A wintry tip for your locks.

Post by **Mick_Anik** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:42 pm

The best thing I've ever used to keep lock barrels and plungers moving in freezing weather is.......brake fluid.

Be very careful to keep it off the paintwork. I dip the key in the fluid (saved old fluid for this!) and insert it quickly into the lock, before any drips can drip off. Repeat this several times, turning and wiggling the key in and out, and your lock will never freeze up. One treatment has lasted the whole winter for me.

It's also good for any outdoor locks.....gates, padlocks, garage and the like.

So far, tested down to minus 28C....that was an interesting night, believe me! Something really weird happends when you go outside the house. You take three steps, and your entire organism starts firing the following signal to your brain..................turn back now!!!

TURN BACK NOW! ARE YOU LISTENING? TURN BACK NOW!

It doesn't matter how well-wrapped you might be - minus 28C, when you hit it straight from the house, generates fear!

Good fun, though :D !

Post by **billlobban** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:08 pm

Do reindeer get frozen locks?

Post by **Mick_Anik** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:11 pm

Only if they've not had a haircut!

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:31 pm

WD40 will work fine - with NO risk to the paintwork!

Post by **Mick_Anik** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:56 pm

NO risk to PAINTwork if ONE is careful.

But you could be right, for typical UK temperatures. I only know what I know......I didn't know the freezing point of WD40, although I could have put some in the freezer, at minus 20C, to find out....well, down to minus 20C, at least.

But I did know that brake fluid doesn't freeze at minus 28C, because I started up and drove around, just for a lark and to see if the engine would fire up, and my brakes worked.

Sometimes, the value of a post is that it adds to the general pool of knowledge. Which, in this case, might be useful if you find yourself somewhere cold but without a can of WD40 (one should ALWAYS have a can of this wonderful material to hand!).

With any car, it's easy to dip your key into the master cylinder and apply the fluid to the lock. Then one could, possibly, pop into that cosy-looking Siberian burger bar knowing that the doors of one's car were secured. And that you'd be able to get back in to the car sharpish and scoot, should things take a turn for the worse in the bar due to disputes involving ketchup.

Once one has developed a taste for this kind of 'lateral thinking', the technique can be applied to a whole range of problems and situations.

I'm just taking my tongue out of my cheek, now, so I can warm up with a nice cup of tea

!

Post by **billlobban** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:23 am

Or Vodka! Could have a dual purpose keeping you warm (or at least feeling like it) and stuff it in your locks (door) Doesnt appear to freeze just gets a bit thicker

Post by **dalebrignall** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:39 pm

what if your bonnet has frozen,how do you get to the mastercylinder

Post by **billlobban** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:49 pm

Mines under the floor but then again I couldn't get to it either cos my locks are frozen

Post by **leyther8008** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:49 am

I read somewhere (might have been on here) that the main constituent of WD40 is fish oil, so a bit of cod liver oil might work as well, and gaurentee a string of cats following you everywhere

Post by **Kevin** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:32 pm

Sorry but I am moving this to general discussion due to the risk involved as someone is bound to get brake fluid on their paintwork.

Post by **d_harris** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:05 pm

I've never had a problem with frozen locks - does that make me an oddity?

Post by **Mogwai** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:17 pm

They usually only freeze if moisture has got into the mechanism keeping the locks & catches lubed with a light oil, WD40 etc should prevent this

Post by **billlobban** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:43 pm

Is global warming really that bad (or good depends on your outlook I suppose) in the deepest south. Up here your locks freeze. It snows everything gets wet hence the frozen locks. Regular squirts of lock de-icer helps but sooner or later you'll be locked out so just take the day off and go back to bed.
Or maybe I should try Mick's theory above but knowing me I'd get brake fluid all over the door - back to bed sounds a much better idea.

Post by **Mick_Anik** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:06 pm

The trick with applying the brake fluid is to hold an absorbent cloth under the lock. The cloth has never, in fifteen years of my applying brake fluid to locks, picked up even a drop of brake fluid, as I shake any excess fluid from the key before inserting it into the lock, and repeat the procedure several times to ensure enough fluid gets in to do the job.

However, I can appreciate the erring on the side of caution. Especially if thousands of pounds worth of paintwork is involved!

I had tried anti-lockfreeze products, and they had no effect in temperatures below minus 20C. Perhaps they were sub-standard products....I once bought screenwash claiming to be effective down to minus 30C, and at minus 5C I had slushy ice in the screenwash container!

So, for general UK winter temperatures - WD40 is the clear favourite!

Post by **alanworland** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:20 pm

All sounds a bit of a perfornance to me! I just poke the tube in from my 3 in 1 (with PTFE) can and give a short burst - then carry round some tissue for a few days to wipe the key with!!

Post by **Mick_Anik** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:24 pm

Well, we went to do some Christmas shopping today....jumped in the little Fiat and sped off to town.

Oops! It's about minus 7C here.

I couldn't lock either of the doors when I parked up. So, I warmed up the key with my lighter, and managed to get the key fully inserted into each lock.

Then, dipped the key into the brake fluid in the reservoir, and treated each lock in turn as outlined earlier.

Phew! Free locks all day.

I really must get some WD40 or 3 in 1, or something similar.

The good news is.......no brake fluid on the paint :)

It looks like we're in for a white Christmas again! Same every year! The snow is a pain, generally, but it is exceedingly Christmassy.

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:27 pm

-7 Pah !!!
I've just got back from Czech Rep and it was -13 when I left at 2.00pm

Post by **croft** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 8:43 pm

Just a thought! what about those cars without a key hole on the door? or those that have keyholes but use the remote to open the car? will there locks ever freeze? Is it the key mechanisim that freezes or the whole door lock?

Post by **PSL184** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:36 pm

My modern has always unlocked OK but the door seals freeze the door to the frame

Post by **nobby59** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:23 pm

I read sometime back that the best light machine oil was often made from seal blubber it maybe one reason it doesn't freeze, just a thought.