I've now seen a couple people on this forum that claim to run antifreeze year round due to the anti-corrosive properties. Personally, I run water and then swap it out in the winter before placing it into storage. My concern is that if my car over heats or I spring a leak, the antifreeze is a mess and much harder on paint than plain water.
Just wondering how many people run antifreeze year round and if so, your reason for soon so.
Should have been "and your reason for doing so.".
Anti-corrosion, first and foremost. It also increases the coolan't boiling point, but that's just a nice side effect.
distilled water with anti-rust here.
50% Water 50% Zerex IAT (inorganic acid technology) antifreeze, year round. Why? Not so much for cooling but more for protection against rust in the jacket. When I bought my '26 coupe in 1970, the block, which had apparently been filled with water for 44 years, was very badly pitted and packed with thick sheets of black rust. After I had the block chemically flushed and cleaned in a large bath, I was alarmed at how thin and deeply pitted the walls of the water jacket appeared.
If I want to preserve my Model T and its' original engine with matching numbers, I cannot afford for anymore deterioration to occur or there is a very real danger of my block rusting through the cylinder walls or through to the exterior of the engine, therefore, I keep a 50:50 mixture of good antifreeze in the cooling system and monitor it frequently with "ColorpHast" pH test strips to test it's pH acid content and change it when it is out of the acceptable range (should be between 7.5 and 9. Any less or anymore and the antifreeze should be changed). Jim Patrick
I run anti-freeze year round for corrosion protection. Any boil-overs should be contained by the radiator cap with water & steam rushing out the overflow tube.
If you have everything in good condition, you shouldn't have any overheating and leaks should be rare.
Besides, I've spilled more anti-freeze on my car than has ever leaked and my paint has not suffered from it. Of course, I wipe it up quickly so as not to give it a chance.
I just talked to a Tech at Prestone and it was confirmed what I had read about NOT using any of the Many EXTENDED Life coolants or the OAT or HOAT types. Yes I know it say on the label good for any car any system according to him this is except special cars like T's.
It seems to be the fact that our systems are not pressureized and has surfaces that are not wet all the time. This where the problem results. I noticed it states on the bottle of Prestone Extended Life in small letters "with Pressurized Cap"
I found some coolant marked good for all models 1989 and earlier. It is the Conventional Green type.
Sort of surprising news but maybe the old Soluble Oil or Distilled water and an anti rust additive. I also noted that it's getting hard to find the bottles of anti rust additive probably because most new type coolants aren't compatable.
The antifreeze sure doesn't like the brass when you spill it.
Same as Doug
distilled water with prestone anti-rust
I wanted to add that Harrold S. said he used to put a few drops of dish soap in fire extinguishers many years ago.. Said something about doing the same thing in a radiator. It DOES WORK. 5 drops in my radiator lowered my temp on a warm day a few weeks ago.
It is harder on paint and harder to clean up, but I run 50/50 in all four cars with water wetter - never a problem, and it gets changed every fall, need it or not. Wasteful, no doubt, but safe, yes! Its my fall chore - oil, grease and antifreeze. (and take the battery out so you can keep it inside and charged with a 1 amp trickler)
Careful there Jerry; a couple too many drops of dishwashing detergent and some of these cheap Model T guys will be thinking back to their wives Whirlpool washing machines and be asking questions on the forum about how to adapt a Whirlpool or Kenmore "suds saver" to their Model T's!
I just finished a very difficult repair on a Model T block that had been run for years with water in it. The water jacket around the valve chambers had roted out. If the owner had used 50 / 50 anti freeze the block would never have corroded.
Not only your block, but the radiator will remain far more effective for many more decades if you will do one simple thing - keep it filled with anti freeze.
I haven't noticed that anti freeze causes any mess. I don't have any leaks, and it rarely needs to be topped off because it never boils over.
I use whatever's on sale and distilled water, year round.
In a garage with HEAT all my cars except the 67 VW
I have always used rainwater, but have been given some soluble oil. How much should I add?
If the Anti is in there and correct for the car why drain it? Please no comments on how expensive it is. I've posted before and have always been ignored, about why some guy's take these home made 1920's chances with their T's. I can only assume they have extra engines and radiators laying around.
Thanks for all of the responses.
For the guys who keep antifreeze in year round, how often are you checking it to make sure it has the proper ratio of water to ethylene glycol? I assume that you're using a common tester to determine your ratio. Are you just taking your sample from the radiator header?
Rad. filler neck or if you must: drain a bit from the petcock.
I run 50-50 antifreeze year round, because changing it out for distilled water every Spring would be a bother and I'd be sacrificing corrosion protection.
As Gene pointed out, antifreeze does really ugly things to brass and though the tarnish (or whatever it is) can be polished out with the usual products, it does require tenacity.
As mentioned above I test mine with pH test strips. I test it each month by emptying a little out the bottom petcock into a clean glass each month. If you don't have a petcock in the bottom of your radiator you will need to siphon some from the top with a siphon hose. Jim Patrick
Even Henry comments on just adding an anti-freeze for winter (Alcohol+Glyceine) has problems, quote,(1914)
'In case any of the radiator tubes happen to be plugged or jammed, they are bound to freeze and burst open'
It needs to be well circulated through the system
Running it all year round gives you less chance of that happening if you live in seasonal freezing conditions.
I am with Bob Coiro. I would like the corrosion protection, but just a tad to much fluid in the radiator and the anti-freeze gets on the brass, it's a real bugger to clean and polish. Is there anything that can be used that is not so detrimental on the brass? I do drain mine in the fall and fill it with antifreeze and then refill with fresh distilled water in the spring, but notice the water is pretty rusty. My T does spend the winter in a heated garage,
George....is you left the antifreeze in you wouldn't get rusty fluid.
That's half of the idea.
Just be careful and keep it off the brass when you fill. Use a funnel. Wipe up any drops on the brass promptly. (This goes for painted surfaces too.) Be sure you have a good gasket and turn down the radiator cap tightly so it won't work loose. Any overflow will go down the tube and miss the brass.
How are you guys getting anti freeze all over the top of the radiator like that? Do you not have a gasket under the radiator cap? Why not? That cap needs to be tight and the gasket will keep anything from coming out of there. Also, anti freeze corrodes brass less than straight water.
Fix the missing gasket or loose cap or what ever your problem is and then quit whining.
The problem I have with running water in the summer is that summer can come any week between July and August, and any other week there can be a freeze at night. That kinda narrows down when it is safe to run plain water.
Best
gus
An interesting topic. I personally don't get hung up on PH, distilled water or if the mix is 50/50.
I check to see if it's green and good to go.
What I do find interesting is a couple of drops of soap in the radiator.
I spray the lawn with soap and water from time to as well so I will just guess here, is the rationale to add soap to break the surface tension of the water? It seems it would help cooling.
Here in San Diego county, it rarely freezes. But it does about once in 5 years or so, so I keep the anti-freeze in my T's year around. If I have to remove the radiator or head, I drain it out and if fresh I save it and reuse. but if it has been for a while, I replace it with fresh. I have good radiators on all my cars and they don't boil. Summer can come any time from January to December, but is usually from July through October. October is just like summer except it gets dark earlier. I put in half anti freeze and half distilled water, but when I need to add some, I just use the distilled water. My radiators stay clean and I use gaskets on the caps so any that runs out goes down the tube. I use the green stuff.
Our well water is so full of minerals it will plug small leaks in water pipes and plugs up the drip irrigation system. Water district water is hard too. It comes from Colorado and picks up sediment all the way down through the canyon country until it gets to southern California. So I don't use that water but only distilled in my radiators.
Norm
As originally asked: Why do you drain/re-fill with water?
Is water from a dehumidifier OK? I was told once since the water condensed on metal fins the PH wouldn't be right for a radiator.
Just water, drain in the winter no problems ever.
"No problems ever". I have to disagree Mike. I wish I had taken pictures of the bucket full of thick, black rust crust that came out of my water jacket back in 1970 when I first had the block chemically cleaned and flushed. You would have been shocked.
Constant immersion in plain water is the worst thing there is for cast iron. I'll bet when you drain the water each fall, the water comes out brown. That brown is another layer of metal that is no longer a part of your Model T and one layer closer to total rust through.
One way to prolong the life of your engine is to protect the water jacket from corrosion with one of the anti-corrosion products mentioned above. Jim Patrick
Is there a good product to use to flush the engine and radiator when the radiator is still installed on the car?
Give Steve Jelf's thread a read George.......
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/285681.html?1336689537