Well, yeah it does because I started this thread to discuss on the generic level water v glycol+water as a coolant for high temps, but on another level it was to help me follow up to a discussion I had with my son, who drives a Jeep and off-roads in desert heat, in which he said that he runs water+surfactant in summer for increased cooling. (That he didn't flush the system before winter arrived and the coolant turned into slush is a sidebar -- or sideshow -- issue.) I wanted to get back to him on the relative cooling abilities of water/glycol+water and until the boiling point issue was raised I thought I (and maybe some Vanagon owners, considering the number of them who chimed in recommending water in summer) had it figured out. So I dunno whether I have an answer for my son at this time, but that's not what this list is about so I'll have let that go. -- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana") 74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) Bend, OR KG6RCR
On 12/13/2009 9:13 AM Keith Hughes wrote: > > Rocket J Squirrel wrote: >> Well, that certainly complicates things. >> > > Not terribly. The same glycol concentration that depresses the freezing > point to protect you in winter raises the boiling point to protect you > in summer as well. As long as your cooling system is adequate (e.g. not > a stock vanagon in the desert) the pressure maintained in the cooling > system will be high enough to keep the water from boiling. But if the > cooling system is marginal, you'll reach the maximum system pressure > (start dumping in the overflow) and further temp rise will cause > boiling. A 50/50 mix (volume/volume) of glycol will raise the boiling > point significantly (about 15°F or so - at standard atmospheric > pressure). Unlike the freezing point depression, which maxes out at > about 70% wt/vol of glycol/water then decreases, the boiling point > continues to rise with concentration. Basically, if you're boiling a > 50/50 mixture, you got mechanical problems. > > Keith Hughes > '86 Westy Tiico (Marvin) > |
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