does water cool the same as antifreeze?

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

all I want to know is whether or not coolant cools the engine better than water(50/50 vs. straight water)

I know about how its a rust inhibitor, and doesnt freeze and such, but I'm just asking about the cooling properties.

 

[americanjebus]

water wont cool it down as well, antifreeze raises the boiling point of the water aswell as lowering the freezing point. dont run straight water.

 

[JonoTurbo]

water cools better than antifreeze, and you can run on straight water just fine as long as its warm enough that it has no chance of freezing

 

[IJ.]

Straight water is the best but you'll end up making a big battery out of your engine due to the dissimilar metals in it.

End result electrolyses/erosion of the softer metal (The Head)

It's a lot more complex than this but you get the idea I hope.

 

[jimi87-t]

Straight water is the best but you'll end up making a big battery out of your engine due to the dissimilar metals in it.

End result electrolyses/erosion of the softer metal (The Head)

It's a lot more complex than this but you get the idea I hope.

Yep, What Ian and Jon said.

 

[chopstickz]

Just put 2 bottles of water wetter and 50% water and 50% coolant

 

[CRE]

water wont cool it down as well, antifreeze raises the boiling point of the water aswell as lowering the freezing point. dont run straight water.

Absolutely! Think boiling point. 100°F is VERY low, gonna have a lot of air (ok, steam really) in that system very fast.

 

[Racefiend]

Absolutely! Think boiling point. 100°F is VERY low, gonna have a lot of air (ok, steam really) in that system very fast.

Umm...the boiling point of water is 100C, which is 213F.

 

[Brewster]

Umm...the boiling point of water is 100C, which is 213F.

And a coolant mix will boil at a higher temp, so wouldn't that cool better than water alone?

 

[Racefiend]

And a coolant mix will boil at a higher temp, so wouldn't that cool better than water alone?

Apples and oranges. When we're talking about how "well" either will cool, we are pretty much talking about thermal conductivity and specific heat. Water has over twice the thermal conductivity of antifreeze, and almost twice the specific heat. So in essence, use just enough coolant to prevent freezing/boiling, and use distilled water to help prevent rust.

 

[jimi87-t]

Yep, boiling point has nothing to do with the cooling effect. Plus if your rad cap is not busted it is the main preventer of boiling.

Normally water boils at 212°F. However, for every pound of pressure increase, the boiling point goes up 3°F.
Typical radiator cap pressure is 12 to 16 psi. This raises the boiling point of the engine coolant to about 250°F to 260°F.

 

[IJ.]

Reading and Comprehension are critical here guys.......

ANYTHING you add to plain water detracts from it's cooling ability.

But as I said earlier water on it's own isn't a good solution.

"Ohhh yeah I'm gonna run 100% Glycol in my car cos it's better!...... Dang why does it overheat" DUH :3d_frown:

 

[CRE]

Way to go.... I think I need to have another one. :beer: Duh.

 

[Mr.SelfDestruct]

aight, thanks, I just posted this because my mom though coolant actually cooled the engine better than water.

 

[silver88turbo]

Racefiend, jimi and IJ all hit it on the head. Ive seen charts that compare the thermal conductivity and freezing points of different mixtures and it seems that 30(glycol)/70(H2O) is the best of both worlds.

 

[GrimJack]

If you really want to prove this one way or another, get two pans, put equal amounts or water in one and antifreeze in the other, put a thermometer in each one, and throw them on the stove at the same setting.

Check the thermometers every minute or so, and record the results.

Also, check the rules at your local track. Notice that they specify you are only allowed pure water in your cooling system? Think they would get away with that if racing your car on water alone could cause damage?

Racefiend, jimi and IJ are all correct - well, mostly anyhow. There are things that you can add to water to make it cool better... Antifreeze just isn't one of them. The subject of what you could add to your water to help is a totally different thread, though.

 

[Red Dragon]

Just put 2 bottles of water wetter and 50% water and 50% coolant

uhh, the water wetter bottle says only put x ammount for an x qt. system. I had a little left after following the directions for the size cooling system we have.

 

[Fuzz420]

all i know without all the technicall jargon is straight water will rust a brand new radiator fast.Throw in sub-freezing temperatures and you will be amazed how fast this happens. Thats the last time i put off replacing the water with coolant

 

[IJ.]

When I built my first water cooled PC I did a HEAP of real world tests and tried just about every combination I could think of and this coupled with a lot of research is why I made my statement.

In a PC boiling point isn't an issue so you're able to test just the cooling properties. (Which is what the original question was)

 

[GrimJack]

LOL - Ian, that's seriously funny because it is also how I got started researching cooling properties. It's also how I discoverd what galvanic corrosion is... I used an aluminum / copper water block and a steel radiator. Didn't last very long, as you can imagine.