Keeping windscreen clear

[DashcamUser1]

I'm not sure if there has been a topic on this subject, or if it has been answered before. I have time-lapse parking mode enabled on my camera and use it pretty much as CCTV due to having many hit and run type incidents in the past whilst parked. I've always had this query in my head since buying my dash cam, but never thought about asking until now, where the last hit and run incident I had I was lucky enough to be able to make out the registration number from the misted / fogged up windscreen.

My question is, are there any proven products on the market that can keep your windscreen clear of condensation / mist / rain / snow / ice / dust etc when your car is parked up, so that the dash cam has a good and clear view out at all times when parked? Short of remotely starting the car engine and clearing the windscreens frequently (on some sort of remote timer function), or to have some sort of low powered heaters on in front of the windscreen, I'm out of ideas on how to achieve this.

 

[dash riposki]

Maybe Rain-X? I wonder if a very low powered fan may help? Like the kind you plug into a USB port?

 

[Nigel]

To remove the condensation and dry the air use a bag of silica gel:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171271771237
Recharge it every couple of weeks in damp weather, depending on how damp proof your car is and how much time you spend breathing damp into it.

Once the air is dry, the heat from the camera should keep ice and condensation off the outside, although some cameras put their heat into the glass far more efficiently than others.

Not much you can do about rain other than running the window wipers!

 

[sone983]

I heard about few products like you need. There is a spray can product which you use on your windows and windscreen to not have any condensation ( dont know products name ). You have products to water from your windows/windscreen not staying long,so faster are you driving,water runs faster from your windows/windscreen. Google it a little.

 

[peterjt]

I've been using bas of silica gel in my car and they're working great; no interior condensation at all. I just did my first recharge last weekend; baked in the oven @ 250F for 2 hours. Hardest part was refilling the bags afterwards.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Nigel]

I've been using bas of silica gel in my car and they're working great; no interior condensation at all. I just did my first recharge last weekend; baked in the oven @ 250F for 2 hours. Hardest part was refilling the bags afterwards.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Much more effective, easier and better for the silica gel to recharge them in the microwave until either they stop steaming, or until the weight returns close to their dry weight. Normally you can leave them in their bags for microwave recharging, just bung them in and give them half an hour on low power, then a bit more if they are not done.

 

[c4rc4m]

There are nano coatings for glass but they sheet the water and make it run off rather than having it collect in beads. Sheets are pretty good at distorting vision although the theory is the water should sheet off fast enough with the wind speed to give a clear screen without wipers. There seems to be varying opinions of the success and they don't seem to work at all speeds, but they seem to work to some degree when looking through a piece of glass the size of a whole windscreen at quicker speeds. The problem for a cam is you're looking through a very small piece of the glass so there's a much higher chance of that piece a whole lens in size, being distorted enough to spoilt the vision.

Pulled at random off Youtube (personally I prefer my wipers for the glass when driving):

Best solution for the outside in my opinion, is use your wiper spray to keep the glass clean and use your wipers to wipe the screen. NOTE: Rain-X in my experience causes smearing - a lot of these NON nano tech type of products are based on silicone.

For the inside to avoid mist - aircon - if you have it, use it. There's nothing better in winter at dehumidifying the air and keeping your screen clean.

 

[Rob J]

I have a a118c in the back of one of my cars and found if I leave the camera on when leaving the car the heat from the camera keeps the rear screen of the car round the footprint of the camera + about an extra cm all around it clear......the rest of the rear screen can get completely misted. I assume an A119/s would probably do the same..... just a thought

 

[Rajagra]

I suspect that for the inside a fan would be more efficient (energy wise) at preventing misting up than a heater. But FWIW I've been toying with the idea of making a USB hand heater and bought some power resistors, and I've just cobbled this together as a test:

This one's a 8 ohm resistor and after 10 minutes it has gotten pretty warm. You could probably use a higher resistance (giving lower power) and a smaller power rating (ie smaller device) and place it under the glass where the camera looks through to keep it clear of misting.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00AUBDKJM
For the outside, Rain - X is pretty good if applied properly. If the area is not covered by wipers use a hand held screen washer /squeegee to keep it clean.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00EO1NZCQ
Edit> A more suitable resistor for heating/demisting might be this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00X3KAPKYIt would use 100mA, 0.5W when connected to a 5V supply.

 

[Nigel]

I suspect that for the inside a fan would be more efficient (energy wise) at preventing misting up than a heater. But FWIW I've been toying with the idea of making a USB hand heater and bought some power resistors, and I've just cobbled this together as a test:

This one's a 8 ohm resistor and after 10 minutes it has gotten pretty warm. You could probably use a higher resistance (giving lower power) and a smaller power rating (ie smaller device) and place it under the glass where the camera looks through to keep it clear of misting.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00AUBDKJM
For the outside, Rain - X is pretty good if applied properly. If the area is not covered by wipers use a hand held screen washer /squeegee to keep it clean.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00EO1NZCQ
Edit> A more suitable resistor for heating/demisting might be this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00X3KAPKYIt would use 100mA, 0.5W when connected to a 5V supply.

Nice colours on the power bank and resistor , but I can't see it stopping the inside misting since it wont provide enough heat to stop the glass cooling down over night and it doesn't need to cool much to mist if the air inside the car is damp. To stop the inside misting you need to dry the air inside.

The resistor would help to keep the outside clear since any warming of the glass will help to evaporate condensation or rain off the outside.

 

[Rajagra]

Hehe, well this one runs very hot, I'm using it to warm my hands right now. If it is only cooled by air it gets almost too hot to touch, so I have to keep it gripped so my hand conducts the heat away. Thermostat to be fitted later.

I'm sure it would clear the mist from a windscreen, the idea would be to put it below the glass so rising hot air 'burns off' the water droplets, not to heat the glass directly.

(It will also make a good power bank tester.)

I'm not sure 3W of power is justifiable though, not when you want the camera to keep running!

Whether a lower power version would work would need testing.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

 

[c4rc4m]

You really shouldn't need a fan if you aircon though. Not many people realise but aircon should be run in winter as well as summer as it dehumidifies (drys the air). So running aircon should remove any tendency to mist. Used in conjunction with a rear screen heater to help get the demisting process started, you shouldn't have any mist problems. I can't remember the last time I had misted screens except at startup / for a few mins after, although if it's that cold, I usually wait until the car is heated and screen clear before setting off.