ztim

I put a gallon of 50-50 antifreeze in my 307, drove it for about 8 miles and checked it with the meat-baster ***** thing. Four floated which is to be good for 25 below. A friend came over and his rated the same thing. Is this fairly accurate? Is there a better way of testing?

ozoneblue

As A life long mechanic we have always wanted -40 Remember This not just antifreeze it is coolant also. It is always best to mix your own .Depending on where you live, Figure outside temp - driving down the road @60 mph .What is the wind chill .PS Drove over the road 10 yr ,Radiators will freeze causing a over heat problem. Insurance is cheap!

kevinkpk

Old hat. I'd suggest buying a new tester ($2.95) that dosen't use the *****. Those old testers only projected to -25. Pure anti-freeze ethly glycol should be closer to -35 or so. I (personally) use pre anti-freeze with some water. I do not live in real cold climates, that could be a consideration.

ztim

I forgot about a possible wind shear factor. Living here in South Carolina it rarely gets to freezing. Well, maybe 20 or so in February. So I should shoot for a reading of 40?

Oldsguy

I don't want to appear argumentative but I thought wind-chill was a "feels like" equivalent based on preceived temperature on SKIN. Air temp of X degrees will still be X degrees with a 30 mile per hour wind to a chunk of metal, it "feels like" it is colder to our skin because our bodies cool in a way that makes it so.

kevinkpk

Wind chill wouldn't have anything to do with it, relative wind plus speed (air through radiator) could. You also have to consider heat factor, and that also is flowing fluid, so I'd not consider wind chill, but low ambients (especially overnight). The point about coolant is a very valid point, alot of people don't consider anti-freeze, coolant for summer. I flushed my sons radiator two weeks ago while I was doing all 5 vehicles, pure (almost) water, tsk tsk. I could "understand" if he had a leak, and was 'adding" water as needed.

ztim

Good point. Now I'm totally confused. I'll just get another gallon.

kevinkpk

The air flow through your radiator i.e. is vehicle speed. Thats not wind chill, if you are thinking of parking your car into the wind without it running, that would (in my opinion) have no effect other than some slight radiator temps due to the metal cooling more so.
I'd still spend the 3 bucks or so on an up to date tester. This worst thing is about not having anti-freeze is a busted block, hence freeze plugs, these are softer than the casting and should blow out before you have the water freezing and crack the block. Alot of times, freeze plugs are in some "hard to get" places. I'd say, get another gallon of anti freeze.

ztim

I went back to the auto store and saw the kind of tester without the floating *****. It has an indicator-type arrow that floats to the line labeled with temperature ranges. Is that the one?

joe_padavano

Oldsguy and Kevin are correct. Windchill is a subjective number based on evaporative cooling of the skin. For an inanimate object the only thing that matters is what the thermometer says. Even wind through the radiator while driving means nothing - that only impacts the rate of heat exchange between the radiator and the air, not the temperature.

Olds64

I always run 50% water 50% antifreeze. It allows for an easy mix. I believe manaufacturers said 70% antifreeze and 30% water. Unless you are living up north you shouldn't have to worry about freezing. Also, you shouldn't have to worry about cooling properties during the summer because not only does the boiling temp of the coolant rise because of the antifreeze it also rises due to the pressure in the radiator.

kevinkpk

Yes. One side will show anti-freeze, backside is coolant level (temp).

kevinkpk

One thing I forgot to mention when checking multi vehicles, is you should pump the tester full of water a few times as to flush out the last test, and try to get all the water out of it before testing a different vehicle, that residual could give you a false reading.

PetChemMan

Don't forget to add the amount of water as indicated on the chart on the back of the antifreeze jug. Use between 50 % and 70 % antifreeze in water. Antifreeze is designed to work diluted with water, and not as 100% antifreeze.

ztim

I'll bet there are plenty of folks who think more is better on the antifreeze level. Now I would like to add a little more, but I do not want to drain away any good stuff I already have. Can I just add it to the reservoir?

J-(Chicago)

Pinch off the hose to the overflow resovoir, take the rad. cap off, and take a turkey baster or syphon hose to the stuff in the radiator, and put it in the resovoir. then you can add to the new stuff to the radiator. Don't worry about gettin a little in your mouth, it doesn't taste so bad

OR you could drain some into a clean bucket and add it back into the resovoir through a coffee filter or something. Be sure to add some new stuff to the res.bottle too so it doesn't freeze and crack the plastic.

it's 20 degrees out here and I haven't changed mine yet I'll be doing it today unfortunately.

Remember to run the car with the radiator cap off until all of the air pockets are out of the system.

PetChemMan

You might add pure antifreeze to your reservoir, but it would take a while to get into the radiator and mix. Instead, drain some antifreeze out of your radiator, put some pure antifreeze into the radiator, and put the mixture you drained out into the reservoir. If you have a lot of time, you can try using a turkey baster with a piece of tubing attached to pull antifreeze out of your radiator , or rig up a siphon. Remember that, to increase the strength of your antifreeze mixture very much, you may have to add two quarts or more. For example, if you have a 15 quart capacity system, and your current antifreeze strength is 35%, you need to add 2.25 quarts of antifreeze to bring it up to a 50% strength.

J-(Chicago)

If your mix is already 50/50 I don't see you having a problem.
Mine is usually 60/40, and It's best to use distilled water, because all of the minerals have been cooked out of it.
Therefore not leaving mineral deposits in your motor and radiator.

Olds64

That is why puppies like to drink anti freeze that pools on the ground. The only bad thing is that it has properties a bit more devious than lime Kool Aid. It shuts down your kidneys. That usually results in death.