Extreme Cold antifreeze

[Fastship]

In Russia there exists Тосол А-40M & Тосо A-65M which are said to protect down to -40c and -65c. Here in the temperate UK we have no need for this level of protection but I am curious to know if in Alaska or Canada there exists similar products?

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

A seventy percent solution of any ethylene glycol based antifreeze concentrate with water will give freeze protection down to about -80F. http://www.peakantifreeze.com/images/art_protection_chart.jpg

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

In short, no, but..... As far as I know, car manufacturers do not use different coolant fill for Alaska. Off the shelf I can buy 50/50 mixes, good down to -34F. I usually mix my own from concentrate in 60/40, good to -60F. 40 below C is the same as 40 below F, so 60/40 combo is better than Тосол А-40M. Almost everybody, though, has an engine block heater to help with start-ups in winter. Further up north you'll see engine block, oil pan heaters and battery blankets, all on the same car. Fairbanks airport has plug-ins for the cars out in the parking lot!

 

[Fastship]

Earlier this year we got three inches of snow in the South East, the first for ten years and the country ground to a halt! (I'm in the UK) I am planning a trip to Kolyma on the "zimniks" next winter - as you know my Zil has a petrol fired boiler on the engine but I'd rather avoid draining and refilling the coolant each day but I can't even imagine such cold temperatures and it is hard to trust to antifreeze when I'll be 1,000 km from Pevek in January!

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

[quote=Fastship] I am planning a trip to Kolyma on the "zimniks" next winter /quote] Brrrr, are you crazy? :-) 50 below Celsius plus windchill, no thank you! When it gets that cold I'd rather stay home.

 

[XS650]

 Originally Posted By: Fastship

Earlier this year we got three inches of snow in the South East, the first for ten years and the country ground to a halt! (I'm in the UK) I am planning a trip to Kolyma on the "zimniks" next winter - as you know my Zil has a petrol fired boiler on the engine but I'd rather avoid draining and refilling the coolant each day but I can't even imagine such cold temperatures and it is hard to trust to antifreeze when I'll be 1,000 km from Pevek in January!

I spent a few hours at Heathrow waiting for my connection to India right after that storm. It made the local news interesting to watch. The The Russian Anti -Freeze sounds like ordinary Ethylene Glycol.

 Quote:

TOSOL A-40M, A-65M, AM (concentrate) made on the basis of high-value and are consistent with ethylene glycol coolant, manufactured on the basis of ethylene glycol domestic and foreign production.

Just be aware that in order to get -65C protection, the water/E-G ratio has to be exactly right. A bit to strong or a bit too weak a mix and your freezing point increases by quite a bit. Most E-G producers won't claim -65C protection. See page 11 for a chart of mix ratios vs protection. That company, not being chest beating Russians, doesn't claim -65C, only cooler than -60C. There should be a diesel burning coolant heater available for your trucks if they have a Russian military background. If you can keep coolant and oil warmed up to -40C, or better yet -20C, it's a whole different world.

 

[Fastship]

Thanks XS650 - that's informative. You are correct about the coolant heater, they are fitted as standard. The procedure stated in the manual is to drain coolant for overnight standing from the tap at the bottom of the block. The next day you introduce water or snow to the collector on top of the engine and engage the heater which has its' own fuel supply and fires up a small burner at the flick of a switch. The procedure takes about 20 minutes. The contraption is a little "heath robinson" and I'm not sure how practical it is in real life, hence my desire for an effective antifreeze.