anti -freeze

[George Willer]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the best way to dispose of anti-freeze. Drain the calcium chloride from your tires and put it in there. The tubes won't mind and the rims will thank you!

[beaconlight]

You know George That is an answer solution from heaven. If they have a dusty dry dirt drive or nearby road The CaCl will help keep dust down because it attracts moisture from the air.

Bill

[George Willer]

You know George That is an answer solution from heaven. If they have a dusty dry dirt drive or nearby road The CaCl will help keep dust down because it attracts moisture from the air.

Bill

EXACTLY!

[400lbsonacubseatspring]

For those of you who have no method of economically desposing of the stuff:

An old friend of mine (He happened to be the man who took the first colour fashion magazine photo in the 1930's) would take old antifreeze and leave it set in 5 gallon plastic buckets for more than a year. Virtually all of the solids would precipitate out, including the rust, leaving a nice clear green solution which he then decanted off the top and boiled down to condense. At the point which it stopped boiling, he figured it was "strong enough", and would then reuse it in his vehicles, checking it with an antifreeze tester, and adding water as needed to achieve the optimum blend. I never saw the process, but I did see the before, during, and after products, and it was pretty amazing. He said he'd been doing it since the glycol-type antifreezes became available. I don't know when that was, but he was born in 1905, so I suspect he saw the changeover. Being involved in early colour photography gave him a knowledge of chemistry far beyond that of the common man.

There is an electrolytic reaction that goes on between the iron/steel based components of the cooling system and the copper/brass of the radiator, which helps to cause the buildup of scale in the radiatior as well. Kinda like what goes on in your water heater, hence the addition of the replaceable anode in modern water heater tanks. Electrolytics in components that are not electrified is something that is beyond my understanding at present, although I do agree that it happens.

The chemicals that comprise antifreeze breakdown into solids and sludges in your engine, and the stuff picks up metal scale and rust in there as well. Virtually all of it does settle out, and I see nothing really wrong with this method. Initially, he attempted to add a filter to his automobiles' cooling system, but said the filter had to be changed far too often. Perhaps if he would have added a replaceable anode in the filtration system, the scale would have been minimized.

By the way, the sludge, if allowed to dry out on its own for about a year in a pan can be safely burned, as it is comprised of organic alcohol solids of various sugars.

I reserve my "mechanical intervention" for my machines here on the farm these days. The automobile work, even the oil and coolant changes, go to the garage. I have a hard enough time keeping my cub, A, and cub cadet running. I realize I am a minority, though.