Waterless engine coolant

[paintman]

Has anyone tried these Waterless Coolants in their radiator and what was your views on them.

They claim to eliminate overheating by reducing pressure in the cooling system.

Sounds too good to be true but I could do with running a bit cooler so was think of giving some a go.

Tony

[Bulldog Bri]

Think you'll find Ian has been using it now for sometime and now swears by it, since having the heater hose blow off and leak water over his passenger. I'm sure he'll pass on his views soon.

[Iancider]

Yep, I love it.

Drain water out and thouroughly - buy the purging liquid too be be sure you got it all and the then fill with waterless coolant.  It seems to give you about 25% more cooling capacity and it still aint boiling even at 125C.  The Boiling point is actually 180C.

Water pumps don't corrode, there is no pressure to blow off pipes, it doesn't boil in traffic, thermostats don't seize and Ali radiators wont rot through - oh yes and it is perfect antifreeze too.  It is going to be about £65 for the complete job but it is only once in the life of the car.

Ian

[Facial Hair Optional]

Sounds great! They sell it at Merlin up at Castle Combe, I asked them about it at the meeting we had there. They spoke highly of it.

Ian is right, you MUST get the purge liquid as it is hygroscopic. If you don't use it you wont get all the old water molecules out of your system and I think it kinda messes it up and basically wont work properly.

[dikkie]

I've been tempted by this in the past as well, couple of things puzzle me though:

If it's hydroscopic does it absorb atmospheric water over time, in the same way brake fluid does? and if it does will that effect it's lifespan?

I presume it doesn't work with normal radiator leak treatments? Is there any that will work? I know radweld style products have a bad rep and can do bad things to your cooling system but I have had a lot of success with them for stopping small "weeping" holes in rads permanently and never seen any bad side effects (I've even heard Rolls Royce coolant contains the same stuff when it leaves the factory).

[damouk]

Subaru say you must use their coolant additive which is rad weld when head gaskets are replaced as there were lots of problems with them in days gone by.

I was chatting to a guy when I was on a course who was told by Evans that he could use it in his classic convection circulated car. Which he did and it cooked the engine through no convection!! Evans then suggested he mixed 75 25 with water to cure the problem.

So it doesn't sound like it would be a problem to have some water in the system, however that water will still boil and presurise the cooling system

The other this to remember is that unlike water it is flamable.

[peterw]

I use it as well, Running non pressurised system. the only down side is (1) the price, (2) If you spill any it won't evaporate like water and stays on the garage floor for ages and (3) it will find any leak or loose hose joint in the northern hemisphere especially on silicon hose joints. But apart from that it's Brill

[paintman]

Was looking at another manufacturer other than Evans and they said just drain the system and put it in, no mention of
having to purge the system.

Maybe Evans' are saying that so you need to spend more money with them.

[Iancider]

Dikkie,

The cause of radiator leaks is corrosion caused by water and electrolytic action - no water = no corrosion. 

Also it is the purging solution which is hygroscopic and is used to mop-up any trapped water in a drained system.  The Coolant itself is hydrophobic and water does not mix with it but it will emulsify.  If you do have some water left in there when using the waterless coolant then the water will still boil at 100C and pressure would build in the system.  If that is the case then just leave the pressure cap off when you are not running it and it will evaporate but the coolant wont.

Regards
Ian

[sanzomat]

I'm planning to have a go with this stuff after I've done my engine swap. I also have a slight coolant leak from a flexible hose to rigid hose joint that I can't get to at the moment so I want to fix that before putting expensive waterless coolant in! As I have a mid engine and front radiator I'm probably looking at needing about 8 litres so over a £100!! but it may avoid the need to go to a bigger radiator as some other GTM libra/spyders have done to improve cooling. As K-series are a bit prone to HGF due to overheating I'm keen to do anything that might help prevent that....