Now would be a good time to check over your general car toolkit and emergency supplies. Two weeks ago, my mother mentioned that the local big box had a “car tool kit” for $10, and if I swung by that way, could I pick one up for her? I explained that the tools in such kits were invariably crap, and that I could put together a much more useful kit from spare tools laying around. She challenged me to do just that. Maybe I should submit some pictures and the list of components as a Toolmonger feature?

That propane torch was probably my favorite part of the job. (I’m easily amused!) Sure, you could attempt to thaw a lock with a flick of your Bic, and 10 minutes. Or with one of those little chemical heat packs, but the oxygen-activated ones are slow to release their heat, and the reusable sodium acetate packs don’t actually hold much energy per unit weight. The torch, though, got the job done in ten seconds or less, every time.

It came in handy at the oddest times, too. Case in point: Bringing my sister, her roommate, and their truckload of crap home from college for the holidays. While parked outside the dorm, I helped 2 people open trunks that were frozen shut with ice down in the groove where a scraper couldn’t reach. Just pointing the flame into the groove and moving quickly, for 3 or 4 trips around the whole seam, opened it right up.

In the past, I’ve used a heatgun and an extension cord to get into my car after a particularly soaking ice-storm. This year, I think I’ll opt for the superior portability of propane. The torch lives on a shelf in the garage (which is too full of tools to hold my car, of course) where it’s easy to grab before heading out. Just remember to keep the flame moving quickly so as not to cook a door gasket or stress anything with uneven thermal expansion!

Now I have the industrial, broom-sized ice scraper with the broom on the other side for sweeping the snow off. BIG difference.