I’m worried that with this incoming ice storm, my exterior dutch door latches will freeze, especially the bolt latches that attach the top half to bottom. Well, I’m worried about all the ice, but I’ve done what I can to to prep I think, and now all I can do is deal with the consequences.
What can I use to de-ice those latches? Is there some kind of spray? Will WD40 work? If we lose power, I won’t have electricity in the barn, but the house will have a generator, so I won’t be able to use a hair dryer out there. Well, maybe I could with a long extension cord. But is there a product I can by today?
Spray them with WD-40 before the weather gets bad. If they freeze after that or are already frozen, put rubbing alcohol on the frozen area, then dry off as much as possible and spray with WD-40.
I usually spend an afternoon before the weather turns bad doing this on all the latches, locks etc. around the farm and on our trailers. There is nothing more frustrating than frozen latches or locks, especially if it is an emergency.
Anything that has moving parts you can tap gently and the ice should break off.
Keep tapping to get the parts moving as they should.
We use chains with double end snaps and holding the snaps in the hand for some seconds tends to defrost them, as does gingerly tapping them with pliers until they open.
I like the idea to run around oiling them before a frost.
not a de-icer but something I use to keep things like metal to metal bolts from freezing is to coat with cream lubercant. For decades I have used a product called LUBRIPLATE 130-AA GREASE, it is available in small 1.75 oz tubes
As a nurse whose car doors would freeze shut while I was working, here’s what we did. Just fill a syringe with alcohol. We used a 10 cc with blunt neegle. Inserted needle in keyhole to unlock car, also squirt some on the moving part that latches your door shut.(Otherwise, the mechanism wouldn’t work and you had to hold your door shut while driving).
I imagine a squirt of rubbing alcohol will unstick any stall latches. Cheap too, doesn’t hurt your car paint either.
The WD 40 worked great. Those latches were getting difficult anyway, so really need a little help. We ended up with a lot of rain, that flash froze into ice, but my latches all work fine.
Now…if I could hire a giant heating element to melt the lava flow of ice in my dry lot, that would be helpful.
Oh, well, in my case, a Stihl club hammer is a go-to tool for many farm conundrums - like de-icing, dislodging stuck t-posts, breaking up stuff for my burn pile, knocking the firewood out of my truck that I accidentally let freeze solid in the bed. It’s fast, it’s a good workout, it saves me from making a bigger effort with a lighter hammer. It makes my husband nervous to see me head for it. It hasn’t met a problem it can’t solve. Really, a perfect tool :lol:.
Alcohol isn’t the environmental disaster I was referring to – spray cans were. I deploy plenty of WD-40 and wasp spray around here and consider those high value tools. But, if I started spraying stall latches with de-icer for 4 months a year, well, that seems like a good place to look for a lower impact solution. Like my hammer, which, of course, will outlast this civilization – good point – but once it’s here, is a sunk cost, enviro-speaking-wise.
Also, if liquid ice removing tools don’t work, you’re left standing there, annoyed and locked out. Whereas with my hammer, I know I can get that door open for the cost of a few screws and some lumber. Do I rip my stall latches off? Not yet. Do I like knowing I can? Heck yes. Such is the attitude of a middle aged farmer lady standing in the dark in miserable weather, year after year. I like a serious tool :winkgrin:.
