Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2011 20:02:24 -0800
Reply-To: Jim Arnott <jrasite@EONI.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Arnott <jrasite@EONI.COM>
Subject: Re: Freeze Plugs was Oops - I let the engine freeze
In-Reply-To: <20110204204158.8SJP4.917666.imail@eastrmwml46>
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On Feb 4, 2011, at 5:41 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
> ---- Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote:
>> never had the problem myself.
>> 50-50 mixture is so easy to have in there.
>> For most people if it's even 'sorta close' it's adequate.
>>
>> and since it should be in there year-round ..
>> it sure 'should' be in all cars, no excuse not too really.
>
> Well, the original poster's engine or other components likely did
> not freeze, but the engine probably experienced the too frequent
> leaking from the heads in cold weather that our vans are known for.
> But, he reported that the temperature was -25 F. Slightly too
> dilute a mixture, and microclimate variability in temperature, and
> freezing could be a possibility for any vehicle. If I lived in a
> climate where -25 was a possibility, I'd run Canadian mix rather
> than U.S. At least I think I would. Back when I was a kid, in
> Dallas, in my family we ran 50:50 at a time when it was not yet the
> common recommendation. Some folks still ran denatured alcohol in
> car engines in winter at that time, and others drained the radiator
> and block on cold nights. I knew more than one person whose car
> block froze. My father thought that was simple carelessness, and we
> ran 50:50 ethylene glycol.
Sorry folks. Living where we are about guaranteed to see -20 deg. F at
least a couple times a year means that I KNOW about coolant/
antifreeze. A couple years ago, I believed as many of you seem to.
More is better. Not so. I was the guy that made it 3 miles out of
town before the h pipe failed. About 80% ethylene glycol. Frozen solid.
You want a 50:50 mix. Too much ethylene glycol raises the freezing
point. Too little ethylene glycol raises the freezing point. 50:50.
Dow Chemical says 60:40 is that absolutely richest.
See the linked article.
http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/680.html
"Actually, this is to be expected when one considers that ethylene
glycol, the principal component of most antifreezes, freezes at 8
degrees above zero, Fahrenheit. It is only when water is added that
the freezing point is depressed. The freezing point of an ethylene
glycol and water mixture drops rapidly as the concentration of glycol
is increased to a mixture of about 60% antifreeze and 40% water.
Around that point, an abrupt turnabout occurs, and as more antifreeze
is added, the freezing point rises almost as fast as it had previously
dropped."
Jim
(deep in the (remember the Oregon Trail game?) Blue Mountains)
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