Engine Anti freeze

[kayak]

Morning all.

 

I was after a little advice about my Isuzu 55. With the recent frosts (we have had two here now in two days and this morning is quite bad) do you think that i should check the antifreeze. I took delivery of the boat earlier this year and i know that the builder should have put anti freeze in but you never know.

 

My question is though, how do i know if there is anti freeze in the engine? Is there somewhere i can drain a little water off and check? Do you think that these forst coulpe of frosts would damage the engine if there was no anti freeze in?

 

I havnt got my manual with me at the moment but im sure that i doesnt say anything about anti freeze in it, if someone is sat there with an Isuzu lump in their boat and has got the manual to hand?????

 

Any help is appreciated as ever.

 

Kayak.

[Proper Job]

Morning all.

 

I was after a little advice about my Isuzu 55. With the recent frosts (we have had two here now in two days and this morning is quite bad) do you think that i should check the antifreeze. I took delivery of the boat earlier this year and i know that the builder should have put anti freeze in but you never know.

 

My question is though, how do i know if there is anti freeze in the engine? Is there somewhere i can drain a little water off and check? Do you think that these forst coulpe of frosts would damage the engine if there was no anti freeze in?

 

I havnt got my manual with me at the moment but im sure that i doesnt say anything about anti freeze in it, if someone is sat there with an Isuzu lump in their boat and has got the manual to hand?????

 

Any help is appreciated as ever.

 

Kayak.

A blue/, green or yellow hue to the water is a useful guide as to if there is any at all in it. As to strength, the only real way is to use a hydrometer.

[bottle]

Morning all.

 

I was after a little advice about my Isuzu 55. With the recent frosts (we have had two here now in two days and this morning is quite bad) do you think that i should check the antifreeze. Yes I took delivery of the boat earlier this year and i know that the builder should have put anti freeze in but you never know. True better to be safe than sorry.

 

My question is though, how do i know if there is anti freeze in the engine? Take a sample. Is there somewhere i can drain a little water off and check? No need to 'drain a little water'. Get yourself an anti-freeze tester. Take the sample from your header tank. Do you think that these forst coulpe of frosts would damage the engine if there was no anti freeze in? Probably not.

 

I havnt got my manual with me at the moment but im sure that i doesnt say anything about anti freeze in it, if someone is sat there with an Isuzu lump in their boat and has got the manual to hand?????

 

Any help is appreciated as ever.

 

Kayak.

[kayak]

Thanks for the responces chaps.

 

Never heard of an antifreeze tester. I'll look out for one.

 

Cheers.

 

K

[Greybeard]

Hi.

 

Subject probably been done to death so apologies in advance.

 

I've tested my anti freeze down to -6 degrees. Question - is this low enough or should I drain some out and top up with more antifreeze? What's the norm if there is such a thing?

 

Cruiser stern so engine is fairly well insulated by the water on 3 sides unless we get 3ft of ice.

 

It's a long time since I've had to be concerned over coolant levels and I'm still learning about boaty stuff.

 

Tried posting this earlier but it seems to have vanished but if it turns up somewhere else just ignore it!

[WJM]

Dont forget the antifreeze in your central heating system. If you need to top it up do not add neat antifreeze into the header tank. Mix it with water first before adding. For some reason the neat stuff refuses to mix and will cause circulation problems.

[sociable_hermit]

Don't the testers only work with glycol antifreeze? Mine has OAT which is a pink colour - diluted it can look orange, like rust: what a stupid colour to use!

 

Advice from a previous topic which I started on this subject: make sure you know which sort of antifreeze your boat has, and only use that. Don't mix them.

[dor]

draw a bit of your coolant out and put it in an empty yoghrt pot in a freezer. Shouldn't go harder than slightly slushy, if that.

[WJM]

"put it in an empty yoghrt pot in a freezer"

 

Excellent - there is nothing better than simple clear thinking!

[Keeping Up]

Thanks for the responces chaps.

 

Never heard of an antifreeze tester. I'll look out for one.

 

Cheers.

 

K

I bought one in Halfords a couple of years ago. It's just a small plastic tube with a squeezy bulb on the end, and three small beads of polystyrene inside it. The strength of the antifreeze is shown by how many of the beads float when you fill it.

 

When I got outside and opened the package I noticed that the tube had a crack in it, and one of the beads was missing. I took it back to the till, the cashier had a look and promptly called out on the PA system across the store for the manager to come to the till because "there's a man here who is a bit cracked and says one of his balls is missing".

[Bones]

I bought one in Halfords a couple of years ago. It's just a small plastic tube with a squeezy bulb on the end, and three small beads of polystyrene inside it. The strength of the antifreeze is shown by how many of the beads float when you fill it.

 

When I got outside and opened the package I noticed that the tube had a crack in it, and one of the beads was missing. I took it back to the till, the cashier had a look and promptly called out on the PA system across the store for the manager to come to the till because "there's a man here who is a bit cracked and says one of his balls is missing".

 

BRILLIANT!!!

 

So PJ - do you have a hydrometer? I was wondering whether my antifreeze mixture is suitable, and after a discussion in the local hostillery last night I think I ought to test it....

[kayak]

I bought one in Halfords a couple of years ago. It's just a small plastic tube with a squeezy bulb on the end, and three small beads of polystyrene inside it. The strength of the antifreeze is shown by how many of the beads float when you fill it.

 

When I got outside and opened the package I noticed that the tube had a crack in it, and one of the beads was missing. I took it back to the till, the cashier had a look and promptly called out on the PA system across the store for the manager to come to the till because "there's a man here who is a bit cracked and says one of his balls is missing".

 

 

[alan_fincher]

draw a bit of your coolant out and put it in an empty yoghrt pot in a freezer. Shouldn't go harder than slightly slushy, if that.

Brilliant!

 

We have people telling us not to put 240 volt round pin plugs on our 12 volt equipment, because someone may take them to a nearby pub or restaurant and turbocharge them.

 

Surely those same safety conscious people will tell us the risks of somebody inadvertently eating an ethylene glycol flavoured yogurt are far too high!

 

Alan

(Little Venice)

 

p.s. Cath has just pointed out it could look far too much like a blue "Slush Puppy".

[John Orentas]

It suddenly occurred to me on Monday night that there is no anti-freeze at all in my car, had a new radiator fitted this summer after it blew up at the Etruria rally, it was freezing like hell at midnight, I did the expedient thing and placed a one kilowatt fan heater below the engine for the night, probably cost me a fortune..

 

Went out yesterday and bought 2 litres of the Glycol based elixir, that is half the recommended dose but I always think protection to -50 deg of frost is a touch over-the-top even for Rochdale.

Edited October 29, 2008 by John Orentas

[Proper Job]

BRILLIANT!!!

 

So PJ - do you have a hydrometer? I was wondering whether my antifreeze mixture is suitable, and after a discussion in the local hostillery last night I think I ought to test it....

I do.... but not on me

 

My pockets are full of vernier calipers, thread gauges and Zeus tables

[Machpoint005]

Cath has just pointed out it could look far too much like a blue "Slush Puppy".

 

...In which case there's no danger of my consuming it - or giving it to my grandson!

[larkshall]

It suddenly occurred to me on Monday night that there is no anti-freeze at all in my car, had a new radiator fitted this summer after it blew up at the Etruria rally, it was freezing like hell at midnight, I did the expedient thing and placed a one kilowatt fan heater below the engine for the night, probably cost me a fortune..

 

Went out yesterday and bought 2 litres of the Glycol based elixir, that is half the recommended dose but I always think protection to -50 deg of frost is a touch over-the-top even for Rochdale.

 

 

-50c or -50f? Actually I would go to 30% mix, -15 whilst driving can easily be hitting the front of the rad, not to mention freezin salt spray from the road.

[pwl]

Which Glycol do people use? Most these days contain all sorts of additives which are not recommended for older engines.

 

P

[Nickhlx]

Do Radiators suffer windchill or is it only the additional energy extracted when water evaporates that makes it cooler ?

 

I.e humans experience windchill to the skin, but do (dry) radiators ?

 

e.g. I can see an airblast at say 33 deg F will cool a radiator to 33 degrees F quicker than still air, but I can't see it cooling it any lower, "because its moving"....

 

If that were the case, the car thermometer would read different temperatures according to how fast you were going

 

 

Nick

[andywatson]

Do Radiators suffer windchill or is it only the additional energy extracted when water evaporates that makes it cooler ?

 

I.e humans experience windchill to the skin, but do (dry) radiators ?

 

e.g. I can see an airblast at say 33 deg F will cool a radiator to 33 degrees F quicker than still air, but I can't see it cooling it any lower, "because its moving"....

 

(Correct. It wouldn't apart from the constant supply of heat to the radiator from the engine -see below)

 

If that were the case, the car thermometer would read different temperatures according to how fast you were going

 

 

Nick

 

 

 

Surfaces loose more heat when wet and evaporation is taking place due to the energy required to change the liquid to gaseous state. (latent heat of evaporation).

However his does not significantly affect a radiator which is effectively dry on the outside.

 

Re windchill. The airblast is more efficient at removing heat as this results in forced convection of heat from a surface compared to natural convection which takes place in otherwise still air.

 

A radiator with water in but not circulated would cool faster to the ambient in the case of forced convection (rather than natural) but eventually both cool to the ambient . (33F in the case above)

BUT

The engine coolant circulated through a radiator brings a constant supply of hot water to the radiator. This is removed more efficiently by the forced convection referred to above.

 

 

 

This also applies to a skin tank where, due to the boat moving through the water, forced convection takes place which improves the heat transfer.

Also water removes heat better than air.

[OptedOut]

Went out yesterday and bought 2 litres of the Glycol based elixir, that is half the recommended dose but I always think protection to -50 deg of frost is a touch over-the-top even for Rochdale.

 

I think the 50/50 is more to do with corrosion issues.

 

A car thermometer stays at the thermostat setting most of the time.

Edited October 29, 2008 by OptedOut

[Nickhlx]

I think the 50/50 is more to do with corrosion issues.

 

A car thermometer stays at the thermostat setting most of the time.

 

 

I meant the ambient temperature sensor (it doesn't vary according to the speed you drive)

 

Nick

[OptedOut]

I meant the ambient temperature sensor (it doesn't vary according to the speed you drive)

 

Nick

 

Ahh, I see, I've never had a car with one of those.

[BetseyTrotwood]

BRILLIANT!!!

 

So PJ - do you have a hydrometer? I was wondering whether my antifreeze mixture is suitable, and after a discussion in the local hostillery last night I think I ought to test it....

 

Only good quality antifreeze can be tested with a hydrometer. Pure glycol is heavier than water (dens = 1113 kg/m3), so a mixture of glycol and water will be in the range 1000 to 1113 depending on the strength. Sadly cheap antifreezes have methanol in them which is much lighter than water (792 kg/m3) - so that makes the instrument useless.

 

R.

[Tony Brooks]

Only good quality antifreeze can be tested with a hydrometer. Pure glycol is heavier than water (dens = 1113 kg/m3), so a mixture of glycol and water will be in the range 1000 to 1113 depending on the strength. Sadly cheap antifreezes have methanol in them which is much lighter than water (792 kg/m3) - so that makes the instrument useless.

 

R.

 

 

It has been years since I have seen any antifreeze from a reputable supplier that contained methanol. I suspect I might find it on sale in a market or £1 type shop though. The last time I saw it in on sale widely was when a "glycol" factory burnt down or blew up causing a worldwide shortage.