Cold And Shocking: Have You Checked The Voltage Of Your Coolant?

[bigjohnsd]

Interesting article that could apply to our wet heads with "lifelong coolant"?

It would also be interesting if folks that check their systems would post their voltage readings.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/cold-and-shocking-have-you-checked-the-voltage-of-your-coolant/

 

[pauls1150]

I'm shocked! But it makes sense.

 

[riderr1150gsadv]

Electrifying article but very cool reading. See what I did there?

In any case, thanks for posting the article.

I don't believe in lifelong fluids of any kind and coolant certainly has a finite lifespan. I have already replaced the coolant in my GS and after 5 years the color difference was amazing too. I didn't test the old stuff but now I will keep an eye on things.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Following comments received from an actual chemist on another forum I posted this article on:

"This is a measure that relates to the REDOX (reduction and oxidation) potential and may indicate (to some extent) the level of anticorrosion additives remaining in the coolant. It is not a quantitative determination of how good the antifreeze might be or whether its aggregate properties will protect your radiator, water pump and engine.
It tells you little about the efficacy as coolant (i.e. freezing point depression and boiling point elevation which are both critical properties and pretty much directly related to the percentage of ethylene glycol in the mix).
Also doesn't tell you anything about lubricity to help with water pump life.
Likewise, this "test" doesn't identify the presence (or absence) of contaminants (i.e. salt, oil, calcium) or particulates (precipitates if you dilute with hard water, or iron/copper/aluminum oxides or rubber from seals).
(Particulates are problematic because they can cause plugging of radiator passages and are an indicator that there other issues.)
Doesn't measure pH - too high or too low is a problem. (High or low pH will affect the REDOX potential to some extent.) Doesn't measure buffer capacity which is a measure of the fluid's ability to resist pH change.
All in all, this test is only of value if your primary concern is whether it will potentially allow corrosion to occur - rarely a major problem in modern systems using quality coolant.

Just change the damn coolant every couple of years using a good quality product that meets manufacturer's specifications. Might want to check the pH and other properties using commercially available antifreeze test strips if you are worried about it but don't hang your hat on the AF being good because of a measured voltage that is below some threshold. May just lead to a false sense of security.
I am a chemist and I don't bother with any testing; I just change at reasonable intervals using an approved coolant. I usually buy "full strength" and dilute 1:1 with demineralized water - just because it is cheaper than buying 50:50.

Note: You might want to run the drained coolant through a coffee filter to make sure particulates aren't high. It might give you advance notice of an impending failure."

Another question was raised: "So, as a chemist, what the hell are the practical differences between distilled, demineralized, and purified water? I'll have to check, but I have always bought distilled water cheap at the grocery store. I don't recall seeing demineralized water."

And answered: "
Purified water may or may not have minerals (naturally occurring major ions) removed. Focus is on inorganic and organic contaminants that may adversely affect potability due to toxicity or aesthetics. May or may not have chlorine removed and may be "ozonated" to maintain sterility.

Distillation is a process that removes minerals and some organic contaminants by boiling the water and then condensing the steam to make distilled water. Most mineral residues remain in the "pot" and most organic contaminants are not collected in the distillate (either remain in the pot or do not condense).

Demineralized means that minerals have been removed by one process or another and may include distillation, reverse osmosis or mixed-bed ion exchange (or a combination of these processes). Reverse-osmosis does not remove everything, but the process is much less energy-intensive than distillation and often chosen when large amounts of water need to be treated.

"Softened" water has major minerals that can cause hard water scaling (mostly calcium and magnesium) removed by cation exchange. (Lots of domestic systems where homeowners have hard well water.) The Ca and Mg ions in the water are replaced with (typically) sodium (or potassium) ions which do not form scale with carbonates. The process may also remove iron and manganese, depending upon their chemical form (oxidation state). Once water softening resins are saturated with calcium and magnesium (and barium and strontium), they are regenerated by back-flushing to waste with a salt brine and the sodium will displace the hard water minerals. Better than hard water for automotive applications, but I wouldn't use it. Edit: Softened water still contains most of the chloride, sulfate, carbonate/bicarbonate and silicates originally present. Note: Some water is naturally soft and may contain low concentrations of minerals, including those like Ca and Mg which tend to form scale with carbonates or iron and manganese which tend to precipitate as brown or black hydroxides..

Most laboratories use "deionized" water. Usually starts with distilled or reverse-osmosis treated water followed by mixed-bed ion exchange resins. Quite often uses an activated charcoal step to remove most organic compounds and may undergo UV treatment and sub-micron filtration to render it sterile and remove any super fine particulates. This is ultra-pure water.

For the purposes of adding to a battery, diluting antifreeze or filling a steam iron, distilled water from a drugstore is probably the most cost-effective solution and will be just fine for those applications. If there are no specifications on the water (or if you don't understand the terms), stick with distilled. Reverse-osmosis water MAY be sold as demineralized but might not have a low enough mineral content for all applications. Depends on the feed water, the equipment used and how it is set up with respect to ratio of "permeate" and "retentate".

Probably more than anyone wanted to know..."

All good info - I'll change my coolant every two or three years.