The term "Antifreeze is a bit dated. The reason for this is that all modern vehicles utilize a number of dissimilar metals in there engine construction and they normal operating temperature is much higher than in years past. The use of coolant in a modern engine allows for a higher boiling point and equally as important the properties in coolant neutralize the effects of corrosion and electrolysis between dissimilar alloys. All that being said, you still need to change your coolant annually. The industry standard is a 5050 mix of coolant and water. In this case the water can be the wild card. I live in an area where the water is extremely high in mineral content so I use distilled water to mix the coolant for all of my vehicles.
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Art Rizzino Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 7:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Antifreeze No people don't change for different cooling conditions. But remember that running your vehicle air conditioning in the summer could freeze the heater core if one does not have antifreeze mixed correctly in the coolant system. Art ----- Original Message ----- From: Dale Leavens To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 6:25 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Antifreeze Don't they still use a hydrometer to measure the temperature characteristics of antifreeze any more? Seems to me that is what we used to do. There was a time when people changed it for summer and winter cooling conditions but I don't think any one does that any more. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Kennedy To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 5:42 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Antifreeze For any that listen to ads and recognize brands, Peak antifreeze was always "the blue one." There is a brand that has come out and right now the name escapes me. It is endorsed by the Sierra Club, and it is also red. I'm sure those of you that live in Canada know antifreeze on its own will freeze too. It doesn't freeze solid but a slushy doesn't work well in the engine. One thing to be aware of with the new marketing ploys. You pay about the same for the "premixed" solution. I'm a bit tighter with my money than that so I won't even touch the junk. To work right it needs to be mixed 50 50 with water. So if a gallon of premixed antifreeze runs in the neighborhood of $7 lets say, you are paying $3.50 for a half gallon of water. Even the health clubs don't charge that much and their water is filtered. ----- Original Message ----- From: Ray Boyce To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 3:39 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Antifreeze Green, blue, orange, red, yellow and even pink. If these were car colours it wouldn't be any problem, but these are colours that you may find in the cooling system of your vehicle. If you want to add antifreeze, how do you know what type to use? Way back when, life was simple and antifreeze was green. Any other colour - usually rusty brown indicated either contamination with another fluid or rust in the system. Flush the coolant and install new antifreeze. Most brands were green and compatibility wasn't an issue. Today, there are mainly three different types of antifreeze used in passenger vehicles. Traditional green antifreeze, the original universal formula that everybody used until the introduction of today's extended-life coolants, has proven to provide protection in vehicles from all areas of the world. The short-lived nature of the corrosion inhibitors however means this type of coolant should be changed every two to three years or 50,000 kilometres, although some brands now claim longer service intervals. OAT based antifreeze (Organic Acid Technology) includes ingredients such as sebacate, 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) and other organic acids, but no silicates or phosphates (except for phosphates in Toyota's extended-life coolant). OAT-based coolants are usually dyed a different colour to distinguish them from traditional green antifreeze. GM OAT-based Dex-Cool is orange. Volkswagen/Audi uses pink dye but Honda extended-life OAT coolant is dyed dark green. OAT corrosion inhibitors are slower acting but last much longer, so service life is typically five years. OAT corrosion inhibitors provide excellent long-term protection for aluminum and cast iron, but may not protect copper/brass radiators and heater cores in older cooling systems. There are different combinations of additives in OAT coolants from different manufacturers. While some may work fine in older cars, unless you can verify that they are fine for copper or brass, your should probably stick with green coolant in your older vehicles. The third type of antifreeze is a Hybrid OAT coolant. This formulation also uses organic acids but not 2-EHA and adds some silicate for quick-acting protection for aluminum parts. Hybrid OAT coolants can be found in many newer Ford, Chrysler and European vehicles. To add to the colour confusion, some European and Korean coolants are dyed blue. Mercedes uses a yellow dye in its coolant. Toyota's extended life coolant is dyed red. Saturn and some European makers also use green dye for their extended life coolants. So what do you buy if you need to add antifreeze? You can't go by the colour of the dye in the coolant because two coolants with similar colours may have different chemistry. There are several brands of aftermarket antifreeze that claim to be compatible with any type of coolant, regardless of colour, however, auto manufacturers recommend filling with only the same type as originally came in the vehicle. This means a trip to the dealership for antifreeze, unless you are flushing the whole cooling system. Then you can fill with any type of antifreeze as long as it is designed to protect the components in your cooling system. Older vehicles had brass radiators and heater cores. Most vehicles now have aluminum components, so check the antifreeze label to see if it suitable for older vehicles. Mixing two different types of antifreeze may create incompatibility with the additives packages and reduce system corrosion protection although the freezing and boiling points of the coolant will still be good as long as it is mixed at the correct ratio of antifreeze to water. If you mix traditional antifreeze with long life antifreeze, the coolant life is shortened to that of the traditional antifreeze. When you buy antifreeze, read the label carefully. Some containers come pre-mixed, ready to add to the cooling system. Other containers are concentrated and require a 50/50 dilution with water for maximum freezing protection, although some brands use a 60/40 mixture of antifreeze to water ratio. What may appear to be an economical purchase could actually be more expensive because you need to buy more antifreeze to get the same protection. There is much more to the chemistry used in antifreeze, such as whether it is ethylene glycol or propylene based antifreeze. The more we get into the specifics of each type of coolant, the more confusing the whole issue becomes. That's why it is important to always use the coolant chemistry recommended in the vehicle owners' manual. With a little advanced knowledge, you can ask the right questions before you or someone else tops up your cooling system with antifreeze. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ---------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.1/1297 - Release Date: 2/25/2008 9:22 AM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following address for more information: http://www.jaws-users.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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