Coolant and antifreeze

For many of our classics who spend their hibernation in unheated storage rooms, the best thing can be: Is the cooling system protected against frost? If we take on the damage after the horror winter of 2018, it would be a shame if we had to put '1 engine block' there on the damage list.

From water to water with glycol to glycol

And then you dive into the coolants. In the beginning there was water. That freezes when the temperature falls below 0 degrees C. Then came 'antifreeze', then came smarter coolants with all sorts of lubricating, cleaning and oxidation-preventing additives. But all that stuff consisted largely of water. And now we also have the anhydrous coolants. They are quite expensive. So they have to be good. On various sites we found some texts from providers who apparently happily dragged through Google Translate and where some unclear or incorrect information could be read. However, some searching made clear: Waterless refrigerant is based on glycol.

So glycol as a coolant

1,2 ethanediol, commonly referred to as ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol or simply glycol is an alcohol with the chemical formula C2H6O2. The liquid is a colorless and viscous liquid with a sweet taste that can be mixed with water in all proportions. And in the past there was a warning at home and kitchen key work against just running old coolant: Dogs really liked it. But it made them sick. At least. Fortunately there is no more tinkering and the waste oil no longer enters the sewer. This glycol was added to the cooling water as 'antifreeze'. There were pipettes with a bob in it. This determined the specific mass of the mixture and thus the protection against frost.

And then we are back with the waterless stuff

C2H6O2 + H20 = coolant. Without H2O (water) it is therefore anhydrous coolant. And the Evans company is great at that. Or at least has a dominant Internet presence. In addition to all sales and marketing chatter, we found an authentic-looking laboratory test (compared to 'No Rosion' coolant) under https://www.norosion.com/evanstest.htm  There is measured values, advantages and disadvantages. The information is interesting but of course we cannot vouch for the content.

On the plus side

The boiling point of the product mainly consisting of glycol is at around 180 degrees. And we benefit mainly in the summer. Protecting against frost does the stuff up to -40 degrees. It is also anti-corrosive to light metal and is a 'lifetime' filling.

Only the water-free coolant costs around € 85 per five liters. And it only 'works' optimally if a maximum of 3% 'residual water' of the previously used refrigerant has remained in the block. Otherwise it's just a very expensive coolant. And how can you get those last drops of water from a cooling system?

The stuff has a number of very practical benefits.

The Evans Benelux importer Millers is a recognized serious company. Anhydrous coolant seems like great stuff after an engine revision. Then the block is dry and the system can be filled 100% with the stuff. Millers even supplies water-free coolant especially for classics. After the first filling, according to the manufacturers, it never needs to be replaced again.

For normal use with ordinary classics, ordinary coolant, although that of the Action, still seems a great protection against the horrific winter that we may deem.