Can anybody tell me adding different coloured coolent together cause any problems??.....Pete .....from down Under!
Mixing different coolants ?
- Thread starter Pete54
- Start date
Re: coolent
I am not expert but there is more than a color difference with coolant our engines are aluminum and you should use what it came with Honda coolant and distilled water any coolant-water combo will work but you don't want to end up a corrosive mixture that will eat your engine from the inside out. also the lubrication properties are different just make sure you use the right 50-50 mix and recheck your work
to make sure you are protected from boiling and freezing. I found this on the web that explains it better than I can.
Most of the antifreeze products on the market currently are ethylene glycol base material with additives to prevent corrosion, lubricate seals and water pumps and aid in heat transfer to the coolant from the metal of the engine. Antifreeze should be mixed with distilled water (tap water contains high amounts of minerals such as calcium and iron that can precipitate and coat internal parts) at the ratio of one part antifreeze to one part water. This gives freeze protection down to minus 34 degrees and boil-over protection up to +265 degrees. Never use pure antifreeze in a cooling system without using at least 30 percent water in the mixture. Most antifreeze products sold for the past several years have been the traditional "green" coolant. This type is good for two to three years and up to 30,000 miles. The green antifreeze contains silicates, phosphates and / or borates as corrosion inhibitors to keep the solution alkaline. As long as the solution remains alkaline, corrosion is controlled and the system is protected. Over time, the corrosion inhibitors will be depleted and the corrosion protection is lost. It is for this reason that green antifreeze should be changed every two years or so. Aluminum is especially vulnerable to corrosion and many vehicles have heads, radiators and other aluminum components in the cooling system. If the coolant in an engine cooling system is changed before corrosion inhibitors reach dangerously low levels, corrosion damage is prevented.
An alternative to tradition green antifreeze is a product currently used by many engine manufacturers. "Orange" antifreeze is a long life or extended life type of antifreeze used to increase the useful life of engine coolant. It is ethylene glycol base as is the green antifreeze. The difference between the two colors is that orange antifreeze contains a different type of corrosion inhibitor that has a much longer service life than silicates, phosphates and borates. Orange antifreeze contains organic acids that protect engine parts from corrosion. Silicate (green) type antifreeze does not mix with orange type antifreeze. Never mix the two colors in a cooling system. The organic acids in orange types will cause precipitation of silicates in the green type and corrosion protection is greatly reduced. Orange type antifreezes are good for five years or 100,000/150,000 miles in newer vehicles (1996 and later). They can be used in many older vehicles (ask your vehicle dealer if it is safe to use orange antifreeze) if all of the green mixture is flushed from the system and is replaced with the orange mixture. Useful life is about four years or 60,000 miles in older cars.
I am not expert but there is more than a color difference with coolant our engines are aluminum and you should use what it came with Honda coolant and distilled water any coolant-water combo will work but you don't want to end up a corrosive mixture that will eat your engine from the inside out. also the lubrication properties are different just make sure you use the right 50-50 mix and recheck your work
to make sure you are protected from boiling and freezing. I found this on the web that explains it better than I can.
Most of the antifreeze products on the market currently are ethylene glycol base material with additives to prevent corrosion, lubricate seals and water pumps and aid in heat transfer to the coolant from the metal of the engine. Antifreeze should be mixed with distilled water (tap water contains high amounts of minerals such as calcium and iron that can precipitate and coat internal parts) at the ratio of one part antifreeze to one part water. This gives freeze protection down to minus 34 degrees and boil-over protection up to +265 degrees. Never use pure antifreeze in a cooling system without using at least 30 percent water in the mixture. Most antifreeze products sold for the past several years have been the traditional "green" coolant. This type is good for two to three years and up to 30,000 miles. The green antifreeze contains silicates, phosphates and / or borates as corrosion inhibitors to keep the solution alkaline. As long as the solution remains alkaline, corrosion is controlled and the system is protected. Over time, the corrosion inhibitors will be depleted and the corrosion protection is lost. It is for this reason that green antifreeze should be changed every two years or so. Aluminum is especially vulnerable to corrosion and many vehicles have heads, radiators and other aluminum components in the cooling system. If the coolant in an engine cooling system is changed before corrosion inhibitors reach dangerously low levels, corrosion damage is prevented.
An alternative to tradition green antifreeze is a product currently used by many engine manufacturers. "Orange" antifreeze is a long life or extended life type of antifreeze used to increase the useful life of engine coolant. It is ethylene glycol base as is the green antifreeze. The difference between the two colors is that orange antifreeze contains a different type of corrosion inhibitor that has a much longer service life than silicates, phosphates and borates. Orange antifreeze contains organic acids that protect engine parts from corrosion. Silicate (green) type antifreeze does not mix with orange type antifreeze. Never mix the two colors in a cooling system. The organic acids in orange types will cause precipitation of silicates in the green type and corrosion protection is greatly reduced. Orange type antifreezes are good for five years or 100,000/150,000 miles in newer vehicles (1996 and later). They can be used in many older vehicles (ask your vehicle dealer if it is safe to use orange antifreeze) if all of the green mixture is flushed from the system and is replaced with the orange mixture. Useful life is about four years or 60,000 miles in older cars.
Avtrician
Re: coolent
nice write up Knelson, but as a rule antifreeze isnt used too much in Oz. Tho the stuff we use is probably much the same.
Pete, if in doubt, go to REPCO or supercheap etc and get enough of a suitable coolant to do a complete change.
nice write up Knelson, but as a rule antifreeze isnt used too much in Oz. Tho the stuff we use is probably much the same.
Pete, if in doubt, go to REPCO or supercheap etc and get enough of a suitable coolant to do a complete change.
Re: coolent
Pete,
Your ST's seals will last longer if you use silicate free.
Mark
Pete,
Your ST's seals will last longer if you use silicate free.
Mark
What do they carry in the Honda car dealerships there? That's probably a good source.
Colors here don't mean much. It's not a standard.
In order of preference
Honda type II.
Any silcate free.
If it starts with DEX keep looking LOL.
ymmv
Colors here don't mean much. It's not a standard.
In order of preference
Honda type II.
Any silcate free.
If it starts with DEX keep looking LOL.
ymmv
Inhibitor packages are different in every antifreeze. I've spent a few years qualifying coolants and inhibitor formulations in various heat exchangers. Without getting into the details of it - I would stick with the OEM. Why - because then you have NO worries and by the time you do the research to figure out what you MIGHT NOT have an issue with your already in it for more $ than the OEM part.
BTW - antifreeze (either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol) or any other liquid additive you add to your water only retards heat transfer. Antifreeze has two main purposes - corrosion prevention and elimination of ice crystal formation. I don't know of a liquid in these temperature ranges that has a low viscosity or high conductivity than water (0.6 W/m*k). The higher percentage of antifreeze the worse the heat transfer. But again you don't need to worry about this because the OEM thought about it for you
Mix with distilled water (distilled is safer than de-ionized from a reliable process perspective).
My 2 cents.
Paul
BTW - antifreeze (either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol) or any other liquid additive you add to your water only retards heat transfer. Antifreeze has two main purposes - corrosion prevention and elimination of ice crystal formation. I don't know of a liquid in these temperature ranges that has a low viscosity or high conductivity than water (0.6 W/m*k). The higher percentage of antifreeze the worse the heat transfer. But again you don't need to worry about this because the OEM thought about it for you
Mix with distilled water (distilled is safer than de-ionized from a reliable process perspective).
My 2 cents.
Paul
JPKalishek
Armadillo Kicker
For a while there was no difference..Zerex was blue so they could be different. then the standards were changed to differentiate between types of coolant.
Green was standard stuff, either Propylene or Ethylene based. Long Life coolant (like Toyota started demanding) was mandated to be red. Then it seemed they changed it all up again after I stopped selling the stuff, but red low silicate is the way to go. Use as little as you can with Distilled water (D.I. a close second depending on the D.I. machine) because like Oldschool says it is not the greatest transfer of temperature out there. Just raises the boiling point, and lowers the freeze point. Salt water and Ammonia are the best at transferring the heat, but will corrode your system in nothing flat.
Green was standard stuff, either Propylene or Ethylene based. Long Life coolant (like Toyota started demanding) was mandated to be red. Then it seemed they changed it all up again after I stopped selling the stuff, but red low silicate is the way to go. Use as little as you can with Distilled water (D.I. a close second depending on the D.I. machine) because like Oldschool says it is not the greatest transfer of temperature out there. Just raises the boiling point, and lowers the freeze point. Salt water and Ammonia are the best at transferring the heat, but will corrode your system in nothing flat.