[johnm]

was going to buy 5litres from ebay how much would i have to put into a 400 litre tank to stop it icing

[Slash]

400 mls,use a ratio of 10 mls per 10 litres.

[johnm]

thanks just orderd some

[neil100]

Hi I had to finnish early today,poles froze up.

So I am looking into isopropanal, if I have worked your equation out correctly if I put the isopropanal in my 1000ltr  ibc storage tank,It would be 1ltr isopropanal to a 1000 ltr of water.

What tempreture would that take my water down untill it started to freeze?

I suppose 2 ltrs to a 1000ltrs of water will take the temp down lower, Just working out how much extra its going to cost me.

Thanks in advance

Neil

[Slash]

I have a 500 litre tank and put in 600 mls to be on the safe side,I transfer from static tank so the Iso is at the bottom of the tank in the van before it disolves the whole tank,this way I can run the pump and the water will run through the reel too and up to brushead and can leave it then when I see the bubbly effect coming out of the brush and only then I know my pump and reel and brushhead/inner tube won't freeze,I have tried putting the Iso into tank in van from lid but does'nt always keep the reel and pump from freezing,thats why I make sure it's coming from the brushead before I settle down in the evening,the other morning it was -2 and all was fine.

[kris martin]

i put half a litre to 250 litre's water and pay £35 for 25 litres....    Not froze yet either whilst other cleaners in my area are frozen..... :-)

[neil100]

I found this link for how much Isopropanal to use http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ispropanol-water-d_988.html

To be sure it does not freeze down to -4 C I would have to put in 10% of the volume of water. So for my 800ltr tank thats 80 ltrs of isopropanal.

Having read all the other topics on Isopropanal on the web site nobody puts 10% volume in. I have just been out to my garage and my 1" transfer hose from my static tank is solid ice. Part of my hose from my tap to RO is iced up despite having pipe insulation round the hose.

We have had in my area where I live 21 days of frost so far this winter. I belive without isopropanol I will have to go back to trad cleaning in the next few months as the temp on some weeks will not get above freezing all day.

I for one am going to try Isopropanal, I will end up loseing sheds load of cash if I dont. By the end of this winter I think we will have had between 50 and 60 days of forsty mornings. Which will be double what we get normally.

Neil

[lovewindows]

1st winter WFP , lagged my RO with 200mm loft insulation , 800ltr tank in van froze solid, Jeez can't remember a winter this cold so far , last year had ice on my windscreen about 6 or 7 times all winter , this year 3 times that already and forecast freezing for next week or so , iso here i come.

[dai]

I will have to get some too, the carriage prices on ebay are pretty high, I will try phoning round for a supplier tomorrow. I have a 20 ltr container outside that has frozen into a solid block of ice, the temp has been below freezing for the last week.
I remember 1963 when the temp was below zero for 6 weeks, the soil was frozen 3 ft down and they had to use jack hammers to dig through it.

[ftp]

The problem with isopropanol is that nobody seems to have done proper tests so far. The guys using it seem to be working in marginal conditions around freezing point where the water in the van could be above freezing anyway or a reasonable flow is keeping the brush head clear. I would be interested to hear how the guys in very cold conditions are getting on with it because the quantities being used on this forum don't tally with the chart from engineering toolbox by a mile. Think about how much antifreeze you need in your washer bottle to keep the jets and screen clear. The same for the antifreeze in your van engine.

[Slash]

The problem with isopropanol is that nobody seems to have done proper tests so far. The guys using it seem to be working in marginal conditions around freezing point where the water in the van could be above freezing anyway or a reasonable flow is keeping the brush head clear. I would be interested to hear how the guys in very cold conditions are getting on with it because the quantities being used on this forum don't tally with the chart from engineering toolbox by a mile. Think about how much antifreeze you need in your washer bottle to keep the jets and screen clear. The same for the antifreeze in your van engine.

Is -2 degrees not cold enough!

[DaveG]

Ive put a post further down and didmt realise this one was here,,,,,,,,,,,,,Doh!!

What i was asking was,,are "grade 1" and "pure" the same stuff?

Cheers Dave

[Jeff Brimble]

The problem with isopropanol is that nobody seems to have done proper tests so far. The guys using it seem to be working in marginal conditions around freezing point where the water in the van could be above freezing anyway or a reasonable flow is keeping the brush head clear. I would be interested to hear how the guys in very cold conditions are getting on with it because the quantities being used on this forum don't tally with the chart from engineering toolbox by a mile. Think about how much antifreeze you need in your washer bottle to keep the jets and screen clear. The same for the antifreeze in your van engine.

I found the small ammounts usually mentioned valid for -2 to 3 degrees but not below that. The fluid needs circulating to mix the alchohol- a bypass system does this very well.

[DaveG]

kris that seems a good price where do you get it from?

cheers Dave

[pjulk]

I put half a ltr in my 650ltr tank this week.
Have not used it yet its been in for about 4 days.

Today i looked and i have huge chunks of ice in the tank it looks like a slush puppy.

So i dont think it works well not in the ratio i used.

[ftp]

The problem with isopropanol is that nobody seems to have done proper tests so far. The guys using it seem to be working in marginal conditions around freezing point where the water in the van could be above freezing anyway or a reasonable flow is keeping the brush head clear. I would be interested to hear how the guys in very cold conditions are getting on with it because the quantities being used on this forum don't tally with the chart from engineering toolbox by a mile. Think about how much antifreeze you need in your washer bottle to keep the jets and screen clear. The same for the antifreeze in your van engine.

Is -2 degrees not cold enough!

It's  -2 here as well. I have no isopropanol and haven't frozen up yet (i haven't worked either). My van is frost free because it's backed up to the house, has bubble wrap behind the pump panel and a heater overnight. So in effect my van is only in marginal freezing conditions for the rest of the day. What i can't get my head round is that guys are claiming miricles with less than half a percent of alcohol in their tanks yet their washer bottles are solid in their vans. I'm interested to know what the true results are, when the water is definately below freezing because scientifically something doesn't add up.

[ftp]

Also, the guys with the hot systems must be having the same problems with overnight freezing unless they have a pilot light burning gas all night - they still can't work untill their pipes, pump and hose are defrosted first surely?

[AuRavelling79]

I hear you ftp - the amounts of IPA being used by some guys at 0.1% are no better than homoeopathy in my view ...

[Frank pole]

I use a 120 watt tube heater over night on the van - I have not frosted up yet - it was bought from screwfix and it only costs a few pence an hour to run ( 2 light bulbs)- it looks like a 40/40 filter but not quite as long - it works for me but I`m in london so not sure how the colder north would fair. 

[neil100]

I spent well over an hour tonight getting all the ice out of my 1" transfer hose before I could use it to fill my van tank. The temp was about 4c today so I was hopeing it would have thawed,No chance.

Looking at the pressure charts next week we will have an high pressure over us so the local forcast for Tuesday is a max high of -1c during the day.So it going to be another cold week.

When I was working newyears eve the temp in the van was averageing 0c in the van,I knew I would get frozen off as the temp dropped to -2c and for 2 hours the back of my brushes were covered in ice, when I could not adjust the poles because the sections had frozen up,I would swap it for another pole.

Alas my final pole froze at the brush jets at about 2.50pm, I had to admit defeat.

I am ordering isopropanol this weekend. I hope it allows me to work when the temp is just below freezing. If it goes down to -5c during the day then I am afraid none of us will be working.

This is my 29th winter w/cleaning and this winter is going to be the worst. It will be the first winter where i will not be able to work because of the cold even with isopropanal.

I hope everyone as put some money aside because Febuary looks like its going to be a ball breaker.

Neil