Keeping snow off dish

When I was installing 1.8 and 2.4 meter Vsat dishes in the Northwest we would paint the face with "Vellox" It makes it really slippery and snow has a harder time sticking to it and much more easy to brush off, hardly ever had a service call for snow buildup. I'm not sure where you would get some. Also like in a previous post heating strips are good for not letting ice build up especially on the LNB. That's my 2 Cents.....
 
I use rainx, I pour it on a microfiber cloth and apply it to the dish and it works great. You can also use an extension pole like painters use with with the attachment that is used with ceiling fan cleaning brush. Those ceiling fan brushes used to clean the fan blades screw off of the pole and will fit on the extension pole.
 
I've read up about this in the past, but haven't really followed up in it for a couple of years. How do you guys keep the snow off your dishes? I had to climb up the ladder the other day to clear mine already. It's usually 2-3 times a year that I have to do that.

I know there was some talk about black dishes for a while, but I believe that was a short lived test and they never really took off. I've also heard of people waxing their dishes. I wish I could remember, but someone posted about some new space age polymer lubricant that came in a spray can that wasn't out yet (but should be by now).

I've also been thinking of doing the heated pad/cable and running a cord down the back of my siding and just plugging it in the few times I need it.

Anyone have any good suggestions for me, or can you point me in the right direction for a vendor/website that I could check out some products? Thanks in advance
PAM or other non stick frying pan spray works pretty good.
In order for snow to accumulate, the surface must be cold enough to prevent the snow from melting. Products containing petroleum products will retard the process by which snow "sticks" to metal.
Here's the rub...In the case of a heavy wet snow, not only does the density of the flakes block the signal, so does the accumulation of water and snow on the surface of the dish. In that case, the snow must be cleaned off the dish. Now for the fun part. A light powdery snow will allow the satellite signal to pass through.
 
I'm fortunate this has never really been a problem for me. I have seen a fair amount of snow on the lower parts of my 2 small dishes on certain occasions, especially when a snow/ice mix was wind-driven onto the dish, but I still had reception every time. I considered the heat tape trick the OP mentioned, attaching one short tape to the back of each dish in a circular pattern with adhesive, then plugging-in those tapes as needed. That should work in the moderate temps where I get the crusty accumulation; in colder temps. the snow would be light and probably would not accumulate. But I never needed to act on that idea.

OP - Do you get enough accumulation that your reception is impacted?

The Super Soaker is a good idea with one caveat - All that water has to go somewhere and it will probably freeze. I've been worried that since my dishes are near the edge of my roof (2 different locations) that some of the water would back-up behind/on top of frozen stuff that's already on the roof and could creep up under the shingles from there, creating a classic "ice dam" leak...
Straight hot water will have the opposite effect. Hot water mixed with windshield washer fluid and ......a little bit of auto coolant will work. MYTH....DO NOT ADD SALT to the water.
 
My kids are over 50 yrs. old, don't live here any longer, now what do I do?
Dan
Tell then they owe you for making sure they had a roof over their head while you allowed them to grow up.
Tell them it is time to "collect".
Of you could do what my Mom does...."You know, your father could use a little help with that"....Yeah, thanks. Like I can say "no" to that!
 
I just brush it off from the edge of the roof with a broom since the it's not really high but I do have to get on top of a big central air unit to get to

Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys
 
Never had a problem with it before and we get tons of snow here, but dish installed one of those new black dish's this year so we will see. I think it has something to do with where it is mounted though because my aunt who live 40 miles from me gets tons of snow and she has to beat the hell out of her dish with a broom she's so mad when she loses signal. I mean this woman is 65 and gets out there and just whacks that poor thing to kingdom come. I'm like you are going to throw that out of alignment, but by that point she doesn't care she's so mad. I should take a picture of this thing the next time I go back you would think this dish has been through a couple of tornado's and been on the house 15 years. In reality its been there 4.
 
Last edited:
Move up here where I am at 65 degrees north, I have 5 dishes for Dish and Shaw Direct they are all below horizontal pointing toward the ground!
So, instead of having to worry about storm clouds or snow interfering with your signal, you have to wait for the caribou herds to go by? ;)
 
This solution is about the best I've heard. Just don't let any of the light miss the dish and go: Into the neighbors window; down the street to blind a driver.

Best solution I've heard of is placing a flood light just behind the dish. When snow is forecast turn it on and will keep the dish above freezing. Seems reasonable to me if you live in Minnesota or Flagstaff.
 
Wonder if it would work for this?
IMG_4031.JPG
 
Note to self: Never mount a dish there.

Better note to self: Never LIVE there.
 
Well, here in Colorado we get a lot of snow. I said I'd report back if the new black dish was any better or not. First impression is that they are worse. We just got a couple inches of wet gooey snow and had total loss of signal. My dish is fortunately easy to get to and the snow easily removed with a broom. I think I may try the flood light idea, would be pretty simple for me ... neighbors aren't an issue, nearest one is quarter mile away.
 
I have used the Rainex brand windshield washing product on my dish and it works quite well. I used a microfiber cloth and soaked the cloth with the solution and then applied evenly onto the dish. With the Rainex product there is no buildup of dirt or dust, using the Pam product will result in a dirt buildup over time.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts