Frozen Valve Stem - solutions?

[Stever39]

My thought is that I'm jealous. I live in Iowa and we seem to barely get snow anymore. The only thing I love more than snow is driving around in snow lol

Sponsored

 

[604Bronco]

Lock de-icer would be my vote. Or even some Winter-rated washer fluid would probably work, as it has de-icer in it.

 

[mrhooie]

Living in Yellowknife, first thing I thought of is methyl hydrate as I keep a 4L jug around.
second thought is the coffee though I’d use tea. We do snowmobiling and when we are out and it’s overnight below -30c, tea is often used to thaw things (or hot water if you’re boiling a kettle for tea)
More thoughts with parachutes but that’s typically colder with a vehicle that won’t start due to the cold

 

[Valhalla]

How about a wide jaw pair of adjustable pliers preset to stem size, and fishing gloves. break the ice close itll be all cracked, fishing gloves to grab the (hopefully metal) valve stem cap and clear the remenant.

 

[Figmo]

I have not run into this problem before. Though I wonder why because I love snow wheelin’. I do have valve stem extensions because I couldn’t connect my air hoses after installing true beadlock rings so maybe that pushes them away from the rings enough to deter this problem?

Or, I’ve just been lucky so far.

Adding alcohol to the winter pack should do it. Maybe some 151 proof rum. Can be used as an emergency fire starter as well as for a hella good time at the end of the trail.

(driving a 2dr I always like each item taking up valuable cargo space to have multiple uses)

 

[KABQ]

This.

Drink a ton of coffee while driving, then when you need to defrost your valve stems, you have plenty of nice, warm urine to complete the task.

I laughed, but would have legit tried this. Probably only enough in the tank to defrost one or two valve stems, though, depending how thick the ice was.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

Lock de-icer would be my vote. Or even some Winter-rated washer fluid would probably work, as it has de-icer in it.

In an absolute pinch where a person has forgot absolutely all their gear for some reason, I really like this option because of the availability of washer fluid even if a person forgets to pack it - it's in the vehicle already! Forgot gear at home? Grab the water bottle or cup, spray the washer fluid and grab some in a cup and douse the valve stems.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

I have not run into this problem before. Though I wonder why because I love snow wheelin’. I do have valve stem extensions because I couldn’t connect my air hoses after installing true beadlock rings so maybe that pushes them away from the rings enough to deter this problem?

Or, I’ve just been lucky so far.

Adding alcohol to the winter pack should do it. Maybe some 151 proof rum. Can be used as an emergency fire starter as well as for a hella good time at the end of the trail.

(driving a 2dr I always like each item taking up valuable cargo space to have multiple uses)

Yes, the 2 dr storage is sometimes an issue. I have multiple small bags of tools but I really need to consolidate into one larger system that is more space efficient.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm all for the pee solution...

... for the other guy's rig.

 

[604Bronco]

I'm all for the pee solution...

... for the other guy's rig.

You just want to pee on a Jeep… You can’t spell “Jeep” without pee backwards!

 

[Brian_B]

You just want to pee on a Jeep… You can’t spell “Jeep” without pee backwards!

I admit, I nearly typed Jeep - but my New Years Resolution was to be more inclusive and a better person. So now I'll pee on anyone's rig.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

You just want to pee on a Jeep… You can’t spell “Jeep” without pee backwards!

I'm all for the pee solution...

... for the other guy's rig.

I can picture this now:

Brian: Starts peeing on someone's tires

Other guy: What the f** are you doing!!??

Brian: Making sure your valve stems aren't frozen over.

Other guy: It's the middle of summer!!

Brian: Well you can't be too careful now, can you? You're welcome for looking out for your well being.

 

[Valhalla]

Tire wash gentlemen, tirewash is what the proper name is when in polite company.

 

[Big Norwegian]

I think I would smear some grease on the valve stem ,grease shouldn't get washed off ice freezes to the grease instead of the valve stem so it can be removed?

 

[RustysBronco]

Hey Forum,

I ran into an interesting problem today, looking for your ideas/solutions if you've had a similar experience.

I went winter offroading today, it was COLD, around -18 C (0 F). This particular route has a few river crossings. The deepest one was a good 18" with a frozen top layer, so we busted through a bunch of ice on the way through - absolutely no problem. First picture below. Final destination was the frozen waterfalls, picture #2.

The problem I ran into was after getting back to the staging area to air back up.....it was super cold and now the rims and valve stems were covered in a thick layer of ice from the river crossings. I tried chipping away at them but I was worried I'd hit a stem too hard and "just right" and break a stem. I found a carwash relatively close by to defrost the tires.

So my question - has anyone ran into this issue before or have a solution in mind? Off the top of my head I'm thinking just carry some lock de-icer during winter offroading? A blowtorch seems a little over the top.

Thoughts?

I'm just some dude from Florida who has ZERO experience with the freezing cold. But here's my maybe dumbass, maybe genius response. Have you considered a battery operated heat gun? Would that even work?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...241|MCORGID=F6421253512D2C100A490D45@AdobeOrg

Sponsored