antifreeze

[griff66]

what with the freezing weather its a good time this weekend to chech your mvs antfreeze concentration tester from halfords etc is only a fiver , and by the way cheapest place i have found for antifreeze is the pound shop places works out at 10 quid for 5 litres.

[Tony B]

Done and dusted already. I do mine every two years regardless, in September! :-D

[griff66]

sky news reckons down to -15 in parts!

[Tony B]

Still waiting for the snow! I use 50/50 as a standard, helps the cooling through the hot weather.

[Pzkpfw-e]

Come to Lincolnshire, we've got a bit of snow!

[Tony B]

Just heard the Christmas Numptys are out. A loaded Transit pickup lost it on a reidential road at Coulsodon. So far Six cars written off, a number of garden walls and street furniture! Not even snowing..yet!:stop::banghead:

[mogmaner]

about 1.5 inch of snow in Nottingham this morning, got to check my mog this after noon . Must fix the heater on my disco bl**dy freezing with out it.

[griff66]

too much antifreeze mixture can maken engine over heat 1 to 1 ratio will protect down to minus 36!

[griff66]

just got back from 20 min ferret run talk about sluggish till every thing gets up to temp!

Edited November 27, 2010 by griff66

[Blackjack]

Yes everyone forgets about this till its just too late, none in my poundshop, sold out!

[griff66]

yep mine is too!

[Tony B]

As told to me by a recovery man..Punter I put anti-freeze in it!!. RO How much?' Punter 'Are you stupid? The bottle of course. RO 'What size bottle? Punter The one the garage sells! Look stupid! Holding up a 500ml bottle for 2.3 Granda, in about -10.

[gazzaw]

Not forgetting some of the modern anti freeze is not suitable for vintage/older cast iron engines etc as it will eat its way through it. Check if it has ethylene glycol or other types to save you a lot of grief

 

Gary

[gazzaw]

Next ask- anyone got any addresses or websites for sellers of the good old green Propylene Glycol for safe use in my MVs. Already has it in but near the 2 year replacement date.

 

Gary

[mogmaner]

Went to the first of two frozen fuel system at 5.30 AM yestaday ,if you still have summer fuel in your trucks adding 10% petrol will stop it jelling in the filter.Went to my unimog after the first job to check the antifreeze and cold starting on lpg -7 and started on the button toped with more antifreeze to be safe ,going to bring it home in the morrning ready to play in the promsed snow.

[Tony B]

Used to throw potcheen in the disiel in Ireland.:-D

[protruck]

It's better off in side you than in a fuel tank in this snow.:-D

 

 

Clive

Edited November 30, 2010 by protruck

[Tony B]

Very true. Provokes free thought and sparkaling conversation. And total paralasis from throat down. :-D

[protruck]

The best bit is when it hits your toes and starts the thermal melt down on the way up.:-D

 

This is the best medicine for the common cold. never fails.

 

 

Clive

[Degsy]

Young lad turned up in the workshop this morning, 'My MG ZR won't start, it's frozen solid, been leaking for ages, kept topping it up with water, can you fix it? Sometime later it arrived on the end of a tow rope, got it inside, thawed it out and on investigation , knackered water pump and having frozen solid damaged cam belt and jumped several teeth. On being given an estimate on repair costs he turned a nasty shade of green and it will be leaving again on the end of a rope.

[simonm]

Any thoughts on using Glycol as an additive. I've got 50 litres for topping up my solar water heating.

 

With regard to the 'wrong' anti freeze. I've topped up with one marked "for all engines" I'll look now to see if it has ethylene glycol marked on the container.

[Topdog]

Not forgetting some of the modern anti freeze is not suitable for vintage/older cast iron engines etc as it will eat its way through it. Check if it has ethylene glycol or other types to save you a lot of grief

 

Gary

 

Sorry Gary being a bit thick here. Is Glycol needed or to be avoided?

[gazzaw]

It's not the Ethylene Glycol in it's vintage formula that is a problem it is the additives,inhibitors etc now put in that can damage older engines. See the FBHVC website and newsletter No 1 for earlier this year re info. Some people still get confused with so many on go at moment.

 

ANTIFREEZE

Technology moves forward and new products are constantly being launched with claims to improved formulations and performance. With the recent bitterly cold weather in January antifreeze has been in the headlines, with some alarming stories which at first seem to be about the well-known tendency of antifreeze to find the tiniest hole and cause leakages – but in these cases it has led to catastrophic engine problems.

Traditional blue ethylene glycol is a toxic but highly effective antifreeze and contains silicates as an inhibitor to help prevent corrosion in an engine with mixed metals in its make-up. Bluecol and Blue Star are well known brand names and both of these are declared suitable for ‘classic cars’ on their company websites. Be aware that there are also low- or no-silicate ethylene glycol formulations (usually red) available which may not be suitable for all engines.

Propylene glycol is another well-known and less toxic antifreeze formula and usually contains silicates but Comma, the main manufacturer, have now discontinued it in favour of an ethylene glycol product containing ‘bittering agents’ to make it less palatable and minimise the risk of accidental poisoning.

Both of the above products use inorganic additive technology (IAT). Recently problems have been reported concerning the use of antifreeze mixtures using organic acid technology (OAT). OAT was introduced in the mid-1990s and the products are biodegradable, recyclable and do not contain either silicates or phosphates and are designed to be longer lasting. However these products do seem to cause problems in older engines; over and above the ability of antifreeze to find the smallest crevice and leak, OAT antifreezes have been accused of destroying seals and gaskets and causing a great deal of damage in ‘old’ engines. For this reason the manufacturers do not recommend their use in historic vehicles. These products are usually coloured red, pink or orange.

The final category is HOAT. These products use hybrid organic acid technology in an ethylene glycol base with some silicates in the formulation alongside the organic corrosion inhibitors. The product is usually coloured green and are not recommended for use in historic vehicles.

The Federation are still researching this problem but our advice at the moment is:

· only use blue coloured IAT antifreeze in historic vehicles;

· only use OAT products (‘advanced’ or ‘long life’ antifreeze) if the vehicle used it when new and if specifically directed by the vehicle’s manufacturer;

· never mix different types of antifreeze without thoroughly flushing out the system;

· always replace the coolant within the time scale specified by the antifreeze manufacturer as the corrosion inhibitors break down over time.

[Toolman]

Thats great info Gary.

 

Thanks. I think I'll have to flush mine out and refil to be sure.

 

Matt

[gazzaw]

Best safe than sorry, we lost a 1943 chevy 6 cyl head with putting in wrong type. It ate through jacket internally and also copper head gasket.

 

Just bought a load of flush and propylene stuff from AAA -just awaiting delivery

 

gary

Edited December 6, 2010 by gazzaw