coolant/anit-freeze mix for tropics?

Guys, Distilled water is for batteries, not engine coolant. If you feel flush, but all means feel free to use distilled water to dilute you antifreeze, but do NOT use distilled water alone. It picks up enough CO2 from the air that it becomes very acidic and corrosive to engine innards. One of the purposes of the additives is to buffer the pH of the mixture.

50/50 mix IS the recommended mix by all engine makes that I know of, and is used even where freezing is not possible.

If you REALLY think you know enough water chemistry to make a change from that, well, you probably overestimate your knowledge.

Bill

[DeepFrz]

If you feel flush, but all means feel free to use distilled water to dilute you antifreeze

No, always use distilled water to mix 50/50 with your antifreeze, or buy premix. I understand that a weaker mix 60 water/ 40 antifreeze may be called for if you have high sea water and ambient temperatures, such as in the tropics.

[hellosailor]

50-50 is an easy thing to remember, but usually it is NOT the most efficient mixture. Check the back of the bottle for your brand, 60-40 is often recommended when you don't need extreme freeze protection. Apparently "more water" conducts heat better than "more antifreeze".

[MidLandOne]

I had not heard of having to use distilled water before for mixing coolant. As that may have just been due to my sheltered existance I have been and checked a number of coolant concentrates from different manufacturers.

Most say just to mix with clean water, the clean part being pretty good sense I would have thought. Found one that said to mix with clean soft water or demineralised - again I would have thought pretty common sense.

But none that said demineralised or distilled water had to nor even any mention that it should or was preferable to be used.

Maybe other posters have third world water supplies ie harking back to my sheltered existance comment .

I wonder how long demineralised or distilled water stays of "demineralised" or "distillled" quality once tipped into an engine? A genuine question.

[DeepFrz]

No, always use distilled water to mix 50/50 with your antifreeze

I guess I worded that poorly. I should have said "always use distilled water to mix... and left out the 50/50. I am under the impression that "demineralised" water was the same as "distilled" water, but I may be mistaken there. I am also under the belief that most engine manufacturers say to use "demineralised" water.

Demineralisation: Any process used to remove minerals from water, however, commonly the term is restricted to ion exchange processes.

So I guess the term "distilled" can be used in this situation although they are not identical.

Edit: was there a definition of clean on that directive?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by MidLandOne

I wonder how long mineralized or distilled water stays of "mineralized" or "distilled" quality once tipped into an engine? A genuine question.

That does not matter nearly as much as what the mineral content is of the water that you put into the engine. If you add my well water which is full of calcium and iron and a whole bunch of other things in smaller amounts instead of distilled, then you are asking for problems that could easily and relatively inexpensively been avoided.

I call that dumb!

But I can be a little overly blunt for many.

[MidLandOne]

Originally Posted by Therapy

If you add my well water which is full of calcium and iron and a whole bunch of other things in smaller amounts instead of distilled, then you are asking for problems that could easily and relatively inexpensively been avoided.

I call that dumb!

I would too. Well, at least foolish anyway .

[DeepFrz]

I knew I had seen this somewhere.

MAKE-UP WATER
Proper coolant system maintenance requires a quality make-up water. All make-up water is corrosive but water with high mineral content cannot be made fit for use. Therefore, it is recommended that distilled water be used. Water softened by some type of salt or chloride process should not be used. Most engine manufacturers have established specifications for water used in their engines. The following chart shows some of these specifications.

Cooling System Maintenance for Heavy Duty Engines TSB-88-1R3

Therefore, the Filter Council recommends against "demineralised" water and recommends distilled water in their "Cooling System Maintenance" documents. They give some manufacturer recommendations in the document but the chart wouldn't copy over.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Deeps

I knew I had seen this somewhere.



.

Me too.
Can't remember how many years ago.
Don't care.
I use distilled water.
Period.

[The Mons]

Now that the battery and engine coolant issue has been resolved in favor of distilled water...

I also occasionally drink it (100/0). Anyone see any positive or negative issues to that?

Seriously.

[DeepFrz]

What, battery acid or engine coolant?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

What, battery acid or engine coolant?

What is the mix for that as far as with steak vs fish?

[MidLandOne]

Given the poor quality of municipal drinking water some of you folks apparantly have it seems to me that drinking the battery acid or concentrated coolant might be the most preferable .