Customer brought this radiator in today. It's from some kind of tractor.
He said that he has always ran 50/50 with tap water from his well.
He said that he has always ran 50/50 with tap water from his well.
Why we shouldn't use tap water.
- Thread starter Chris142
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It depends on your water. I have been using city tap water for the past 25 years and there was always ZERO amount of scale built up inside my radiator.
I also use tap water for my battery.
I also use tap water for my battery.
Out here our tap water will plug a shower head in 6 weeks.
Haha, people skimp out on a couple dollars worth of distilled water only to find out later they have to replace their radiator for $200.
Thats why I always get the 50/50 pre mix, no hassle trying to buy distilled, yeah you pay more but convenience is great, and it keeps me from reaching for the hose. That scale is poisonous Death to a water pump seals and bearings long before the radiator clogs up.
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I could see doing that for one gallon to get a jug, but usually Im changing the coolant so I will get a jug or two out of the deal anyway.
Just buy a jug of distilled water from the store. You already spent 20$ on the antifreeze, just spend 2$ more for the proper water. You can even get de ionized in the auto store, but just regular distilled is fine, if your tap water is hard.
In this zone, we get our tap water from Lake Superior, which is very low in mineral content. In my experience, the rad falls apart before it gets clogged. I just replaced 3 x $100 rads, after 15 years of service, due to salt corrosion. The copper fins were thin as tissue paper, and many areas the fins had disappeared. Amazingly, the rads still worked (engine operating temperature still fine!)
In this zone, we get our tap water from Lake Superior, which is very low in mineral content. In my experience, the rad falls apart before it gets clogged. I just replaced 3 x $100 rads, after 15 years of service, due to salt corrosion. The copper fins were thin as tissue paper, and many areas the fins had disappeared. Amazingly, the rads still worked (engine operating temperature still fine!)
Originally Posted By: BimmerMan
Haha, people skimp out on a couple dollars worth of distilled water only to find out later they have to replace their radiator for $200.
Try $425 for a recore.
Haha, people skimp out on a couple dollars worth of distilled water only to find out later they have to replace their radiator for $200.
Try $425 for a recore.
I got a gallon of distilled water at Walmart for 87 cents. Kind of a no-brainer for me.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Try $425 for a recore.
Try $425 for a recore.
Note the qualifier "water from his well".
Way to go.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: BimmerMan
Haha, people skimp out on a couple dollars worth of distilled water only to find out later they have to replace their radiator for $200.
Try $425 for a recore.
[censored], give me a bottle of CLR and I'll take care of his problem for half that lol!
Originally Posted By: BimmerMan
Haha, people skimp out on a couple dollars worth of distilled water only to find out later they have to replace their radiator for $200.
Try $425 for a recore.
[censored], give me a bottle of CLR and I'll take care of his problem for half that lol!
Originally Posted By: exranger06
I got a gallon of distilled water at Walmart for 87 cents. Kind of a no-brainer for me.
+1. 79 cents a gallon @Wally here. Just bought 4 gallons to do a total flush series with Peak LL concentrate.
And at that price, I don't understand the thinking of buying 50/50 premix, a total rip off, IMO. Usually about $2 a gallon less than the concentrate but it's half water. So simple to mix your own in a gallon jug if you need to, and save money. And unless you can get to a block drain with a total flush it's next to impossible get a 50% concentration in the system with 50/50 premix.
I will say it's likely that some tap water is harder than others and that would be worse for a radiator/cooling system. That said, even though my tap water is not "hard" I no longer use a flushing tee when doing a flush.
To the OP, thanks for posting the pic.
I got a gallon of distilled water at Walmart for 87 cents. Kind of a no-brainer for me.
+1. 79 cents a gallon @Wally here. Just bought 4 gallons to do a total flush series with Peak LL concentrate.
And at that price, I don't understand the thinking of buying 50/50 premix, a total rip off, IMO. Usually about $2 a gallon less than the concentrate but it's half water. So simple to mix your own in a gallon jug if you need to, and save money. And unless you can get to a block drain with a total flush it's next to impossible get a 50% concentration in the system with 50/50 premix.
I will say it's likely that some tap water is harder than others and that would be worse for a radiator/cooling system. That said, even though my tap water is not "hard" I no longer use a flushing tee when doing a flush.
To the OP, thanks for posting the pic.
Kestas
Staff member
There's only so much mineral content in two gallons of water. Either the customer's well water has an incredible amount of minerals dissolved in it, or he's been boiling off coolant and kept topping off with his well water.
Chris - nice trophy!
Chris - nice trophy!
I think that buying the 50/50 mix makes sense if you are doing a radiator drain and fill. In my case the radiator will drain about 1 gal of coolant, with a gallon of concentrate I would still have half a gallon of coolant that I would not have any use for.
I just had the rad replaced on my Neon after 175,000km on it.
It was not leaking and there were no issues... I was just doing some proactive maintenances as replaced all the hoses and coolant pipes at the same time. The inside of the old rad was in very good shape... no scale build-up and it was clean. Perhaps the old rad still had some life left in it... but I would rather not be sitting beside the highway in some remote stretch when the rad decided its life was over.
However, I have no idea of how the car was maintained for the first 150,000km of its life. I do know when I got it that the coolant needed to be changed in the worst way. I suspect it was taken to the dealer and whatever they did was the deal... I don't expect the dealer to be using distilled water.
I premixed the coolant that was used to refill the system after the rad and hose changes... 60/40 antifreeze/distilled water.
I already have distilled water on hand for my CPAP machine... those of you with sleep apnea know what I'm talking about here. The rest of you Google "CPAP" for some fun reading.
It was not leaking and there were no issues... I was just doing some proactive maintenances as replaced all the hoses and coolant pipes at the same time. The inside of the old rad was in very good shape... no scale build-up and it was clean. Perhaps the old rad still had some life left in it... but I would rather not be sitting beside the highway in some remote stretch when the rad decided its life was over.
However, I have no idea of how the car was maintained for the first 150,000km of its life. I do know when I got it that the coolant needed to be changed in the worst way. I suspect it was taken to the dealer and whatever they did was the deal... I don't expect the dealer to be using distilled water.
I premixed the coolant that was used to refill the system after the rad and hose changes... 60/40 antifreeze/distilled water.
I already have distilled water on hand for my CPAP machine... those of you with sleep apnea know what I'm talking about here. The rest of you Google "CPAP" for some fun reading.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
There's only so much mineral content in two gallons of water. Either the customer's well water has an incredible amount of minerals dissolved in it, or he's been boiling off coolant and kept topping off with his well water.
Chris - nice trophy!
The water here is terrible. It comes out the faucet white and makes white ice cubes when frozen.
There are many cement plants within 20 miles of here. They use the Limestone in the cement.
Our ground water is in the Limestone.
http://www.mitsubishicement.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=54
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eecue/463153134/
There's only so much mineral content in two gallons of water. Either the customer's well water has an incredible amount of minerals dissolved in it, or he's been boiling off coolant and kept topping off with his well water.
Chris - nice trophy!
The water here is terrible. It comes out the faucet white and makes white ice cubes when frozen.
There are many cement plants within 20 miles of here. They use the Limestone in the cement.
Our ground water is in the Limestone.
http://www.mitsubishicement.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=54
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eecue/463153134/
I think the people saying any drinkable water are thinking of chlorinated low mineral Detroit River water, and run the same water for 5 years. Keep adding some of the hard well water, and expect problems.
Note, bring your own jugs and purified water at Wally's is $.33/gal.
Note, bring your own jugs and purified water at Wally's is $.33/gal.
Well water is usually pretty hard. I'm not surprised to see that.
I use tap water, but the water here is quite soft. From what I can see through the fill hole, there's very little buildup inside. But I would use distilled if I lived in his house.
I use tap water, but the water here is quite soft. From what I can see through the fill hole, there's very little buildup inside. But I would use distilled if I lived in his house.
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