loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
After running through my product profiles and composition for deicing chemicals, two components kept popping up. Most ice inhibitors and deicers have either silicone or lithium composition. Since there is no way I would be able to afford any of the products that my company makes and there applications would not work on a sled I had to look for something else with either of these components. So I went to the hardware store and bought a can of lithium spray greese. Tapped out all the ice in my tunnel and gave it a healthy coating of the stuff.
Lithium and silicone do two things. Repel water and change the strength of the crystal lattice ice structure. So if the ice does freeze, the ice will be weakly held to the surface causing it to fall off easily.
So does it work????
Yes! after 200 miles it is still on there and I have very minimal ice build up. not even enought to tap the tunnel to get it to fall off. I have been running deep powder the last couple days and at the end of the day there is not enough ice to waste the energy in getting it off.
My sled is out side all the time so it never thaws. I tapped all the ice off as best I could. Sprayed the lithium over everything. It quickly froze to the tunnel making an adequate barrier. Not sure how it will work on warm tunnels with out the freezing effect. Will have to do some more homework on that. But so far I am really impressed in how it works.
Lithium and silicone do two things. Repel water and change the strength of the crystal lattice ice structure. So if the ice does freeze, the ice will be weakly held to the surface causing it to fall off easily.
So does it work????
Yes! after 200 miles it is still on there and I have very minimal ice build up. not even enought to tap the tunnel to get it to fall off. I have been running deep powder the last couple days and at the end of the day there is not enough ice to waste the energy in getting it off.
My sled is out side all the time so it never thaws. I tapped all the ice off as best I could. Sprayed the lithium over everything. It quickly froze to the tunnel making an adequate barrier. Not sure how it will work on warm tunnels with out the freezing effect. Will have to do some more homework on that. But so far I am really impressed in how it works.
MCApex44
TY 4 Stroke Guru
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2006
- Messages
- 973
- Location
- Western New York, Chautauqua County
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2014 Viper RTX SE (sold)
Does it spray on thick? Is there any color to it so you know where/how much you sprayed? Also, do you feel you have to spray the tunnel each time out or will it last a while?
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
there is a slight yellow color to it. Once it freezes to the tunnel it is white and looks like frost. I have gone on two rides and have not added any yet. Going out again this afternoon and will see how long it holds up. I will report when I have to add more.
tapp1
Expert
Good post, interested in hearing your results
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Put on another 100 miles today and there was still much less build up then normal. I think the greese is starting to come off after three rides but out of a SB 600, F8 and my sled, the nytro had the least amount of ice in the tunnel. Again this was primarilly off trail riding and if there was any build up it would fall off when I hit a bump or dropped off a drift. Normally my tunnel would be caked with about 20 lbs of ice and I would be hard pressed to get 5 lbs off it right now. There is more ice then yesterday but still minimal.
AIRWOLF
Guest
Snow conditions and tempature play a big part in how much ice builds up in your tunnel
Did you ride in any deep powder?
Did you ride in any deep powder?
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Yes. Conditions have been the same around -15. Deep powder riding and trail riding always yeilds huge ice build up at the end of the day. have yet to see it during the last three outings.
I am not here to sell a product. Just saying, if you want a cheap easy way to reduce ice build up. Get a can and spray it on.
dont be a sceptic, buy a can and try it for your self.
I am not here to sell a product. Just saying, if you want a cheap easy way to reduce ice build up. Get a can and spray it on.
dont be a sceptic, buy a can and try it for your self.
rrxx-1
Expert
How much of a mess does it make, dirt stuck on ect.? As others have said thanks for posting this option............
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
It froze to the tunnel when I applied it so nothing has stuck to it yet. I have not tried applying it to a warm tunnel yet. Maybe some can and report. I do not have a shop to thaw my sled out. With it freezing on the tunnel is actually makes a physical barrier much like some coatings. Not sure of the impact would be if it was wet during use.
It actually makes sense cause all recomended greases from yamaha are lithium based. This is likely because of its water repellent properties.
It actually makes sense cause all recomended greases from yamaha are lithium based. This is likely because of its water repellent properties.
AIRWOLF
Guest
thanks for the info
jeffT
Pro
here is a crazy thought. is there any spray "teflon" out there? would seem to me that teflon would REALLY repel snow. is there such a thing as spray teflon tho?
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Actually, silcone and lithium have higher repellency to water then teflon. Teflon works different. If it was coated in the tunnel in a paint it might work when the ice freezes.
Anyways, if nothing sticks to teflon; what does teflon stick to???
Anyways, if nothing sticks to teflon; what does teflon stick to???
stewartb
Expert
Lithium is a soft metal. I doubt it has much effect on the noted results. The grease base is a sacrificial coating that won't support the weight would be my guess. But since CRC and similar manufacturers sell White Lithium spray grease, why not use it? It's a good idea. Spray silicone may also be beneficial but since the silicone sprays I'm familiar with are very light bodied and the propellant evaporates very quickly leaving an extremely thin film, the benefits may be short lived. I have some CorrosionX around here. That's another product that's worth trying. I think I'll spray one sled with CRC lithium grease and the other with CorrosionX. In both examples I'll spray a warm, dry sled. I'll let you know what happens. Maybe I'll do a small patch with spray silicone, too.
CorrosionX should help prevent some relay problems, too.
http://www.corrosionx.com/ma_use.html
SB
CorrosionX should help prevent some relay problems, too.
http://www.corrosionx.com/ma_use.html
SB
loudelectronics
TY 4 Stroke Guru
Yes lithium is a soft metal. It is an impurity to ice. Impurities make ice weaker and some have more effects then others. For instance salt. Salt lowers the freezing point as well as many other impurities. Lithium in this case does not interupt the teh freezing points of ice drastically. However as mentioned above, it disrupts the way it freezes and makes it brittle. So sprayed on the surface of the tunnel makes the ice more brittle and less holding power and breaks off easier with the slightest bumps.
We use lithium based products in many freeze dry applications such as coal transport that comes from humid areas to very cold canadian climates. It keeps the coal from sticking to the sides of rail cars. It is also used in plants that have issues with belts freezing or condenser fans freezing solid. The lithium is sprayed to make the ice break up easier under the motors own power.
Looking forward to hearing others results.
I am using Sonic Lithium spray grease.
We use lithium based products in many freeze dry applications such as coal transport that comes from humid areas to very cold canadian climates. It keeps the coal from sticking to the sides of rail cars. It is also used in plants that have issues with belts freezing or condenser fans freezing solid. The lithium is sprayed to make the ice break up easier under the motors own power.
Looking forward to hearing others results.
I am using Sonic Lithium spray grease.
horkn
Expert
A few years ago I saw a product in Snowtech that was called "energy release" or something like that that made snow and ice not stick to whatever you put it on.
