I'm not really sure about the chemical question. I would, however, recommend antifreeze instead in the future. I researched this thoroughly this fall, and I now use antifreeze in all 3 pressure washers, my twin pump, and my SWS skid. Antifreeze has lubrication agents for seals, plastics, wear parts. Windshield fluid has alcohol, which tends to dry things out. Also, I don't use RV antifreeze. It will actually get slushy or solid, it just does not expand. So if you need to fire up the pump, it could be a problem.

I buy recycled antifreeze from an auto salvage yard. It is 1/4 the price of new, and I can reuse it for a year or two. It's still pretty expensive compared to ww fluid. My stuff sits in a heated shop, so I winterize as a fail safe. We also get called for deicing jobs with the pressure washers, and they will sit on those jobs and drive to and from overnight not running, sometimes down to -15. Maybe with my SWS I'm overdoing it, considering the relatively low cost of those pumps, and the fact that they constantly spray bleach during the season. I just figure I'm protecting a pretty big investment for a couple hundred dollars every two years or so.

Thanks Chad & AC.

When you use regular "anti-freeze", do you dilute it at all with water, or use it at full strength?

I am actually confused a bit now.   I had spoken with Bob at Pressure Tek when I purchased my FatBoy and he had instructed me to use either windshield wiper fluid or RV antifreeze and NOT automotive antifreeze. Said something in auto-antifreeze might eat up the seals. Not sure what to do now, but I suppose I'll contact Bob again just to verify. Perhaps "I" got it backwards!! Wouldn't be the first time. 

 

Thanks again!

Great tips, Chad. Yes, we've come up with similar solutions for winter weather preparedness in our dept. We carry a heat gun on the Engine and there is a generator on board too. In addition to what you described, we also wrap our intakes with waste paper basket liners to prevent all the road salts/sands/grime from buggering up the works. They tear off very easily when we need to hook up.

Thanks again!!

AC this should be the next SoftWash Systems Chemical for the cold weather regions. I disconnected lines and blew them out with air. I'm not sure if this was right but it seemed to work.