Mag85 Saves the day.. frozen car lock

Dad was locked out of the back of his pickup truck (hard top) because he got the truck washed and it's 17F outside.. he said when that happens he usually takes a cup of hot water and pours it on and it will open right up (but of course that'll re-freeze so it's an evil cycle.

I told him to 'hold the phone' i'll go get my mag85 and my IR thermometer.

So.. i held the Mag85 about 1" from the light for about 1-2 minutes .. it heated the switch from 17F to about 52F and it opened the first try. No more futzing with clutzy solutions to un-stick a frozen lock for me.. very elegant and clean.. no fuss no muss.

I didn't think to re-focus the light 'til about 1/2 way through the operation but i bet that would make it work a little faster.

-awr

ps. didn't know where to post this.. but i did just make the light about 18 hrs ago so i thought HMM would be fitting.

Man I'm glad I live in Florida! Good thinking though. I'll keep that trick in mind if ever in a frozen region of the world.

Cool story Andrew! Gonna try that this year!

I agree with Nightrider.... glad i live in Florida.

You should have tried the Mag100R. I am sure that puppy would have heated up QUICK!!

Curtis

I probably would have used the 100R but it was 1) broken at the time and 2) 30 miles away. Probably a good thing 'cause the Mag100R would easily melt paint.

(don't drop your Mag100 on hardwood floors is the moral of that story).

Both the lens and the bulb shattered... was not making for a happy camper named NikolaTesla.

-awr

:whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin: :whoopin:

I was thinking of doing something similar a few days ago. Clearing ice off the windshield. Just one problem, I still don't own a mag85 DOH! I really want one but it seems like such a hassle to gather up the parts (especially if you're not in the US) so I haven't bothered yet.

Well I'm glad to live in Wisconsin...

...but I'm glad to be in on vacation in Florida this week - DOH!

I here it's nipply up there, Andrew. It's currently a brisk 68F here now.

Thats it! Now that I have read this; I know now that I need to make a Mag85, being Canadian eh

DUQ said:

Thats it! Now that I have read this; I know now that I need to make a Mag85, being Canadian eh

Click to expand...

Word.

word of caution... after burning holes in plastic bags with the Mag100... i tried it with the Mag85.. it took longer but not a whole lot longer.. don't burn your paint on your car.. i don't know how long it would take, but obviously there is some serious heat there.. that said.. i used my Mag100 to shrink heat-shrink tubing rather than using a lighter and it was absolutely incredible how well it worked!

-awr