The cooling system in your car consists of the radiator, which usually has a pressurised cap (do not open this when the radiator or engine is hot under any circumstance!), an overflow bottle, a thermostat and a cooling fan. Coolant is a chemical fluid that is required for your car’s cooling system or radiator to work. Using water to top up your radiator fluid is a common misconception that occurs because many do not understand the way a radiator functions in an engine and the reason that coolant and antifreeze is required. The difference between using radiator coolant vs water in your radiator Don’t take the easy route, car radiator coolant is essential and this is why. It’s easy to look for cheaper solutions and naturally water can become a far more attractive solution. With the cost of fuel and the escalating costs of living, the radiator coolant price can just add to all your other car expenses. How it can affect the transmission can be seen in How Poorly Maintained Cooling System Can Damage Your Transmission.Most people assume that using pure distilled water in their radiator when their car is overheating will solve the problem. When the correct fluid is not properly used, it can shorten the lifespan of the cooling system, the engine and sometimes the transmission. Good quality coolants should also be used to get the best performance and longevity of the cooling system. If you have to change the coolant that you are using, you must do a thorough radiator flush. Warning! Never mix coolant of different types or composition and color. Always refer to the container label of the coolant you buy for information. If common water like tap water is used, the result is a coolant that is already degraded.Īlso, there is coolant concentrate which will have to be diluted and there is pre-mixed coolant which is mostly 50/50 mixture ratio of concentrated coolant and water. It is not good to exceed 70% water, 30% coolant in order not to loose protection of the engine.Ĭoolant concentrate shouldbe ddiluted with demineralized water only. Because of relatively high ambient temperature, a medium for fast heat transfer is needed. Common mixture ratio is 50% coolant and 50% demineralized water.In a warm/hot climates, it is counter productive to have more coolant than water just because you want to raise boiling point to prevent overheat. There is a compromise and a balance should be achieved. Some vehicle's normal operating coolant temperature are as high as 105 degrees celcius.Īgain, water has better specific heat capacity than coolant hence, it conducts heat away from your engine better than coolant but coolant has higher boiling point which is desirable. Using distilled or demineralized water is not also very good as it is bad for overheat protection because once the temperature reaches about 100 degrees celcius, it begins to boil especially when the cooling system has lost pressure due to faulty radiator cap or leakage somewhere. One advantage of using demineralized water over ordinary water is there won't be scale formation with its use and the water will boil at normal boiling temperature of pure water. A cheap source is water that comes out of air conditioning system. This does not contain those minerals that cause corrosion and scale. Demineralized water/distilled water used as coolant This can have minor to severe effect on the engine as a result of overheating. It can also make the Thermostat to become stuck closed or stuck open or stuck partially closed. Scales and those mineral buildup can block passages in the radiator specifically since the radiator has narrow passages. Water is not good to be used as coolant in the engine because of the damage caused by those minerals as the minerals will eventually block passages, affect heat transfer from the engine block to the coolant. Though the use of water is not encouraged, the impurities help to raise the boiling point of water. It is this same phenomenon that occurs in the cooling system of a car. That is scale! When water that contains these salts is heated and then evaporates, it leaves behind the salts that form scale. Those minerals can also cause scale formation in the cooling system.Īn example of where one can notice scale formation is in the home electric kettle, you will notice a brown scale inside the kettle after some use. These types of water contain minerals that cause corrosion to a car's engine block, piping and the core of a radiator. This could be either tap, well or borehole water. HOW COOLANT PERFORMS WHEN USED AND HOW WATER PERFORMS WHEN USED IN THE COOLING SYSTEM. This is because they are unaware of the long term negative effect that it will have on their vehicle's cooling system and the engine. Many vehicle users do not see the need to use coolant solution in their vehicles simply because they put in water and their vehicle runs fine.
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