Anyone have any tips/tricks to keep outdoor combo padlocks from freezing up?

A good shot of silicone spray lube works for me.

Thaw out with burnsamatic torch

Burn them to open, burn them to shut. Just part of winter.

yep...propane torch.

Dip the lock in transmission fluid. It is thinner than motor oil and stays on longer than wd40.

Jus heat

If you mean when you put the key in and it won’t open cause of rain and moisture ....."all you need to do is squirt a bunch of hand sanitizer on the key. To maintain them squirt some dry lube inside once in awhile. If by combo you mean combination locks? Frankly I would not use those myself outdoors in the elements.

We use a propane torch to quickly thaw the locks and squirt WD40 in the locks to prevent them from freezing up for a while. A lot of Brinks and Masterlocks locks have plastic on them. The plastic will burn off when you use the torch, but in my experience, the locks work fine without it.

Keith

If you can put a piece of inner tube over top the lock that will keep the rain and sleet out.

spray can of de icer works good and you can get some w lubrication in it also

every fall just before it gets cold, dip the lock in diesel fuel and soak it a spell.
RR

Bring it inside and set on a heater to dry it off.Keep it dry and it cant freeze unless the temps fluctuate above and below freezing.Just wrapping your bare hand over a frozen lock for a minute or so will thaw it enough to open even at 40 below.

Soak your padlock in antifreeze each time you unlock it.

Am I the only one that's ever peed on a lock to thaw it out or just the only one to admit it?

At my cabin I couldn't get my door to open, it was frozen at the latch mechanism. So, I sprayed the inside with a good dose of WD-40. That made it worse, as though that stuff freezes. It was -27 degrees.

Yup. Get a batch of extra locks and store them in a can of ATF. Take your torch with you to thaw out the ones that are already frozen; then replace them with the soaked ones. You shouldn’t have any trouble for the rest of winter. Then soak the current batch and replace if they start getting icy again. Also making a rain cap or something to keep them from getting wet makes a big difference too. Sandwich baggies, plastic wrap, or a can/bottle with a hole cut for the link.

I thought I was the only one who could do that, thanks for bursting my bubble.

Positioning locks so they cannot be defrosted by urinal action would help.

Used hot coffee to free up a frozen lock once. You can't just leave it hanging there or it'll freeze back when the heat from the coffee is gone...

But it will get the lock open.

Mike