Coolant Inhibitor Question

[BallaRAT_ST1050]

Quick question if I can,
I want to do a Coolant replacement before we get into our Summer here.
Is there anything wrong with putting to high a ration of inhibitor to water mix???
E.G. if the mixture is 50/50 what would happen if I went 75% inhibitor / 25% water
or for that matter 100% inhibitor, no water
Any ideas , any positives or negatives
Cheers
Mark

[DaveM]

As every one knows I am no mechanic but as far as I know mine is 100% Motul coolant.

I have been known to be wrong before but that's the thought in my old head.

DaveM

[SpiderTex]

The 50/50 mixture is the best combination of cooling efficiency of the liquid, protecting against corrosion and biologicals...

By putting too much coolant in the coolant/water micture, you will end-up having a reduced cooling.

I don't know what Dave puts in his, maybe a pre-mixed one? But normally you better stick to the 50/50 mixture.

[Lambo]

I use TECTALOY extra cool gold, i'ts not an anti-freeze as such only a corrosion protection product designed specifically for aluminium alloys mixed at 1/15 parts ratio.
I also use pure water not tap water with unknown minerals, flouride etc. cheap as from the supermarket.

Regards, Lambo

[oldndumb]

Whatever you use, stick to the manufacturer's instructions. As stated earlier, you can degrade the performance of the product by altering the mix ratios.

If you do not use a pre-mixed product and have to add water, make sure that you only use de-ionized water. Your cooling system will love you for that.

Because I live in a hot climate, and do a lot of city riding, I use a pre-mix that was developed for motocross competiton. Since it is a different formulation (propylene glycol not ethylene glycol), I verified that it was warranty compliant with Triumph.

www.engineice.cc/about.html

[mglemans86]

The straight glycols are fairly viscus, By diluting them with DI water they flow better and likely provide better cooling through increased flow and turbulance.

[KevyKev]

If I remember right from chemistry/physics classes, water is the BEST for conduction of heat (heat capacity??), thus also the best for the cooling system for cooling purpose. The only reason we have the additives is for anti freezing purposes and also for wear resistance for components. So, if not enough water is used in a mixture, IMO cooling capacity of the system would be REDUCED. I don't think you could find anybody recommending running straight antifreeze in any vehicle. Like everything else in life though, we need to compromise with additives/water mixture. All the premixed or ready to use coolants already have a mixture/ratio with water (at least I think so) and are simply a convience factor for consumers. I could be wrong though!
Kevin

[oldndumb]

Originally Posted by KevyKev

If I remember right from chemistry/physics classes, water is the BEST for conduction of heat (heat capacity??), thus also the best for the cooling system for cooling purpose.

When you were sitting in chemistry/physics class, wasn't anything said about boiling points?

Pre-mix or not, follow the motorcycle and anti-freeze manufacturers directions.

Change the coolant every two years.

Unless you are using a pre-mix, use deionized water for a 50% sloution.

[KevyKev]

Of course boiling points were covered . Raising the boiling point of water is also accomplished by pressurized systems. This works quite well in racing (especially since glycols and such are banned in case of leakage onto the track).
Anyways, the additives help in regards to boiling points also in retrospect. But, I still think that it would not be advisable to run just an antifreeze component without any water.

I agree that running a mix per factory spec is obvious or using a premixed (thus pre-diluted) ready to use product is best. Most important is making sure the additives are safe for the metals in our systems.
Kev

[oldndumb]

Originally Posted by KevyKev

Anyways, the additives help in regards to boiling points also in retrospect. But, I still think that it would not be advisable to run just an antifreeze component without any water.

Agreed.

Water is also needed as the catalyst to activate the inhibitor
additives.

Looking at the charts on the bottles shows that adding water to undiluted antifreeze increases the freeze and boil over protection. Although increasing to a mix of 70% antifreeze and 30% water provides freeze protection down to -10 degrees F and boil over to 259 degrees F, manufacturers do not recommend it because it limits the corrosion protection and heat transfer capabilities.

A 50-50 mix with DI water is best.