Brian,
OK, I will probably get shot down here......if not that I will at least show
my age.
It's a marketing think, really.
To my limited knowledge, ethylene glycol was originally developed as an
"antifreeze" additive. Years ago, we used to call it just plane
"antifreeze," Especially when I was going to high school in good old
Wheaton, Ill., just outside of Chicago. And believe you me, we needed
antifreeze out there.
As most car owners are basically lazy, they did not remove, flush and
replace the "antifreeze" when the seasons changed....for instance: in
summer, going back to straight water. With this stroke of pure dumb luck,
some customers noted that they thought their cars ran cooler with this new
additive in non-winter months.
With this, the wizards added some anti-corrosive ingredients to the product
to further enhance the global acceptance of this marvelous product.
Bottom line, good old water (plain, by itself,) probably makes for as good
or better transfer of heat.
Let the flames begin. But I remember it folks as antifreeze. It's a
marketing thing....you know, expanding the market segments??
Regards,
Allan
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-tigers@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-tigers@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Brian E. Farkas
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 1998 8:11 PM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Coolants
All this talk about various types of coolant and their potential
effectiveness...
I would imagine that someone in the group might be able to shed some light
on the role of the coolant (in theoritical terms - we all know that it
should cool the engine!). Allan, Bob, Joe? What I'm getting at is that the
coolant properties of interest are its boiling point and its heat capacity
(that is, its ability to "carry" heat). Does the orange stuff have a better
heat capacity than others? What other properties do we need to consider?
So enough ramble, anyone care to pitch in?
Brian
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