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Water Wetter - Does this stuff really work?

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Musicman

Musicman

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Hello to all.

Does anyone out there use this stuff? And if so, does it really bring down coolant temps? I think I remember someone on this forum posting something about this stuff getting by seals and things.

Anyway, I'd love to hear from someone who has had experience with this stuff and if it's worth using it.

Thanks,

Dave
 
If it is good enough for Jeff, it is good enough for me ~<span style='font-size: 8pt'>pandering</span>~ but shop around, the price varies greatly.

I have used it in the past with measurable results, back when I was having serious overheating problems. Dropped my temp about 5*. I went on to solve my multi-faceted overheating problems and have since decided to save the sawbuck.

Bottom line, I don't use it anymore but probably should oughta.
 
Jeff,

Some advice please. How much of the stuff should I put in the radiator (1975 TR6)? The coolant now in the car is in excellent condition.

Thanks,

Dave
 
I tried it and it didn't do anything for me. But the car had definite cooling problems and all I can say is that it still overheated even with the WaterWetter (and distilled water, no antifreeze) in it. Not much help, I know.

There's an interesting article at
https://e30m3performance.com/myths/more_myths1/Water_Wetter/water_wetter.htm
Not sure how much of that to believe, since he first says he believes Redline's explanation, and then contradicts it ... but it's an interesting read.

Also, if you read Redline's WaterWetter tech info,
https://www.redlineoil.com/whitePaper/17.pdf
it becomes obvious that the primary improvement is from eliminating glycol antifreeze. They claim WaterWetter has adequate corrosion protection, making antifreeze unnecessary (unless you live in a climate where it freezes, of course). However, my coolant (WaterWetter plus distilled water) turned brown pretty quickly, indicating to me that it was letting my engine rot from the inside out.

I won't be trying it again.
 
Randall,

Thanks for the reply. As usual there is more than one side to any situation. My Triumph runs great and my coolant temp never really gets above 185 degrees. I may be leaving well enough alone. As they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Thanks again,

Dave
 
I use it (with a 25/75 water/antifreeze mix) just because I live somewhere hot enough that I figure it's worth a try.

I assumed that I would not see a decrease in my gauge temperature since the improvement you're trying for is heat transfer which means that the coolant (at the temp sender) may be just as hot or even be hotter when using Water Wetter since you are hopefully doing a better job of pulling heat from the block (and subsequently losing heat thru the radiator).

I think that is pretty much what the technical article Randall cites was trying to say.

Soooo... maybe it helps but it is certainly not a cure for an overheating engine.

BTW - In my area Checker/Kragen/Schuck/Murray often has it on sale for 7.99.
 
yup, yrs ago I even called em on the phone cause my TR3 was running so hot,and the stuff wasn't doing any good. The guy told me I had to have a excellent system to start with. The only other water wetter that I know works is vodka.
 
Works for me in my 71 TR6. I used a whole bottle about $5 at Advanced Auto Parts. Don't know the temp but has been over 100 nearly everyday in Nashville for the past two weeks...If you think of the temp gauge as being 0%=cold to 100% = overheat I went from 95% to 80% once I added the water wetter.
 
You can only make water wetter by reducing it's surface tension. a couple of spoonfulls of non foaming dishwasher liquid will do the same.
D
 
I use Water Wetter in the Mini. I start with a water to wetter mix stated on the bottle (I forget the portions) and prior to puttin it in the radiator I mix in about 1/4 straight antifreeze. Red Line says that reduces the effectiveness of the cooling, but as was mentioned above, I didn't want a lot of corrosion going on, nor did I want to have to change my coolant in the winter. The mix I run has slightly lowered the operating temperature but the change was not earth shattering.
 
If the problem is overheating, there is a source of the problem that should be found. Wetter didn't help for me. I insalled an auxillary fan, and that's got me doing OK.
 
I read an article that stated water wetter ruined his engine. He stated that water wetter made the coolant cooler because it did not pick up the heat from the block/head. As a result the temp sensor picks up water temp which was cooler, not the heat of the iron which melted his pistons. If your Triumph is running hot, and in excellent mechanical condition, you have rust in the block or a corroded radiator or ineffective water pump. When you cooling system is clean, all ways keep an additive in the coolant that lubes the water pump and inhibits rust.
 
An article from where? Someone that doesn't understand chemistry or automotive systems?

Highly doubtful that Water Wetter ruined his engine. He probably used to cure an overheating problem, which it can't do. It was probably the last thing he tried before he burned up his engine and therefore it got the blame.

In broadstrokes its a surfactant, it breaks up the surface tension of the water, sort of like soap without the foaming. Which increases its ability to remove heat from iron/aluminum surfaces that comes in contact with, not preventing it.
 
vettedog72 said:
If your Triumph is running hot, and in excellent mechanical condition, you have rust in the block or a corroded radiator or ineffective water pump.
Click to expand...

I still get hot at lights and long idles.

How frequently can someone narrow it down to an ineffective water pump?

How does one check for rust in the block?
 
Aloha,

I would suggest a quick check for "rust" in the block would be to open the rear petcock on the engine block to see if coolant will flow freely. In my experience it seems a lot of sediment in the cooling system collects at the rear of the engine. My theory is that the water velocity is higher at the front of the engine as it discharges from the pump and this moves any sediment to the rear of block. If you have a solid stream of coolant expelled, you probably have clean block.

If you have only a dribble of coolant from the open petcock, you can insert a short rod through the open petcock and poke around. This will loosen the stuff up so it can flow out. I made a water lance for my garden hose from a sweeper nozzle (the small, non adjustable nozzle with about a 1/4 inch diameter opening). I soldered a short piece of 3/16" brake line to the nozzle extending it from the inside out past the end of the nozzle. Don't make it so long you can't get into the petcock with the hose attached. Put in place then have a helper turn on the hose, the high velocity discharge will stir up the sediment in the block. It is a good idea the take off the hoses to the radiator first so you don't fill the radiator with sediment. I have found this procedure removes stuff that chemical flushes don't.
 
It was easy enough to check on my 6 using the screw in plug on the right side of the block....Triumph fitted a bung instead of a petcock on my '74. Inside the hole was rust clogging the water passage. The old coat hanger "trick" and forced water through the opening, back (and forward) flushed the block through the radiator hoses with the thermo removed and repeated the process until all the rust was out. BTW, did you say you had a new radiator or how was it cleaned?
 
I remember back a couple of years ago when I was a kid, so to speak, (and I use that term loosely), I was spraying crops by air up through the mid west, we used a product we called a "Sticker". We mixed a tiny bit in with the chemical, a couple ounces to a hundred gallons. It did make the water wetter causing the spray droplets to disperse on the plant leaves rather than bouncing off to the ground. Only recently did I know that it was used in cooling systems. Sounds interesting.
 
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