Waterless Coolant

[Boink]

Waterless coolant = Snake oil . They have been around for years and people listen to the sales patter and get sucked in and buy it . Its all sales BS just like the snake oil additives.

You've got something against snakes?

BTW, this thread is now being carried on in the Spridgets forum.

And, more BTW, I was reading that Konigsegg now uses Evans in their million dollar supercars... but those things probably have spectacular cooling systems. Not bad for snake-oil.

 

[John Turney]

Thanks Reid and Joe:

Part of my problem is that they put in "NPG" (specific brand - not sure I'm supposed to mention the manufacture here). Wondering if I should even change it out to their "High Performance" line. The NPG is mostly propylene glycol and the High Performance is mostly ethylene glycol - both, though, with lesser heat transferal abilities.

SO.... I got in touch with the INSERT MANUFACTURER NAME HERE playful technical people, and they agree that the incorrect product was put in the car, and that it should be replaced. The "NPG" glycol has a different viscosity, flow and heattransfer ability – used for tracks that won’t allow ethylene glycol but will allow propylene glycol due to flash-points). Here’s what manufacturer's tech support just wrote me: “you should have used the High Performance coolant not the NPG. The NPG is muchmore viscous (thicker) and does not flow well unless there is a wide tube aluminum radiator that can allow better flow. Now, the radiator can be drained and I would save the coolant. You can add the HP to the NPG and if you addenough the NPG will be thinned out.”

So, the bigger question would appear to be whether to even bother with "High Performance." I'm going to be given enough to swap out the "NPG" so maybe it's worth a shot before going back to a conventional mix.

Here's a question though: if I bail out of this stuff and return to a more conventional mix, and given that the "High Performance" product is essentially ethylene glycol with some additives, could I consider just adding in water to get to about 50:50?

Go back to page 1 and read my post. The heat transfer capability of waterless coolant is about the same as pure anti-freeze, which is too low. So, I would drain out the "NPG", not buy the HP because of the price, and use regular anti-freeze and water.

 

[Boink]

Well, I did read all the posts... and know the various heat transfer coefficients.
I changed to HP only because it was free (and dumped the NPG). Faced with free HP, couldn't one dilute it 50:50 and accomplish the same thing (given it is almost entirely ethylene glycol plus a few additives)?


BTW, "pure antifreeze" is not 100% ethylene glycol but about 97%. Irrelevant unless I stay with the HP which calls for no water at all.

 

[John Turney]

Well, I did read all the posts... and know the various heat transfer coefficients.
I changed to HP only because it was free (and dumped the NPG). Faced with free HP, couldn't one dilute it 50:50 and accomplish the same thing (given it is almost entirely ethylene glycol)?

OK, since you got it free; The only concern is that it may not have appropriate anti-corrosion additives.

 

[Boink]

Good point, John. Yes, it probably doesn't have those additives. It does have some additives, but I suspect they are wetting agents and other minor players.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Waterless coolant = Snake oil . They have been around for years and people listen to the sales patter and get sucked in and buy it . Its all sales BS just like the snake oil additives.

Yeah. Only time Edd China disappointed me was when he shilled for the stuff.

 

[Boink]

Yeah. Only time Edd China disappointed me was when he shilled for the stuff.

I think "snake-oil" is a bit much. It's not like it's Marvel Mystery Oil or STP... or any number of other additives. It's used by all of Jay Leno's mechanics (who are sharp people) and, as previously noted, Konigsegg. True, some of the claims may be a bit over-extended.

 

[Boink]

UPDATE: I changed out all the NGP for the HP (Evans) and the dieseling stopped! Perhaps the viscosity was the difference (given my borderline block). I did tweak the mixture in the carbs, so it wasn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but I did get the engine up to 180-190 and no dieseling. :rolleye:

 

[bdcvg]

The waterless stuff probably works great in aluminum radiators and I suspect Leno is a fan of the long term anti-corrosion properties.

 

[Boink]

The waterless stuff probably works great in aluminum radiators and I suspect Leno is a fan of the long term anti-corrosion properties.

Agreed (and maybe even over-sized aluminum radiators).