How to prevent my roof box's lock from freezing?

[Dr. Crash]

Hi,

Living in the Cascades, we usually get from rain to snow on our way to the mountain or alternate from snow to rain while there I have a Packasport fiberglass box on my car, and the lock will freeze up. What can I do to prevent it from freezing? I've had a couple times when I ended up having to put four pairs of skis and the four of us inside the car while the box was fozen. I could leave it open but I have other pairs of skis in it which I'd rather lock when we're skiing.

Any idea? I know I am not the first one with that issue.

drC

[flatNshallow]

Duct Tape!

oh yeah - they do make those nifty little lock deicer gizmos too...

[Arty50]

When my locks freeze up, one thing that generally works is to pound on the top of the box while turning the key.

[Shin-to-Win]

lube it. Tri-flow (bike chain lube) or silicone spray will keep it from freezing up. This works great on door handles too.

As a backup, keep a butane lighter in the car. In a pinch, you can heat up your key with the lighter and melt the ice inside the lock. If that doesn't work, you can heat the lock with the lighter directly.

[Arty50]

I almost forgot. My problems don't usually stem from the lock itself. I'm pretty careful to make sure the little flap guard stays shut. Instead, it's the actual mechanism inside. Sometimes snow falls off the box top onto the mechinism and freezes it up. That's where the banging helps out.

[Conundrum]

This has happened to me. I usually resort to pouring a little coffee or hot water on it. It refreezes but gives me enough time to get skis in or out.

[seanpistol]

bring a thermos of hot water along with you. pour it on the lock when it's frozen over.

while living in mammoth i had a problem with my doors being frozen shut when i would go out to my truck in the morning. hot water does the trick.

[Snow Dog]

You could keep lock de-icer in the car. Unless your car door locks freeze too. A regular shot of WD-40 keeps the lock working too (the WD stands for Water Displacement).

[Buster Highmen]

Lock graphite.

[irul&ublo]

bukkake..

[MeatPuppet]

lube it. Tri-flow (bike chain lube) or silicone spray will keep it from freezing up.

This was going to be my suggestion as well. The lube encourages the water to bead and roll off in stead of seeping in and freezing.

[bio-smear]

I had the same problem with the latch on my truck canopy. It really sucks to show up for the lineup on-time and not be able to get your skis out. If you don't have a source of hot water the only option is to piss on it, and since I suffer from stagefright, that makes things tough. So now I periodically hose the shit out of the lock innards with WD-40. Water Displacement, like Snow Dog said. Seems to work good.

[iceman]

I suffer from stagefright

um, thanks for sharing that.

[Dr. Crash]

As a backup, keep a butane lighter in the car. In a pinch, you can heat up your key with the lighter and melt the ice inside the lock. If that doesn't work, you can heat the lock with the lighter directly.

Tried that yesterday, didn't work. Of course, I probably didn't heat the key enough.

Thanks all for the suggestion. I had thought (and procrastinated) on a teflon spray. I could use the bike lubricant, or any dry teflon lubricant (sold for boats for example). If I can't find one with a small tube to aim (a la newer WD40 cans), just open and spray like crazy? I'd like to not disassemble the lock (I'd screw up the reassembly).

drC

[InspectorGadget]

A regular shot of WD-40 keeps the lock working too (the WD stands for Water Displacement).

A locksmith recommended WD-40 - when I had a frozen lock problem because my dumb-ass brother washed the car on a very cold day and I was the last one out and hit the power door lock button - it worked great. He also warned against using heat from a lighter, etc.

[El Chupacabra]

Tried that yesterday, didn't work. Of course, I probably didn't heat the key enough.

Thanks all for the suggestion. I had thought (and procrastinated) on a teflon spray. I could use the bike lubricant, or any dry teflon lubricant (sold for boats for example). If I can't find one with a small tube to aim (a la newer WD40 cans), just open and spray like crazy? I'd like to not disassemble the lock (I'd screw up the reassembly).

drC

If it's a Yakima or Thule box with the "one key" system, you should have received a key with your locks that allows you to remove the lock core from the lock housing in the box. To do this, unlock the locks, then use the special key (looks kinda like a blank) to pull the core. It's pretty hard to screw this up... I guess you could drop the lock core in a snowbank or something, so do this on pavement.

This actually might be a good idea to do if your locks are freezing up. Pull the cores, clean the locks off well, lube them up liberally with Tri-flow or similar, reinstall.

Edit: oops, missed that it was a Packasport box. Oh well. I have no idea if those lock cores are removable. I vaguely recall that Yakima bought out Packasport, so maybe (depending on the age of your box) you have Yakima cores there anyway.

[wildstyle]

If you pour hot water / piss on the lock, it will open the lock but leave lots of water in the lock to freeze next time. Best not to do this as you will have to do it forever.

It's best to use something to dispel the water from the lock and keep it moisture free and oiled.I have WD40/GT85 with teflon that i put into the locks before i drive anywhere really cold. I then put a small piece of Duct tape over the lock to help prevent water/dirt getting into the lock.

I also do this with the drivers door of my car as well just in case you drive somewhere in the rain that turns to snow and then freezes when you're on the mountain.

[Snow Dog]

I also do this with the drivers door of my car as well just in case you drive somewhere in the rain that turns to snow and then freezes when you're on the mountain.

Unless this happens:

[wildstyle]

....then yes, i would advise pissing .... or a very big hairdryer.

[Arty50]

One piece of advice if you use WD-40, be sure to lube the lock after it dries out. WD-40 is great for displacing water, cleaning parts, freeing rusted bolts, etc. But it should never be used as a long term lubricant. The problem...WD-40 evaporates. So while it will free your lock and make it work great for a few days, it will also clean off all the old lubricant and leave your lock dry as a bone. This is not good.

[Dr. Crash]

Thanks Arty. I did spray with WD this morning thinking I could use what I already had in the garage, but will look for a Teflon or silicon spray, probably at West Marine if the bike shop doesn't have anything.

drC

[TomK]

Thanks Arty. I did spray with WD this morning thinking I could use what I already had in the garage, but will look for a Teflon or silicon spray, probably at West Marine if the bike shop doesn't have anything.

drC

Clean/de-water with WD40, then lube with Tri-Flow is what I'd reccomend. http://www.triflowlubricants.com/