All,
Recently, there's a dark drip mark on my tarmac drive, around the perimeter of the car. It appeared when I parked it on a different part. Looks like oil drip, but no irridescence when watered and no damage to tarmac. The marks persist in dry cold weather and reappear after rain. Never noticed it before this winter.
Under the car's wheel arches and on the tyres, there is a slimy coating. AFAIK, I've not driven through a diesel spill, and the effect has persisted for days. All I can think of is the the council was using something other than road salt while it was freezing - something like glycol.
Anyone else had this? What could it be?
John
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>>All I can think of is the the council was using something other than road salt.Anyone else had this? What could it be?
In my area Surrey, the Council are using what I understand is salt in solution.
The gritters have big triangular section translucent tanks along their flanks under the hoppers.
I was down the A286 four days ago and saw what looked like a patch of snow on the grass verge. It was by a dip in the road and turned out to be crystals, I guess of salt, having been splashed out of a puddle after many nights of salting the road.
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Taste it
Put some on your finger and dab a bit on your tongue.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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:^D Like he needed instructions
"However, do NOT get down on your knees and start lapping the driveway. That would be silly."
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Hi John,
getting the same in the Bristol / Bath area too.. I suspected a leak until I realised the "oil" was under each wheelarch. Wiping the underbonnect area behind the grill produced black oil-like deposit on the cloth , don't think I've been following anyone with an engine that uses more oil than fuel either....Curious...
And for those that suggested it, no, I'm not trying the "taste test" either :-)
Adrian
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Maybe a better grade of salt in Bath ;-)
Noticed a big granule of salt on my windscreen yesterday, the gritter obviously chucks the stuff up quite high. I would have thought it would skim the surface of the road.
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Probably molasses, quite common now and is supposed to stop the salt washing away in rain showers. means gritters dont have to grit the same roads over and over again. supposed to save money...cheers...keo. ps taste it you'll soon know.
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>>taste it you'll soon know.
>>
The answer is "taste it" seems to be coming a regular response. Now what is the question?
Can anyone give a summary of the taste of vehicle fluids for future reference?
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Round here I think it's molases based as well. Horrible slimey slippery stuff when out on the bike.
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"Horrible slimey slippery stuff"
Good point - and with a bit of rain forecast tonight, not enough to wash it all away, and all the accumulated "muck" from last week or so without rain, the roads could be very slippery tomorrow. Be careful! Bikers and car-ers. Roads round us are covered in great squashed globbets of muck from agricultural vehicles also.
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Phil
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I thought you were joking but...
Safecote - A New Approach
During the 2004/2005 winter period, we used a new salt product called Safecote for the first time. Safecote is the brand name of an agricultural bi-product that is added to rock salt at the Salt Union Mine in Winsford, Cheshire. This bi-product is derived from molasses which is used in the process of refining sugar.
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"Horrible slimey slippery stuff"
Indeed, and I'm very grateful for the explanation. My bike has felt very odd on corners lately, and although I'd put it down to road salt, it didn't seem like the whole answer.
I wonder if the Councils have thought this through - we had a young man killed near here when his car went off the road for no established reason. It's certainly made me very wary on two wheels...
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Round here I think it's molases based as well. Horrible slimey slippery stuff when out on the bike.
if you're anywhere around south gloucs or M5 bristol area then it is molasses mix ... i know it's horrible stuff....cheers...keo.
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Sorry - please forgive my youthful innocence/ignorance/stupidity but isn't there something a little odd about putting slushly molasses down to combat the problem of ice?
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Actually molasses is very good for you if taken in the proper form...:-)
See:
tinyurl.com/2espn
My mother took some every day for many years and she lived until she was 92.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Molases taste similar to marmite and are treacle black. I guese the molases help stick the salt.
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Molasses + salt - designed to make your windscreen totally opaque when thrown up by the vehicle in front. Anyone know where you can get windscreen washer stuff at more than 100% concentration??
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Phil
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Slating the roads is an expensive all round operation for any local council, especially as the availability has to be there along with the necessary staff at often unsocialable hours, yet might be needed for only a few days a year.
I suppose any attempt to ensure that the salt remains to do its intended work for as long as possible is understandable.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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'Slating the roads is an expensive all round operation...'
But slate is a quite effective barrier against rising damp.
Oh, but the roads suffer falling damp ;)
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I think it's because the UN and EU forces us to buy cane sugar products from other continents instead of using our own beet.
What do we do with all this stuff? Dump it...on the roads. We already have the infrastructure to dispose of it through gritting, and without anyone realising!
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I think it's because the UN and EU forces us to buy cane sugar products from other continents instead of using our own beet.
Don't think the EU forces us to buy cane. More likely the problem is a surplus of subsidised beet. The crop would be utterly uneconomic without price support.
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>>But slate is a quite effective barrier against rising damp.>>
I deserve a slating for that literal...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Can anyone give a summary of the taste of vehicle fluids for future reference?
Yes Indeedy
Looking at all the fluids that could leak from your car:
Anti Freeze - Tastes like Blue Nun
Engine Oil - Tastes bitter
Petrol - Tastes like nothing on earth - you will recognise it
Diesel - Tastes like a Big Mac (oh! that's just after I have filled up!)
Auto Transmission fluid - Tatses like burnt toast and peanut oil.
Brake fluid - Tastes like prawn crackers from the chinese takeaway.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Engine Oil has a tangy taste to it wouldn't you say RF?
Petrol tastes like the "coffee" at Uni. And it almost costs as much per litre too.
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Thanks for your wisdom TVM.
I can now choose my second course after a bite of my steering wheel.
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I reckon brake fluid tastes like Victory V sweets, and leaves a warm sensation on the tongue like the wintergreen in those deap heat muscle rub creams.
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Many years ago when my parents had a mk1 Ford Transit,my mother had starting trouble,there did not seem to be any petrol getting to the carburator.
The rotten swine got me to blow into the fuel tank and helpful me got the blow back of a face full of petrol.
One of the worse things i got a taste of was cow muck, i was yawning in the parlour and a cow coughed and i got a gobful.
It had a metallic taste,the velocity of coughed dung is quite surprising they would regularly hit each other on opposite sides at about 6 or more feet.
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"taste of cow muck" "coughed dung" Interesting but I'm not sure I needed to know that bedford!!!
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Phil
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S'pose not, but at least if you were anywhere near a cow you might now know when to duck(and not to yawn).
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Don't worry - I've made a mental note!!;-)
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Phil
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My main memory of the 6 months i spent working on a farm after I left school is clouded by geting coverd by projectile in cow diarea whilst doing the morning milking.
It was so bad i dunked my head in a rather green water trough in order to try and wash the muck out my mouth and eyes!
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