T1B

You don't put cardboard - or newspaper - on a wet surface

Bloody hell! That's what happens when ice is involved, a liquid transforms into a solid, it's inevitable that whatever pulp product you use.. it's going to get wet then freeze.

I'm all for new innovative ways of getting going in the morning, standing around like a twat in the cold is shit, but this makes no sense.

If it's ski-hill, 'Cliffhanger' snow like Dins says, just use your snow brush.

If it's icy, Great Lakes garbage, you're scraping and there's no way around it.

http://voices.yahoo.com/tips-keep-snow- ... tml?cat=27

Still can't believe you've never heard of this, Phibes...

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:

BSmack wrote:

Truman wrote:Yes, B. Why do you ask?

Just because you don't seem to understand how to use the defroster in concert with a simple ice scraper to remove ice. All but the thickest ice can be removed in under 5 minutes this way.

Another method I'll share from my winter weather bag-o-tricks would getting up, say, 10 minutes earlier than you normally would and starting your car with the defroster running. That way by the time you get out there the ice is all loose and melty and scraping it is all but a breeze. Even better if you have a remote starter. I know, I know...crazy shit.

Better have a remote starter because around here, tweakers cruise the neighborhoods looking for cars , unlocked, running to warm up and steal them the fuck right out of the driveway. Not a problem in my rural area however..car theft will be met with gunfire.

They do have these things called engine heaters that you can plug in your sled with...a must if you have diesels and handy for gas engines...hit the starter and the defrost starts blowing hot air right away..when I was a volunteer firefighter I plugged in my gas pickup and had a old blanket across the windshield..get a call, pull the plug, yank the blanket off and hit the key, drop it into drive and off I went. Did that about 1500 times or so over the years.

Derron wrote:Better have a remote starter because around here, tweakers cruise the neighborhoods looking for cars , unlocked, running to warm up and steal them the fuck right out of the driveway. Not a problem in my rural area however..car theft will be met with gunfire.

I suppose if I lived in some white trash infested shithole that would indeed be a concern. Nah, it's just cold.

Truman wrote: standing on the vehicle's tires to scrape every sketch of ice from the windshield so as to not have your field of vision impaired, right?

Standing on the tires? What the fuck? Are you TVO?

I drive a Chevy Blazer and a slightly extended brush/scraper unit is more then enough to reach any and all areas of the windshield. Then again, I can understand that if it snows in Lilliput, you might want to take the bucket truck out and mount some covering on the windows. Suit yourself.

Yes, asshat, standing on tires.



Lemme know how that extended brush of yours works on sheet-ice.

Regardless, you scrape, I'll drive. Knock yourself out, champ.

Truman wrote:Lemme know how that extended brush of yours works on sheet-ice.

It works just great. First you start the rig, turn the defrost on full blast and wait about 5 minutes. Then go and scrape once the ice starts to melt. Still beats the fuck out of having to peel frozen cardboard off your glass. And they even make telescopic units that would clean off your truck.

BSmack wrote: And they even make telescopic units that would clean off your truck.

Ex-truck. But thanks for the tip - I carried one of those too.

Place I worked was lousy with cardboard, and Ol' Sterl's defroster blew goats. The half-hour saved on the windshield was devoted to chipping out the mirrors. Fuck freezing rain.

Truman wrote:

BSmack wrote: And they even make telescopic units that would clean off your truck.

Ex-truck. But thanks for the tip - I carried one of those too.

Place I worked was lousy with cardboard, and Ol' Sterl's defroster blew goats. The half-hour saved on the windshield was devoted to chipping out the mirrors. Fuck freezing rain.

Cheap fucks...good commercial truck owners have these things called mirror heaters ...flip a switch in the cab and they heat up and dethaw. It is actually a safety item, keeps mirrors free from ice and condensation.

My Freightliner would be plugged in at night, go out there and start it up, heat on full blast, mirror heat on..by the time the air built up, everything was ready to go..fresh cup of coffee and off I went.

Truman wrote:http://voices.yahoo.com/tips-keep-snow- ... tml?cat=27

Still can't believe you've never heard of this, Phibes...

That woman is insane, she's reached Martha Stewart levels of obsessive. Let's look at this practically.

Objective

Keep ice and snow off your windshield. A quick trip to work.

Order Of Battle

One piece cardboard
ulfa knife

Strategy For Offence

Cut cardboard to shape, place on windshield.


The Opposing Forces - Mother Nature

Order Of Battle

Wind, rain, sleet, snow.

Strategy For Defence
- Access to cardboard (Supply/Logistics)
Are you KC Scott or IndyFrisco? Are you buying big ticket items (fridges/flatscreen TVs) every week? If not, how much time are you spending acquiring cardboard? How does this weigh against time spent scraping? Are you re-using the same piece of cardboard over and over again? Where are you storing this mouldy piece of cardboard when not in use?

- Wind
Cardboard and newspaper are lightweight, most storms are accompanied by wind. Your protection will be down the street, being conservative, 50% of the time.

- Cardboard has no memory
After you cut your cardboard to fit and place it on your windshield, How will it stay tight on the perimeter? Odds are, there will be a gap at the top of the vehicle, allowing ice and snow to penetrate behind your lines and collapse your front.

- Rain
As mentioned before, if the cardboard gets wet before it freezes, you're fucked.

- Social Contract
While I hate my neighbours and wish they'd die in an artillery barrage, I am under some contract not to cover my vehicle like a gypsy wagon. It's OK not to be the best on the street, just don't be the worst.

I admire your innovative thinking, but I'm not sold.

Cardboard has BODE on even numbered days in January with 4-6" of snow and temps between 27-32 degrees.

sin,
m2

Phibes makes some good points. Cutting and storing a studio apartment's worth of cardboard from the 60" plasma you bought only for the occasional winter weather doesn't quite seem worth it. Starting your car a few minutes early and hitting the defroster isn't that much more taxing...really.

Here's a video someone shot a couple of days ago....be sure to read the yellow post-its:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwI3xpjCS98[/youtube]

Have to show up tomorrow to decide how we're going to proceed....w/o power (it's been out since Thursday morning, and the power company said it's not likely to be back before Tuesday night). It might be a very short work day tomorrow...woohoo!

Toddowen wrote:Covering your windshield means you can get back on the road faster

Covering your windshield means you're an out-of-towner weather pussy who's mistaken inefficiency for cleverness.

Toddowen wrote:Covering your windshield means you can get back on the road faster than if your were waiting for windows to warm up and scraping off the ice/snow.

Not covering the windshield means you can go in the warm house after you get home and not spend time outside throwing a tarp over your rig. Christ man, just get up 5-10 minutes early and warm your car up.

Just one more thing we don't really have to worry about here.

The constant earthquakes can be motherfuckers, though.

Sudden Sam wrote:Warm as hell this morning. Knew something bad was in the air. Goddam tornadoes ripping up the state again.

Got some nasty stuff headed my way.

Had what seemed like a summer thunderstorm here last night. Very strange for January, but we needed the precip, been dry as fuck. We've had less than a 1/2" of snow so far this winter. Still a ways to go but the lowest snowfall amount on record is 4.5".

War Wagon wrote:Still a ways to go but the lowest snowfall amount on record is 4.5".

I'll be a son of a bitch, but I swear I got your record by a couple of inches.

Sin,
Irie Gazos II

Toddowen wrote:What if while you're at work and it begins snowing? What if the snowfall rate is about four inches per hour? And what if, like my Buick, the windshield wipers don't have a hinge that allows them to be flipped up?

And what if you actually knew what the fuck you were talking about? You live in Rochester? Apparently numerous losing battles with snowstorms has caused you to give up.

4 inches of snow and hour for 8 hours means that your car is a fucking buried in 32 inches of snow. At that rate of snowfall, you're not getting out of the parking lot anyway. And you say I don't know what I'm talking about?

That kitchen needed updating anyway.

Sin,
HGTV

Shoulda covered their roofs with newspapers.

They should have a TV reporter asking them if it really sounds like a freight train.

BSmack wrote:

Toddowen wrote:Covering your windshield means you can get back on the road faster than if your were waiting for windows to warm up and scraping off the ice/snow.

Not covering the windshield means you can go in the warm house after you get home and not spend time outside throwing a tarp over your rig. Christ man, just get up 5-10 minutes early and warm your car up.

Agreed. Step out into the elements or get a remote start.... put the defrost on high and rev up the rear defrosters. 10-15 min later after you shave, your rig is toasty inside and the windows require minimal or no effort to be clear.

If you must cover your windshield, they sell water-proof covers that have stretchy loops to go around your side mirrors to hold in place in the event of wind.

yeah, but what if your heater don't work?

~Ian Hunter