Windsheild washer fluid as coolant additive

[Pyrotechnic]

i flushed out my system earlier today, instead of putting in the usual water/water wetter coolant i put in 50/50 water/windshield washer fluid, mainly because it has methanol in it. Temps seem to be about 2c better than they were. I dont know if the windsheild washer fluid is any better than water wetter but it does give my coolant a cool blue color

[DigitalChaos]

wonder if it prevents oxidation and corrosion at all

[Cyco-Dude]

i doubt it. also keep in mind windshield washer fluid has more than just methanol and water in it...usually theres also some sort of soap or other cleaning agent as well.

[UnaClocker]

Good way to clean out your system. hehe.. Toss in some CLR while your at it.

[Brad]

throw some more methanol in there, and see what happens to your temps. Sounds like a nice way to get a 2C drop

[webmedic]

In a post long ago on some forum (can't remember were) someone was talking about using this stuff but he was using the kind made for motor homes and premixed but he was using it straight and he seemed to get good temps.

[Marco]

Just an idea, but since methanol is more volatile than water, could it be evaporating somewhere (an open airtrap?) and thus giving an added (and notably temporary) cooling bonus?

[bigben2k]

Actually, windsheild washer fluid is already mixed with water, usually in a 1 to 2 or 2 to 2 ratio. You should try using windshield washer fluid straight out. That's what I'm planning to use.

Some do include extra agents, so you have to carefully look at the bottle for an accurate description of what's in it. Strangely enough, the cheaper it is, the better chance there is that it won't have any additives. Just stay away from formulaes with bug repellant, or anything nasty.

I knew a place that sold it out of a 55 gallon drum: you just bring in your gallon jug, and he'd charge a buck or two. Unfortunately, I've moved since then... but maybe a local garage can fix you up that way.

There's a thread in here somewhere with an analysis of methanol as a coolant, just search for "windshield washer".

You don't have to worry about evaporation a whole lot, because the mix with water will keep the methanol in the system, just by cohesion, but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to put some kind of filter to impede that.

[WebMasta33]

Not sure if any of you in the southern climates have this...

But there is windshield washing fluid they sell here in Nebraska.... It's the de-icer kind....

Would that be good for a pelt setup?

I can vouch, that I use that shit to clean the snow off my winshield during the winter. It'll be about 20 degrees out, driving 60mph to school, and that stuff won't freeze.

I think that would be a great idea, to prevent the problem if you used pelts, and you had the problem of freezing the water in a block.

[ECUPirate]

yeah, most washer fluid is 33/66, which is the ratio r0ckstarbob used in his analysis of that as a coolant. By mixing it w/ 1/2 water, you reduced it to 16.7/83.3

anyways, I'll find his thread and bump it.

[redleader]

Just an idea, but since methanol is more volatile than water, could it be evaporating somewhere

Volitility is an interesting question.

While methanol is more volatile then water, it also is a larger molecule then water. So it comes down to which is more important to the rate of coolant loss- how much pressure the coolant vapor exerts against your seals or how fast the coolant will effuse between the microscopic gaps between the tube and barbs.

[Heavy_Equipment]

I could be wrong, but I thought windsheild washer fluid was corrosive. It is designed to dissolve bug guts.

I seem to remember hearing once that it was murder on a car's paint over long term exposure...if that's the case, how will silicone/vinyl tubing stand up?

[WebMasta33]

Originally posted by Heavy_Equipment
I could be wrong, but I thought windsheild washer fluid was corrosive. It is designed to dissolve bug guts.

I seem to remember hearing once that it was murder on a car's paint over long term exposure...if that's the case, how will silicone/vinyl tubing stand up?

Then tell me what kind of tubing the fluid sits in... waiting to go from the res -> pump -> squirters. I highly doubt it's that corrosive, considering it sits in the tube basically for the life of the car.

[bigben2k]

Originally posted by Heavy_Equipment
I could be wrong, but I thought windsheild washer fluid was corrosive. It is designed to dissolve bug guts.

I seem to remember hearing once that it was murder on a car's paint over long term exposure...if that's the case, how will silicone/vinyl tubing stand up?

It's always nice to hear from a fellow Canadian, even if he's a Maple Leaf fan...

You might be right about the fluid being bad for the paint, but I don't think it's because it's corrosive, it's probably just because it will strip wax off, and may soften the clearcoat. I wouldn't worry about it. As for tubing, if you're concerned, then use that Tygon 3603 that everyone is talking about, as it's made specifically for chemicals, but otherwise, I'm pretty sure that it won't harm any kind of tubing.

The only item of concern is galvanic corrosion. I am probably going to use some kind of anti corrosive agent, but if the rig is all copper, then it's not a concern.

[Heavy_Equipment]

Then tell me what kind of tubing the fluid sits in... waiting to go from the res -> pump -> squirters.

Oh man...I kinda over looked the obvious there. Good point.

I'm just gonna go over here and shut the hell up now.