Preventing ice on the car windscreen - what really works?

[Globalti]

The reason why you are discouraged from warming up your engine is because it is thought to pollute the air for no reason (i.e. no useful movement of the car). However if you have ever been close to an old, say pre-nineties car and smelled the stinking fumes they all emitted in the days before stringent emission controls you'll realise that this advice is redundant nowadays.

The oil pump circulates pressurised oil instantly so the bit about needing to warm the oil is guff. Also modern engine oils don't become less viscous as they warm up anyway. What used to be true was that too much choke (remember that?) could flood the upper cylinder with unburned petrol, which could wash the lubricating oil off the cylinder walls and dribble down into the sump, diluting the oil. This is a bad thing and caning a cold engine is a bad thing for similar reasons.

If you want to know more about engine oil, Google The Engine Oil Bible. Fascinating.

 

[Amanda P]

Many years ago while working late nights, I saw a guy stand on the bonnet of his car (Triumph 2000) and urinate on the windscreen (it was in the car park of a Workingmens' Club). He had (obviously) been drinking heavily and indeed was well oiled - but the ice didn't stand a chance. He was off down the road while I was still spraying and scraping.
My point of course is..........keep bottles of urine from a night out, microwave them........use them in the morning...........and Bob's y'r uncle........

Many years ago while working in Finland, I came across an aerosol can of something called "Super Piss" in my mate's car's glove compartment. It turned out to be de-icer.

My mate said at the time that ordinary piss (not the super kind) was a standard Scandinavian last-ditch solution to a frozen windscreen.

'Course, over there, they all have a heating element put in the bottom radiator hose of their cars, and a socket on the front bumper. You plug your car in overnight and the element keeps it all warm. Many workplaces have sockets in the car parks for the same purpose.

Kenlowe sell a similar kit here. You can even have a timer that turns on the cabin blower to warm the cab and clear the windscreen before you start the engine up.