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Coolant

in General Tech Discussion 8 years ago

  • Re: Coolant

    by » 8 years ago

    If you use Dex Cool 50/50 "Extended Life" coolant many just do it at the 5 year rubber change. If that bothers you and you're in a conservative camp then do it every 3 years.
    It only takes about 15 min. to change fluid and cost is about $15 for a gal. of coolant. It don't think you can go wrong with either schedule. I have seen people leave it past 5 years, but I'm not a fan. Additives break down eventually.

    Maybe Rob or one of the other guys here will weigh in.

    Roger Lee
    LSRM-A & Rotax Instructor & Rotax IRC
    Tucson, AZ Ryan Airfield (KRYN)
    520-349-7056 Cell

    Thank you said by: Raymond Moran
      
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  • Re: Coolant

    by » 8 years ago

    DexCool claims 5 years. Not sure but if I remember right Rotax was saying less...like 2 years.
    There are several third party additives at auto parts stores calling themselves coolant conditoers (not to be confused with stop-leak products) claiming to extend life and inhibit corrosion.

    I would guess "your mileage may vary."

    And issue related to coolant life is to check that there's no or "within spec acceptably low" electical voltage potential leak between the coolant and ground ...especially when plane is sitting hangared with all electrical supposedly completely turned off...as the plane spends far more hours in that state.
    See
    http://www.ve-labs.net/electrolysis-101/how-to-test
    and other sources.

    It's an easy quick test with a voltmeter.

    My two cents.
    Thank you said by: Raymond Moran
      
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  • Re: Coolant

    by » 8 years ago

    The manual recommends staying _around_ 50% coolant.

    We run ours 60%.
    At 60% two things are different than 50%:
    a) Boiling point is higher. That's good.
    b) Heat transfer capacity is a bit lower. That's not necessarily good if you're flying in very hot conditions and your installation tends to run hot.
    Our Rotax tends to run cooler than optimal ...to the degree that we have to shutter part of the radiator. So "b" is good for us.

    With you being in hot Florida you might consider running 40 or 45%, as it has slightly better cooling capacity than 50% at the cost of a very slight reduction in boiling point. Particularly if your Rotax tends to run hotter than optimal.
    Thank you said by: Raymond Moran
      
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  • Re: Coolant

    by » 8 years ago

    For as cheap and easy that the coolant is to replace and you have to drain it for the 5 year rubber replacement that just seems like a good spot to do it.

    Roger Lee
    LSRM-A & Rotax Instructor & Rotax IRC
    Tucson, AZ Ryan Airfield (KRYN)
    520-349-7056 Cell

    Thank you said by: Raymond Moran
      
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  • Re: Coolant

    by » 8 years ago

    Well, Nuts!!!

    I was fat, Dumb and happy until Roger posted that link to Wikipedia.

    It appears that the term "Dex-Cool" no longer means much more than No Silicates and the color will be Orange.
    Multiple companies manufacture products wth the term Dex-Cool in their name and wildly varying additives in their products.
    They all contain >90% standard Ethylene Glycol just like classic Green Antifreeze. Just the additives have changed.

    The classic Green Antifreeze is fine for engines with Iron blocks and copper radiators.
    In the long term, it doesn't play well with the Aluminum Blocks and radiators in our modern engines unless it gets changed every two years, and people are just not willing to do the maintenance until it is too late.

    Enter the Orange colored Extended life products that are gentler on Aluminum Engines.

    General Motors started the Dex-Cool name long ago.
    They (GM) are currently battling multiple class action suits because it has been claimed that the 2-EHA (2-EthylHexanoic Acid) additive is a plasticizer that accelerates the decomposition of Plastic, Nylon, and Silicon rubber products in the cooling systems. GM Head Gaskets are dissolving on a regular basis.

    In looking a dozen MSDS sheets for common coolant products the good news is that most manufacturers do not use 2-EHA.
    The bad news is that the one product that most people would likely grab by default (Prestone Dex-Cool Extended Life) still uses 2-EHA.

    The AC Delco Dex-Cool Antifreeze produced by GM will likely continue to contain 2-EHA because if they removed it, it would appear to be an admission of guilt in the court battles.

    Attached is a summary of the common Antifreeze products you will likely find on the shelves in the US.

    Motorcraft Gold and the Valvoline products look particularly attractive to me.
    AntiFreezeComponents.pdf (You do not have access to download this file.)

    Bill Hertzel
    Rotax 912is
    North Ridgeville, OH, USA
    Clicking the "Thank You" is Always Appreciated by Everyone.

      
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