This one may need to be sticky. I couldn't find -20 windshield washer fluid anywhere around the SF Bay Area, so I started to dig. California has done it again...
California's CARB is the leader for clean emissions and many states are following. So, what do they think of as harming the environment? Methanol in windshield washer fluid is being replaced with ammonia or other chemicals. So the appeal of $2/gallon -20 washer fluid getting you a 30% meth mixture is gone. I spoke to Snow and they are hearing that customers in other states are finding the same issue, so it's catching on.
What I've found:
1. You can still buy concentrate in CA. At O'Reilly's I got a 32oz bottle of concentrate of 20/10 brand "Winter Boost" for $5. The SDS sheet lists the methanol at 60-100%. On the back, it actually lists the high-country counties where it's legal to be sold.
2. I grabbed the last three cases of CAM2 washer concentrate from Amazon. It comes in 16 oz bottles in a 24 bottle case which is ~10 cents an oz for about a 99% mixture. Heet and Polar are about 15 cents/oz. by the 24 bottle case because they are 12 oz bottles. The 5 gallon tub of 'pure' methanol from Duda is 14 cents/gallon (delivered price of $90).
I'll find a local supplier of methanol eventually, but it gets hot during the summer and I liked the idea of the non-volatile, -20 washer fluid and it was a cheap option.
California's CARB is the leader for clean emissions and many states are following. So, what do they think of as harming the environment? Methanol in windshield washer fluid is being replaced with ammonia or other chemicals. So the appeal of $2/gallon -20 washer fluid getting you a 30% meth mixture is gone. I spoke to Snow and they are hearing that customers in other states are finding the same issue, so it's catching on.
What I've found:
1. You can still buy concentrate in CA. At O'Reilly's I got a 32oz bottle of concentrate of 20/10 brand "Winter Boost" for $5. The SDS sheet lists the methanol at 60-100%. On the back, it actually lists the high-country counties where it's legal to be sold.
2. I grabbed the last three cases of CAM2 washer concentrate from Amazon. It comes in 16 oz bottles in a 24 bottle case which is ~10 cents an oz for about a 99% mixture. Heet and Polar are about 15 cents/oz. by the 24 bottle case because they are 12 oz bottles. The 5 gallon tub of 'pure' methanol from Duda is 14 cents/gallon (delivered price of $90).
I'll find a local supplier of methanol eventually, but it gets hot during the summer and I liked the idea of the non-volatile, -20 washer fluid and it was a cheap option.
