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Was able to test my coolant today with the Agricultural Solutions refractometer. After calibrating the instrument with distilled water, my 50/50 mix I carry that I mixed by eye in the bottle measured -47.2* F freeze protection. It should be -34* F at 50%.. I can't be certain, but this was probably due to me not using a measuring device when I mixed in the bottle The instrument could also be off.
Coolant out of the Degas measured -58* F. At 60% coolant, the Rotella bottle says the freeze protection would be -62* F. This(-58*) puts me pretty close to what Fiveojester measured when adding 3.5 gallons of concentrate. Anyway two stories of the 3.5 gallons not being a 50/50 mix. Maybe the real number is 3 gallons even of concentrate? Not sure how accurate these devices are though. Maybe someone can check with a more advanced one for our information.
If you checked your cal with distilled water and it was good, I'd leave it at that. You can go farther and check the upper range, but, man, it's not worth going down that rabbit hole.
And depending on how deep in the next-door neighbor's rabbit hole you want to go, you could alter the antifreeze percentage as more of the concentrate not only lowers the freezing point but reduces thermal transfer, so you are not cooling as well as you could be. Water has the best transfer rate. "Gee, my oil cooler never worked so well" during the rinse drive.
How my refractometer looked when I was testing battery conditions.
Fine, fine, fine, Fine!!! I ordered one of the knock offs - probably have a 75% solution...
I'll let ya' know... What I'm wondering is: what about all the other things coolants' additives do? Lubricate seals, prevent corrosion, keep electrical flow low... Is that ALL a factor of the freeze point (how much glycol is in the mix)?
Stupid minds want to know... And yeah, I should just google it...
I'm a 50% guy. Yeah, if you went way towards water, you would probably be missing things you want. It's ain't no way to make up for a bad cooler, radiator, fan, or anythin' blowing in the wind.
50% is fine for my area also. I am going with the concentration I have. I can’t see a direct way to get back to 50% without random guesswork, drive cycles, then more testing back and forth. If I was low though I would make the effort. Also my temps are good- but dang they could be a little better... oops almost fell down that hole.
When I had to rebalance, I would drop 1 qt out of the radiator and compensate with whatever was needed at the top at a time. Of course, I’ve got a number of engines where that drain-out can go.
When I had to rebalance, I would drop 1 qt out of the radiator and compensate with whatever was needed at the top at a time. Of course, I’ve got a number of engines where that drain-out can go.
I may give it a go when the weather gives me good reason to be outside. I am curious if average temps might be a couple of degrees lower or if it cools down faster. Do you keep a desk in the rabbit hole?😁
Was able to test my coolant today with the Agricultural Solutions refractometer. After calibrating the instrument with distilled water, my 50/50 mix I carry that I mixed by eye in the bottle measured -47.2* F freeze protection. It should be -34* F at 50%.. I can't be certain, but this was probably due to me not using a measuring device when I mixed in the bottle The instrument could also be off.
Coolant out of the Degas measured -58* F. At 60% coolant, the Rotella bottle says the freeze protection would be -62* F. This(-58*) puts me pretty close to what Fiveojester measured when adding 3.5 gallons of concentrate. Anyway two stories of the 3.5 gallons not being a 50/50 mix. Maybe the real number is 3 gallons even of concentrate? Not sure how accurate these devices are though. Maybe someone can check with a more advanced one for our information.
To check my Amazon refractometer with ELC coolant I mixed up a small batch (~8oz) of 50/50 using my a small food scale (down to the 0.1 oz) so I could be super accurate in how much water & concentrate I was adding. It was spot on. It has freeze point and a scale for concentration of propylene and ethylene glycols (ELC is ethylene).
To cut it down, I would check the concentration and then do some convoluted math to determine how much coolant I need to drain & refill, etc. It took a few tries and I ended up close to 50/50.
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