My sister is moving to Fairbanks, Alaska in a couple of weeks and we think we've got just about everything taken care of on her Jeep Cherokee to prepare it for the cold weather up there. This is the one thing that we are unsure of. Around here the coldest rated fluid I can find is -25f. I have seen fluid rated to -40f, but is there anything rated to a lower temp. than that. The temp. has been -50f in the past couple of days there. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thank-you! Paul

 

I dont think shell need much windshield washer fluid at -50....

She could try adiing extra alcohol to the reservior.

 

I'm not as concerned about having fliud as freezing the pump and reservior and ruining them. Should she just pump it dry or is there an additive or fluid rated for those temps.

 

Paul,

She can buy -35 Celcius darn near anywhere in Canada on the way through. I have found the Petro Canada one found at all of their fuel stations to be the best. Btw, IMHO Petro Canada and Shell have the best fuel as far as gasoline goes. Don't think she'll need it until farther North however. Here in central Canada, it hasn't gotten that cold all winter yet, and I don't think it will this winter either.

The only other suggestion is for your sister to add a couple of cap fulls of methanol as she gets farther North. Too much will be hard on window rubber and wiper blades though. I add a cap or two in my company truck all the time when I refill the resevoir - when it's colder than it has been however.

 

The lowest i've seen is -45 at canadian tire, not all stores have it but i would suspect as you head north it should be more prevalent.It is usually a dark purple colour, and typically -40 is green and -35 is the blue.Of course coming through alberta this winter you will probably need bug wash as we had our winter back in early december and fall has returned since

 

Any of the brands will do that are rated for -45. I live in Cold Lake Alberta and run -45 or -30 fluid and have had no freeze up's so far. The average temp is around -12 with a few weeks of -28 cels.

Tell your sister Good luck on the trip and drive carefully.

 

Festus has it right, she can just add some methanol to increase the resistance of her mix. The yellow heet bottles are methanol. She can just add some of that.
mishkaya

 

Man, I hope I will never been in a situation where I have to question if -45 WW fluid is "adequate"!! Sheesh!

 

Take a look at this site, interesting twist on making your own solution.

http://www.lyndist.com/windshield_washer_cleaner.htm

 

I don't think she'll need it. Nothing to clean off your winshield at those temps. My truck sat unplugged in a parking lot used by snowmachiners for two days once in AK at -30*F to -50*F temps...the truck wouldn't start, but the washer fluid was still in a liquid state. The small propane cylinder I had with me to heat the oil pan (if needed) was dripping liquid propane out of the torch end ...yeah it was cold out.
Just out of curiosity....what is she moving to Fairbanks for?

 

PTM, it sounds like you've got the jeep taken care of; make darn sure she's got the necessary survival gear in her car in case she gets stuck somewhere.

Coldest I've been in was around -10F; the suspension would make crunching sounds when getting in and out, and I cannot even imagine what its like in -40F temps. She couldn't have picked a nicer time to move....

 

Moose, she's in the Army and will be stationed there for the next four years. She is a blackhawk helicopter pilot. Bulabula, she's the outdoor type and has camped in -10f to -20f temp. before. She is planning to take all of her survival and camping gear with her. She has asked my dad and I to fugure out how she can haul all of it. Thank you for your help guys. Paul

 

Man, i'm cold just thinking about it. I drilled wells around saranac lake NY a few winters ago during college break, and it was -40 a few nights in a row and we never shut our trucks off because they would never start again. I cannot even imagine living there.

PTM, your sister sounds like one tough cookie, i wish her all the best

 

Yeh, pretty adventurous, she lived there for two years about 4-6 years ago. Durring that time she worked for an outfitter. That's where she became interested in flying, as they flew into camps in float planes an helicopters.