anti -freeze

[Mike's 49 Cub]

Just got a new radiator and was wondering if there was a specific brand/color of anti-freeze that anyone would recommend?

[David C]

I used prestone, because it was just after an engine rebuild and also a new radiator, but the most important thing is premix your antifreeze in a bucket. the cub w/o a waterpump will sometimes not mix/agitate it enough and it will sepparate out.

David C.

[Brandon Webb]

If they thermosyphon wouldn't straight anti-freeze be ok that way it wouldn't seperate. I thought you blended anti freeze and water so it would flow good. Thanks Brandon.

[johnbron]

If they thermosyphon wouldn't straight anti-freeze be ok that way it wouldn't seperate. I thought you blended anti freeze and water so it would flow good. Thanks Brandon.

Straight anti=freeze should never be used in any cooling system. It is designed to be most efficient at a 50/50 mix. Although I think I have seen premixed bottles at retail. Read the directions on container and it will tell you not to use it straight.

[Brandon Webb]

WHY? I though you mixed anti-freeze to make it thinner so it would flow through the water pump easily, but if you have no water pump, what would it hurt? Brandon.

[George Willer]

If they thermosyphon wouldn't straight anti-freeze be ok that way it wouldn't seperate. I thought you blended anti freeze and water so it would flow good. Thanks Brandon.

The key is blended. It must be blended before it is put into the system... it may not blend itself due to stratification. This may be part of the reason for so many busted radiator tanks... depending on the two to blend themselves. The pure water lays in the bottom and freezes while the freshly added anti-freeze lays on top.

Pour half the jug of anti-freeze into another jug and fill both with water. Mark the jugs 50/50 and only use from them. Simple, not?

[Jack fowler]

johnbron wrote:

Straight anti=freeze should never be used in any cooling system. It is designed to be most efficient at a 50/50 mix.

This is correct;

Always mix antifreeze and clean water at a 50/50 mix. There are two different types of antifreeze on the market today; Ethylene-Glycol and Propylene-Glycol. I would recommend the Ethylene-Glycol because it dissipates heat better. Remember don’t leave an open or unguarded container around for children or animals to get into. I hear it taste like Lemonade and once drank its certain death.

Jack Fowler

[Don McCombs]

Brandon,

Here it is, from the horse's mouth.

http://www.prestone.com/carcare/faq.php#q3

[awander]

The trick here is that the mixture of water and ethylene glycol(or anything, for that matter) is what is referred to chemically as a solution. A 2-constituent solution will always have a lower freezing point and a higher boiling point than either of the 2 constituents alone. So 100% water is not as good as a mixture, but neither is 100% ethylene glycol.

See

http://www.ashchem.com/adc/chemicals/faq_answer.asp?typeID=3&is_header=N

for more info on this-you will see that a water/ethylene glycol solution has the lowest freezing/highest boiling point at about 70% ethylene glycol. Above that % and the freezing point starts to come up again.

The propylene glycol is a different story, at 60% or so it gets as low as they can measure, so it seems to not matter whether you use it straight-.unless you have colder than -60 F temps


The important concept here, though, is the solution. Heck, even salt water will freeze at a lower temperature than plain water.

[Carm]

I use de-ionized water and mix it before I put it in as well. I even do this on the tractors with water pumps, just because.

[Buzzard Wing]

Probably not as good as de-ionized water, but I use water from the dehumidifier for both batteries and coolant mix.

I save the old prestone jugs and pour half into the old one and fill both with water. Just to keep the confusion down I mark the container with a sharpie '50%'. After a few -20F days up north I decided to use a 70% mix in the truck last year.

Thanks for the links guys.

Now I just need to find a place that will take the old antifreeze..... 2 Cubs and 2 vehicles means I got a few jugs of the old stuff that is in the way.

[awander]

I thought I was the only one who used that dehumidifier trick...

[Russell F]

BuzzardWing

Some recycling collection centers will take old anti-freeze, as do some auto-parts stores. We have a local garbage collection center i take mine too. They don't have a offical collection container but they take the jug and all and send it somewhere. Just call around, if all you have is a few jugs a local garage may let you pour it into their collection.

Russell

[beaconlight]

I don't have any idea of the ramification but I don't heat the country palce when I am gone so a little goes in the Traps for the winter. I don't care if the get slusshy so it is less than 50 50. A friend of mine did it for 30 or so and never had any trouble so I recycle it that way.
The never use straight leaves me wondering for I had heard that during WWII the used it dtraight in the EQ in the african deserts, especially tanks. I know they had Cadi v-8 in them because we adopted surplus one to a 36 Ford roadster.

Bill

Bill

[Buzzard Wing]

I asked the guy that cleaned my Cub radiator a while back and he has to pay to have it hauled it away.

The city folks where I take the old oil don't know....

But I did manage to find that the biggest little state in the union has a drive in hazardous waste disposal program at the big 'resource recovery center'.

So now I just need something to motivate me to make an appointment, pack it all up and use 4 gallons of gas (and $2 in tolls) to make sure my antifreeze is safely disposed of/recycled.... mmmm that may be why I have stockpiled it in the first place!