Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By foxmoth
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671035
A question that frequently comes up at this time of year. A taxi driver gave me a tip for deicing windscreens the other day, should work on aircraft surfaces ( but be cautious of refreezing!).
Fill a plastic bag with hot water (carrier bag maybe if a lot to do) then just apply this to the surfaces, ice melts really fast. You may need to use a couple of bags and drying the surfaces may help stop refreezing.
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By mick w
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671043
foxmoth wrote:A question that frequently comes up at this time of year. A taxi driver gave me a tip for deicing windscreens the other day, should work on aircraft surfaces ( but be cautious of refreezing!).
Fill a plastic bag with hot water (carrier bag maybe if a lot to do) then just apply this to the surfaces, ice melts really fast. You may need to use a couple of bags and drying the surfaces may help stop refreezing.


Be sure not to catch the Bag on anything , before you get it out of the House !!. :thumright:
By Pudnucker
#1671064
I use two cans of Prestone Antifreeze available from most supermarkets - it’s the one in the yellow and black cans. I’ve found it to be as effective (actually far better) as costly aviation anti freezes. All the other own brand antifreezes I’ve tried don’t work and refreeze..

While at £4 a can, and you need 2, it’s pricey, it de-ices in minutes with virtually no scraping...
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By foxmoth
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671194
Pudnucker wrote:Don’t like the noise the wings make when you pour hot water on sub-zero aluminium panels..

But you are not pouring the water onto the aircraft just using it a bit like a hot wipe.
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By Awful Charlie
#1671252
IPA - about 2 quid a litre from Ebay (make sure you get the 99% stuff, not the "rubbing" variety which has been diluted with water)

Brush off the loose stuff, spray on IPA with a garden sprayer, wipe/squeegee off the remains

If you want something a bit less prone to run off, mix the IPA with Glycol (MEG or MPG - the latter is more environmentally friendly) The ratio is not terribly important, but really need more than about 20% glycol to make much of a difference: too much glycol will make it harder to spray. Glycol will absorb water (humidity), so try to avoid putting it in places that won't drain/blow off if they're prone to corrosion (eg unpainted internals)

Bonus - if your PoH recommends/allows, you can use the same IPA to prevent ice crystals in the fuel (up to 1% is fairly normal I understand)
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By Awful Charlie
#1671256
cotterpot wrote:I was about to check ebay for IPA - then realised it wasn't the beer you were talking about :lol:

Well, the beer variety will work, albeit in a different way: consume a couple of litres, and then you have no need for an aircraft, de-iced or not :D
By Pete M
#1671259
cockney steve wrote:It's hangArs , dammit! :wink: (unless you're going to drape the covers over the wings on very big hangErs.

(In-joke);- bet you write "Stanstead" as well :lol:

My spelling autocorrect only seems to know the drapes version....you will need to take it up with apple...;)


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By foxmoth
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671297
Newbie wrote:Best answers...hangers or wing covers I’m afraid....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Of course those are the best answers, but when you have flown to another airfield with no hangar space and no room in the aircraft for wing covers what do you do to get home next day? That is the beauty of my suggestion, no need to head off somewhere and buy fluids either, just take a couple of bags with you and ask the cafe/farmer etc. for a bit of hot water.
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By Flintstone
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1671304
Be very careful if using only warm/hot water on a cold-soaked airframe, if it refreezes on the lifting or control surfaces, or in a nook/cranny, it might get interesting.

Awful Charlie wrote:?..glycol... too much glycol will make it harder to spray. Glycol will absorb water...


Home brewed de-ice fluid is a money saver but too much glycol will inhibit the shear speed. You don't want to get airborne with glycol covered wings. Also be careful applying it ahead of the windscreen, it can run up the screen at the least opportune moment. Keep it away from intakes and inlets, I've been in a smoke filled cockpit on rotation where fluid entered the APU. The fumes can be debilitating and the smoke blinding.

And as AC says, it will rehydrate so if it collects inside a trailing edge, aileron, elevator or similar you've effectively installed a sponge that will remain for years unless cleared out. I'd be pretty reluctant to use homemade glycol but if you're determined then I recommend reading up on it (the 'proper' stuff) first.
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