Ice Removal Tips For Satellite Dishes?

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Granite

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Over here in London, On we've had the joy of freezing rain yesterday and today. This has resulted in a good amount of ice on my dish. Some channels I'm getting crystal clear (even though signal strength is between 50-60%) unfortunately I'm missing several channels. I ran a switch test and it came back stating that both satellite Inputs 1 and 2 are "missing: Port 1b Sat 91 Even". I think the thick ice is causing the trouble but I don't really know because I'm a newb to the whole satellite thing. The weather isn't supposed to warm up for quite a while. Any suggestions of what I can do. (The only solution I can think of is to whack the ice off but I think that could cause some serious alignment issues!)

Thanks all!
 
Get one of those heat dishes from Costco and point it at your satellite dish for a few minutes...that'll get rid of it in the quickest amount of time.

Or you can try boiling some water and pouring it over the ice.
 
Pee on it:)

Seriously hot water will probley be the best, just dry it off with a towel after so it won't refrezze.
 
There are spray on ice melters available at hardware stores. Windshield washer fluid in a spray bottle might work as well. To prevent ice and snow from sticking use RainX. The sun today may solve the problem for you. ;)
 
I_Want_My_HDTV

I have heard about trying Pam to help with snow sticking but I have never heard of RainX. Where can I find that and how and well does it work with heavy wet snow? Do you Know?

Thanks, Bill
 
* Repels rain and helps reduce sleet and snow from sticking
* Fits in glove compartment, door panel or under seat
* For use on mirrors and glass
* 200mL


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Canadian Tire has it here in Yellowknife
 
I was having trouble with my van door not closing due to the freezing. I went to Canadian Tire to get a small spray of deIcer. Of course they were sold out. The gentleman recommended getting the large auto windowwashing fluid with deIcer and RainX type materials for $3.99 and use a spray bottle (empty laundry spray bottle). I sprayed the doors, locks, mirrors, and filler cap. Now I keep it under the seat of the van, just in case. It would definitely work with a satellite dish.
 
Thanks for all the tips folks!

I'll have to see if one of those works as preventative. The sun did melt the ice... however it just slide from the top and refroze lower on the dish resulting in no signal. I took the broom handle and **lightly** tapped the ice. During the refreezing process the ice became quite brittle and broke right off except for one stubborn location. Ironically the broken even numbered transponders have much stronger strength than the odd ones that worked despite the ice.
 
Hi All,

Yes, thanks from me as well. Sounds good. I will be heading to my local Canadian Tire tomorrow to find some RainX.

Regards, Bill
 
I went to buy the parabolic heat dish from costco last week. It works great here in Victoria since the weather has been wacky. :p
 
To prevent ice or snow to stick to the dish, I put PAM on my FTA dish and it seems to work. It leaves a greasy film that doesn't let snow to grab on. Very cheap to use.
 
A good spray with PAM will help. Apply before the freezing rain!! I spray mine in Dec and it holds up 'till spring. Also works for sloppy snow.
 
Although PAM (or similar non-stick product) may work in the short term, it can become sticky and dirty over time. So you need to remove the "old" PAM and reapply before the next snow season.

A product that doesn't become sticky may be a better choice. Local weather conditions may also be a factor - a lot of rain may remove dirt/sticky PAM, while areas with less rain may suffer.
 
Usually, throwing a few snoballs with my children is enough to restore good signal and have some fun.
 
Ever heard of the Protector? It's a little plastic tent that they put over your dish supposely very good and it shoudn 't cut the signal they say go to www.installeur.com

Site is in French taught...
 
I've heard they sometimes don't work that well. Ice, snow and water on the tent blocks the signal as much as on the dish. Best solution is to mount the dish where it is within reach of a small broom.

Don't try to knock ice off the dish with a large broom. It tends to wreck the dish (like mine.) :o
 
I've been using that for years. Works great. Melts the snow, and leaves behind some RainX to prevent ice and snow from collecting again. Luckily I have a window directly over my dish, so I just open that up and spray a stream straight down on the dish and the receiver.
 
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