Crazy antifreeze prices wtf!

[bill]

I've been running my El Camino with straight water since i changed the radiator/water pump. Is this bad ?

The only thing bad about running straight water is that it can boil off. It will freeze (if you get freezing temperatures, of course) and will crack engine blocks and heads. Plus, your water jackets and radiator are more prone to corrosion with straight water.

Id never run straight water unless I had no other option....and I always use a T-stat. I cannot understand why anybody would not use one other than for racing purposes only. Water boils at 212 and a 50/50 mix of antifreeze boils at about 230. Thats fine in the cooler months, but in summer, you will boil out a lot of water and not even know it till its too late. Closed pressurized systems are not made to handle the pressures of boiling water and it will cause gaskets to blow and radiators to leak. Back in the old days...people ran straight water in their radiators cause it was all they had and the radiators held gallons of water in them and they werent pressurized...so the water rarely got hot enough to boil out. Todays radiators are smaller and thinner....

 

[pontiacgp]

water boils at 212 at atmospheric pressure, under pressure it can go much higher. Also water transfers heat better than antifreeze and with water there is not as much drag on the water pump freeing up hp

 

[bill]

water boils at 212 at atmospheric pressure, under pressure it can go much higher. Also water transfers heat better than antifreeze and with water there is not as much drag on the water pump freeing up hp

Right....thats why cars will overheat with straight AF and no water...I didnt consider the pressure diff....but at some point, the pressure produced is a greater threat than the higher boil temp, correct?

 

[RITTER]

and thats the way it should be everywhere, should not have to be the stores responsibility to keep up with your warranty....If the part is expensive and has a warranty, youd be a fool not to keep the paperwork on it....jmo

I wish I could say that to customers 8)

 

[pontiacgp]

with a 24 psi cap water will boil at 238 and after that the cap release the pressure....if you use water wetter the boiling point is higher. We use a 28 psi cap on the race car and use water wetter and the temps have been up to 260 with nothing sprayed on the windseild so the water wetter works cause at that pressure water boils at 246

 

[bill]

and thats the way it should be everywhere, should not have to be the stores responsibility to keep up with your warranty....If the part is expensive and has a warranty, youd be a fool not to keep the paperwork on it....jmo

I wish I could say that to customers 8)

Oh...I know....beleive me....customers drove me batshit with warranty crap at AZ...dont miss that at all!

 

[CUTLASSJESSE]

i still wonder why some people pay for half a gallon of water :scratches head: but the prices are going up fast just last summer i could get straight antifreeze for 7 a gallon

 

[deanlemans81]

with a 24 psi cap water will boil at 238 and after that the cap release the pressure....if you use water wetter the boiling point is higher. We use a 28 psi cap on the race car and use water wetter and the temps have been up to 260 with nothing sprayed on the windseild so the water wetter works cause at that pressure water boils at 246

Hey Pontiacgp, I`m sorry to say you have your math wrong. Every 1 psi of pressue increase raises the boiling point by 3 degrees. Water boils at 212C, with a 28 psi cap you have increased the boiling pint by 84 degrees. Your boiling point is now 294 degrees celsius. That1as why at 260 it isn`t boiling.
Dean

 

[megaladon6]

antifreeze/coolant/whatever you want to call it is also a lubricant and a corrosion inhibitor, that's why it's better than straight water. but if you really want a good coolant, check out Evans NPG+. it's expensive as hell, but it's been proven to go hundreds of thousands, sometimes a million miles! it does NOT use ANY water so it boils at a much higher temp, doesn't need any maintenance, allows you to run at lower pressures (i run a 10lb cap) so less chance of leaks, and actually keeps the cylinder walls cooler at a given temp reading. however, for the canadians among us it may or may not be great, it does get thicker with extremely cold temps, the original NPG used to sludge. it does thin right out when warmed and does not get degraded by this.

r-134 is being phased out, almost since the day they started using it. one of their bright ideas for a replacement? CO2. i thought we were trying to eliminate this stuff?
$259 for a 30lb can, that's not bad. r-12 is something like $2000!

 

[pontiacgp]

with a 24 psi cap water will boil at 238 and after that the cap release the pressure....if you use water wetter the boiling point is higher. We use a 28 psi cap on the race car and use water wetter and the temps have been up to 260 with nothing sprayed on the windseild so the water wetter works cause at that pressure water boils at 246

Hey Pontiacgp, I`m sorry to say you have your math wrong. Every 1 psi of pressue increase raises the boiling point by 3 degrees. Water boils at 212C, with a 28 psi cap you have increased the boiling pint by 84 degrees. Your boiling point is now 294 degrees celsius. That1as why at 260 it isn`t boiling.
Dean

http://www.boilerroomservices.com/Facts/SteamTables.pdf

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boili ... d_926.html