coolant change interval?

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I do not see a lot of benefit to flushing. The main reason for changing the coolant is to ensure that you have plenty of corrosion inhibitor. The main problem with stinky's method is that you will have some plain tap water left in your system. I think it is very important to only use distilled water. That is why Honda only sells premix coolant. It is because bad water can cause a lot of problems in your coolant system. Most of the build of of stuff in the radiator is due to mineral deposites from the water. Here is what I do:

Drain and refil with distilled water. Bring car up to operating temp, turn on heater. Drain system again. Fill system with enough coolant to equal 50% of your system capacity. Top up with distilled water.

Your tap water might not be too bad, but it will have some minerals that are bad. Distilled water is better and not too expensive.

Oh, it is really bad to put any antifreeze down the storm drain. Even the flush water. Recycle or put the stuff down the drain in your house. The city water treatment system can handle the small amounts of glycol that they get from homeowners.
 
Loudist,

Your statement confuses me. DI water is actually better (and cleaner) than distilled. We prefer it in our labs and greenhouses.

And, somewhere on another forum I read that certain distilling processes are not very good at all. I believe it was on a salt water aquarium forum where they recommended against the use of distilled water due to it's variable quality (not that it isn't good enough for vehicles).

Coolant interval - I have stuck with the two year change even though I believe the newer ones might be fine for three. I also know people who only change it when a thermostat or hose goes bad. How do they get away with it?
 
Does DI get all the dissolved minerals out?
A lab quality de-ionizer is much more expensive and maintained more frequently than a commercial plant.
Also, DI effectiveness works on a curve with many variables most notably water contact time and media loading.

I can see where the differences in steam distilled water could affect fish as the dissolved clorine and other re condensed gasses could hurt sensitive fish, but the mineral content is still zero, or close to it, which is the reason for even mentioning distilled water for cooling systems.
 
Make sure it is steam distilled and not de-ionized.

How they can get away with selling de-ionized water as distilled is beyond me as the word 'distilled' describes the process.
 
I can't comment on quality control at commercial plants. We rent DI tanks (similar to soft water tanks) from Culligan and, if my foggy memory is functioning, I think we get between 1,500 and 2,000 gallons of DI water on one charge (about $80).

We test the electrical conductivity, and our DI is always cleaner than bottled distilled water.

I'm not a chemist, but I was told DI is the cleanest, followed by reverse osmosis, then distilled (with variations based on equipment).

This is all moot, since any of these will be fine for a vehicle, unless quality control is substandard. It's rumored that very pure water is so clean it will "rob" ions off water pipes and destroy them.

I observed on another forum, a guy argued over the purity of one type over another for vehicle use while others are content to use pond water!
 
With all the fuss over how to do proper cooling system maintenance, I still get no more than 10 years from any aluminum radiator before it starts leaking.
 
Drew,

My point on flushing is that it is not a big deal to have a little "old" coolant in your engine. It is more important never to let any "hard" water in your engine. What problems can a trace of old coolant cause?
 
quote:

Originally posted by Winston:
Drew,

My point on flushing is that it is not a big deal to have a little "old" coolant in your engine. It is more important never to let any "hard" water in your engine. What problems can a trace of old coolant cause?


I think a misread your procedure Winston. It makes perfect sense to me now exactly the way you described it.
cheers.gif
 
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