Antifreeze!

[snowylebongo]

Just had a look in the header tank of my pride and joy and the water is bright blue, and according to my old tester it is good for at least -10 on the glycol ethanol scale does this sound about right.
Got the van in sept of this year and the water pump was replaced before we took ownership so i am presuming all is it certainly looks new and clean. Any info on the blue stuff would be appreciated, I am probably just being captain anal but we are talking about my long awaited bongo!

[Northern Bongolow]

that will be fine-----unless it gets to minus 11

[bigdaddycain]

Just had a look in the header tank of my pride and joy and the water is bright blue, and according to my old tester it is good for at least -10 on the glycol ethanol scale does this sound about right.
Got the van in sept of this year and the water pump was replaced before we took ownership so i am presuming all is it certainly looks new and clean. Any info on the blue stuff would be appreciated, I am probably just being captain anal but we are talking about my long awaited bongo!

After reading some of the scare stories on here i don't blame you for being concerned Snowy!

If your coolant is bright blue then it sounds as if a thorough coolant flush was carried out when the water pump went. The main issue of mixing innapropriate coolants in a bongo is well documented on here, so it sounds as if you will be ok. Stop worrying and get bongoing snowy!

[snowylebongo]

Thanks for the advice guys , really appreciate the input!.Good to know i am running on fresh stuff!

[hembramacho]

I may be totally wrong, but if you've had a recent coolant change, then being OK down to -10 is a bit 'high' if that makes sense.
Having topped up my header tank a couple of times in the last 18 months since the last coolant change, and having done a check with a hydrometer, mine says I'm OK down to -15. Even with this reading, I'm slightly concerned, as going off last winter when the temps got quite low into the minus's, this winter could be worse and get lower (closer to the -15 than I would like).
I'm toying with the idea of either booking the bongo in for a complete coolant change for peace of mind, topping up with neat coolant just to possibly get the minus reading down a bit lower(?) - mine's bluey green in colour so would I be OK with any blue glycol based coolant/antifreeze (OATS etc is also confusing me) - or leaving it as it is and hoping for a mild winter - what's the worst that could happen? (that's not a flippant comment - what really could be the worst that could happen???)

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers

Andrew

[Diplomat]

what really could be the worst that could happen???

Core plugs popping out, radiator rupturing, heater matrices....!!!

[Northern Bongolow]

you could split your rad,dont forget windchill factor,it could be minus 5 but face your motor into the wind,and that could become minus15

[hembramacho]

you could split your rad,dont forget windchill factor,it could be minus 5 but face your motor into the wind,and that could become minus15

Fair point, but wouldn't the heat of the engine running bring the coolant up to such a temp that the cold wind blowing at it wouldn't make such a difference?
Again, don't really know what i'm talking about, so all advice is good!

Andrew

[hembramacho]

what really could be the worst that could happen???

Core plugs popping out, radiator rupturing, heater matrices....!!!

Advice????

[Northern Bongolow]

this would maybe happen when the engine is off.

[haydn callow]

You will be fine when the engine is running....What is ment is ....altough the outside temp (parked up at night) might be only -5....if the wind is blowing into the front of the Radiator it could actually be -15 through the rad.

Same as a nice cold bright day...if you are out for a walk and the wind gets up it is much colder on your skin than if you shelter from the wind....Wind chill

[Ron Miel]

Two factors snowy: UK blue (ethyelene glycol) coolant manufacturers recommend a 50/50 coolant concentrate/ionised water mix, giving freeze protection down to -36 C. That's not because they necessarily expect you to meet such low temperatures but because at 50/50 concentration you also get two years corrosion protection from its corrosion inhibitor chemicals - any lower concentration, and you don't because the limited inhibitor chemicals content simply depletes away by interaction with all that excess internal engine metal. Cooling system corrosion (causing sludging up, overheating, related reduction in engine performance, and eventually failure) is a much more serious requirement in this country than sheer frost protection. Sorry, but it's not scaremongering to tell you that your coolant is one of, if not the, most important engine component. Both "coolant" and "anti-freeze" are misnomers - it's "magical engine performance and protection liquid".

Hembremacho - you need water in the correct proportion in your coolant mix, to properly conduct engine heat to the radiator. Coolant concentrate is not as good a heat conductor as water.

[hembramacho]

this would maybe happen when the engine is off.

[g8dhe]

Umm, Wind Chill applies only to the human body. Its the reduction in temperature due to evaporation of moisture, so unless your radiator is continuously loosing water which is being evaporated away then the temperature of the metal will be the same as the temperature of the air blowing past it. For the full details the Wikipedia entry is quite through.

[Northern Bongolow]

oh well back to the drawing board, thanks geoff