Frost shields old style from 1970's

[Dave_eng]

A friend with an old B7100 is constantly having fogged over windows on the cab of his tractor.

Being old, I remember using frost shields on my VW bugs where heat was a dream.

This link is to the history of this product where use was mandatory in some areas
http://westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2013/01/remembering-car-window-frost-shield.html

This link is to a Canadian company who is still manufacturing the shields
http://tarpsandfilters.com/frost-shields

For those who have more $ than my friend, this link is for electric heating grids which you can apply to any window.

https://www.frostfighter.com/clear-view-defrosters-about.htm

Dave

 

[motorhead]

I have one in the box. It is 6 volt.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Being old, I remember using frost shields on my VW bugs where heat was a dream.

When Russian Lada cars were being imported to Canada one could get them with optional frost shields. A great idea. Just don't try to roll down a side window with them installed!

 

[Wbk]

I was thinking about frost shields this morning and was wondering how many younger people would have no idea what your talking about, the current temp. here is -32C with the wind chill it's -48C and it's supposed to get colder tomorrow. I just thought you might want to know what's coming your way.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Had a bug when I was a youngster and I not so fondly remember the windows icing up on the INSIDE in the winter. I came up with a cure. Made a bracket and sat a can of Sterno by the windshield. That defrosted the glass but did nothing for me being cold.

 

[mikester]

The new VW eGolf has a clear (no visible wires) electrically defrosted front windshield- pretty cool idea!

https://autoweek.com/article/technology/volkwagen-will-defrost-your-windshield-silver

 

[Dave_eng]

The new VW eGolf has a clear (no visible wires) electrically defrosted front windshield- pretty cool idea!

https://autoweek.com/article/technology/volkwagen-will-defrost-your-windshield-silver

Years ago Cadillac introduced the heated windshield concept by putting a gold layer in the laminated windshield. it required a monster alternator to power it and it was so expensive you needed a special insurance clause to cover it in case a rock hit it.

It was only offered a year or two.

Dave

 

[NoJacketRequired]

I still have a pair of windshields from a Cessna 421. They were removed when a pilot of a Cessna 172 forgot to look out at his wingtip while taxiing, resulting in his wingtip running across both left and right windshields of the 421, scrapping them. That was a lot of years ago and they cost $26,000 at that time. They have the gold sintered layer in the laminates to heat them - very cool. That gold layer causes pilots all kinds of heartache as it kills many RF signals coming into the cockpit, including GPS, WIFI and cellular signals, this playing havoc with the hand-held devices pilots like to use.

Heating windshields is pretty low-tech, but not nearly as low-tech as driving into something because you can't see!

BTW if you look at a lot of modern displays where glass is used, they often use a layer of Indium-Tin Oxide (ITO) to reduce radiated emissions from the display. It's cool stuff - so thin it is almost undetectable to the naked eye. I suspect that's what's being used in the new VW eGolf. Far cheaper than sintered gold.

 

[Michigankubota]

That’s pretty neat. My Great Grandfather manufactured The None-Better brand from Ironwood Michigan and Chicago.

 

[Michigankubota]

Here’s another pic

 

[Michigankubota]

My uncle still has one in the box from the 1930s.

 

[GeoHorn]

Years ago Cadillac introduced the heated windshield concept by putting a gold layer in the laminated windshield. it required a monster alternator to power it and it was so expensive you needed a special insurance clause to cover it in case a rock hit it.

It was only offered a year or two.

Dave

I have the windshield out of a jet I used to fly. It is over an inch thick made of 3 layers of glass. Weighs about 30 lbs.
Between two layers is gold foil rolled so thin it is see-thru, and used as a heating element to keep the glass warm for the purpose of keeping ice off the windshield, defrost off the inside during rapid descents from frigid upper atmosphere, and also keep the glass more flexible (yes, glass can flex) to prevent breakage from bird strikes. At a cabin pressure differential of 8 psi…that 3 sq ft of windshield had about 3500 lbs of force trying to blow it out of the airplane.

Yes, it was expensive…when this one showed a slight delamination it was condemned and the replacement part was $28K. (Both pilots WS were replaced… $28K ea, plus labor of course.) It was powered by a 15 KVA alternator driven off the gear-case of one of the jet engines.

I had a coffee/end-table made of it. The inside of the table contains a slide-out drawer I plan to put some of my Dad’s WW2 momentos inside for viewing.