSA exercise some discetion with the inclement weather?
If the driver had done all they reasonably could then the authorities would be on slippy ground 
if they tried to prosecute for such IMO
The F90 MANs used to have the bottle at the back of the cab, this never used to freeze, but as has been said it’s the washer nozzles that are the problem, the only way to keep them from freezing is by using the correct screenwash for the temperature. The washer bottle on my Pete is about 6inches away from my turbo, protected by a heat shield, but still plenty warm enough, it never freezes even in -40c, but the nozzles still freeze if the wrong screenwash is in the bottle, the thing we do over there is stop & clean the glass regularly, every fuel station has those window cleaners with a sponge on one side & a rubber blade on the other, they sit in a bucket of screenwash, when the windows & mirrors get dirty you just pull in to one & get cleaning, the only problem with this is when some ■■■■■■ uses it to clean the diesel off the side of their tank & you smear oily water all over your windows & mirrors 
One thing that I have learned from my Canadian winter experience is that when it’s snowing not to have the heater blowing onto the screen, this way the glass & the wiper blades stay cold & the snow doesn’t build up around the wiper, keeps your feet nice & warm too 
ROG:
paulfromwire:
Know what you’re saying there ROG however is an inoperative windscreen washer an MOT failure/immediate prohibition or would VOSA exercise some discetion with the inclement weather?If the driver had done all they reasonably could then the authorities would be on slippy ground
Perhaps the magistrate would have said case frozen. 
paulfromwire:
Perhaps the magistrate would have said case frozen.
Or put it on ice for a higher authority to rule on 
ROG:
paulfromwire:
Perhaps the magistrate would have said case frozen.Or put it on ice for a higher authority to rule on
By this time next week this will have melted into insignificance.
Taxi for Paul
Harry Monk:
I don’t think anything helps, it tends to freeze at the nozzle jets.
Ive been having a nightmare with the nozzle’s freezing this week,was moaning in the yard about it and one of our lads told me to spray de-icer over the nozzle heads and it worked and they stayed clear from Cullompton to Brackley,have been running with neat screenwash all week and this has helped no end
Heard a lad on the radio yetserday (trucker) he said he puts coke in his, never had a problem with freezing after that he said. Dont know if thats neat or diluted , I thought it would of been sticky though,
Our yard has over sixty trucks on the road and bought a 5 litre yes 5 litre drum bottle , the workshop YTS was putting capfuls in the watering can for us liek rations.
What you’s talking about i can see fine out my windows 
Just a question: if you happened to have heated washer bottles all the way up to nozzles keeping liquid from freezing in temperature it would otherwise freeze, what do you think happens to that liquid when it comes out of the nozzles? Guess what, it freezes either on the windscreen or onto wiper blades… 
Use proper washer fluid, that is the only reasonable way to prevent freezing. If you have good washer fluid (meaning it has enough alcohol in it) and you can prevent freezing even in -30C temperatures depending on the ratio of washer fluid and water in the washer bottle.
newmercman:
One thing that I have learned from my Canadian winter experience is that when it’s snowing not to have the heater blowing onto the screen, this way the glass & the wiper blades stay cold & the snow doesn’t build up around the wiper, keeps your feet nice & warm too
That’s very true. As long as you keep all the warm air out of the windscreen you have a clear windscreen and you often have no need to use wipers. If you do make a mistake and turn warm air blowing to the windscreen, snow starts melting on it and then freeze again even in quite low temperatures.
newmercman:
The F90 MANs used to have the bottle at the back of the cab, this never used to freeze, but as has been said it’s the washer nozzles that are the problem, the only way to keep them from freezing is by using the correct screenwash for the temperature.
They also had a little breather pipe which if you pulled it partly off you had a ready supply of handwash water 
But the washer bottle needs a good washer fluid throughout the year, plain water in washers just doesn’t work properly. In winter you just need more.
In Belgium, Holland, Germany and France where I have recently worked, there was always an IBC full of properly mixed fluid by the pumps. It was always kept topped up by the workshop
Wheel Nut:
newmercman:
The F90 MANs used to have the bottle at the back of the cab, this never used to freeze, but as has been said it’s the washer nozzles that are the problem, the only way to keep them from freezing is by using the correct screenwash for the temperature.They also had a little breather pipe which if you pulled it partly off you had a ready supply of handwash water
That’s the one, little tube that ran down the side of the tank, handy for cleaning the side windows & mirrors, simple but effective. I wonder why more manufacturers never did it & why they stopped doing it?
One thing I have found is that the additives by companies like Comma Oil or Wurth work a lot better than the stuff you buy in a petrol station or Halfords type places, the stuff we use in Canada has a very high alcohol content, we have an IBC in the yard & fill a few gallon cans for when we’re away, I put the bottles in my locker which is the passenger side step box, lately it’s been cold enough to turn my spare engine oil to grease, (it took nearly 20mins to add a gallon last week) yet my screenwash stays unfrozen.
paulfromwire:
‘… Whats the legal issue on having washers not working due to the outside temperature?..’
Herberts at my place have been submitting ‘Near Miss/Safety Concern’ forms when the washers invariably freeze/stop working: There are apparently no forms left.
There is a rumour that the VMU manager has been brown tongueing by scrimping on the mix ratio …and because many bods seem to dislike the H&S dwarf and through the submittance of facts, that person will (probably) confirm their management toadiness by continuing to do squat rather than haul their carcass to positively benefit driver’s work conditions, etc.
Gossip & imagined scandal - two of the most potent fuels in the driving industry…?
I had an Uncle who was given a bottle of Whiskey every Christmas by his employer. sadly he hated Whiskey so he used it as a very effective washer solution.
My Renault premium is crap. They brilliantly put the tank just behind the passenger step miles away from any form of heat off the truck. My company doesnt supply washer solution, & not even water at the moment as the tap’s frozen!
So it’s just a garden spray bottle & washing up liquid solution form home every morning at the moment. It’s just a bit chilly climbing out of the window at 56mph on the mway to spray the windscreen. Lucky I’ve got cruisecontrol so the truck doesnt slow down, why I’m standing on the step outside spraying with one hand whilst steering with the other. I only have to do this every five miles or so.
ROG:
paulfromwire:
Whats the legal issue on having washers not working due to the outside temperature?That would come down to safety rather than legally in certain circumstances.
A driver who claimed that he had an incident due to washers not working would be questioned as to the exact circumstances and if it was deemed that the driver could have safely stopped then a prosecution would be likely.
Depending on the PMT level of the enforcement bod - It’s listed as a spot fine of (I think) £30 in listing of spot fines, and in the C&U
I looked it up the other day when the multi-billion pound, multi-national, blue chip company I work for (or rather, the relevant office bod thereof) starting whining and wriggling to avoid reimbursing me £4.99 on my expenses
(I’ve adopted a zero-tolerance approach at the moment )
Secretelephant:
I had an Uncle who was given a bottle of Whiskey every Christmas by his employer. sadly he hated Whiskey so he used it as a very effective washer solution.My Renault premium is crap. They brilliantly put the tank just behind the passenger step miles away from any form of heat off the truck. My company doesnt supply washer solution, & not even water at the moment as the tap’s frozen!
So it’s just a garden spray bottle & washing up liquid solution form home every morning at the moment. It’s just a bit chilly climbing out of the window at 56mph on the mway to spray the windscreen. Lucky I’ve got cruisecontrol so the truck doesnt slow down, why I’m standing on the step outside spraying with one hand whilst steering with the other. I only have to do this every five miles or so.
If that was me I would just buy some proprietary screenwash and put in a receipt. it is stupid to get a £30 ticket for no washers just to save the company money. If the tap in the yard is frozen up, dont you bother checking or filling the radiator then? A tap won’t freeze if it is left running slowly, if there isn’t a drain, stick a piece of pipe on the tap.
I was going to mention whiskey but secret elephant beat me to it.
Every Christmas I’m given 2 or 3 bottles of whiskey, this Christmas I ended up with 3. Neither myself or other half drink, and theres a cupboard full of whisky going back years. So in the last couple of weeks we’ve been using it as screen wash, the reservoir now contains 2 bottles of Grouse . The only problem is the smell but it soon goes and leaves a lovely clean screen 
Tiger.
Id rather lick the windscreen clean than waste a perfectly good bottle of scotch, you guys are crazy
Fastrantiger:
I was going to mention whiskey but secret elephant beat me to it.Every Christmas I’m given 2 or 3 bottles of whiskey, this Christmas I ended up with 3. Neither myself or other half drink, and theres a cupboard full of whisky going back years. So in the last couple of weeks we’ve been using it as screen wash, the reservoir now contains 2 bottles of Grouse
Tiger.
Meet me outside Halfords and I will get you some screenwash, bloody sacrilege.
How many carried alcohol for the air brakes?
merc0447:
Id rather lick the windscreen clean than waste a perfectly good bottle of scotch, you guys are crazy
I have washed a 26000 litre road tank out with a litre bottle of whisky several times
hope it wasnt.glenmorangie in your washer bottle ouch expensive let those that buy your christmas presents this year know, they can get a cheaper brand there again it may melt your washer bottle