Re: Surfactants/Cooling etc...

["Richard Klein" <rklein@cris.com>]

On  4 Nov 95 at 22:30, JGriffJ@aol.com wrote:

> I have also heard/read that this is true, and further, in a brochure by
> Redline, it states (this is given for info purposes only; not a sales
> advertisement :-) ):
> 
> "Under moderate load conditions, each percent glycol raises cylinder head
> temperatures by 1 degree F.  50% glycol raises head temperatures by 45
> degrees F.

Well, sure!  Generally speaking, when you contaminate water you raise 
it's boiling point.  Thus you'll have more liquid, less vapor in your 
cooling system.  I seem to remember that raising the boiling boint of 
your coolant is *desirable*, but I'll be damned if I can remember 
why.  Maybe I'm just wrong about that.  I'm sure straight water IS 
preferable in certain situations...

> I can speak from experience on this one. I too (like most folks?) thought it
> was okay to just add more antifreeze to the tank if it was low... and not add
> water... Ya' know, "just top it off".  Then I started to notice the car
> (non-Audi) running hotter than usual... Well, after I had heard this tidbit
> re: too much coolant, I drained out the radiator and put in a better mixture
> (ie more water), and... yep, you guessed it... the temp gauge went down. Back
> to normal.

Hmm...  I carry a jug of water in my car to top off the coolant.  
When that's empty, I replace it with a jug of antifreeze.  After I 
use that up, I refill the jug with water, etc.  In a pinch I'd just 
add water, simply because it's cheaper.  I don't believe that 
straying a little bit to either side of a 50/50 water/antifreeze 
ratio is going to make much difference. 

> Ohhh, and while we are talking coolant etc... anybody have any comments re:
> using distilled water vs. tap water in the cooling system? I have heard to
> use only distilled water, but never have. The group's feedback?
> 
My practice was to always use distilled water in batteries.  Of 
course, these days most batteries are maintenance-free...  I've 
always used tap water in cooling systems, though distilled water 
certainly couldn't hurt.  What are you going to flush the system with 
, though?  That'd take a huge supply of distilled water!

 

   -Rich
   '85 Audi 5ks
   '85 El Camino
   '72 Suzuki GT380 w/ front disk retrofit
   '73 Suzuki GT550 in pieces
    member Teamsters local 486