Antifreeze is needed to cool a car engine. Today, coolants are classified into 4 types, each of which differs in additives and certain properties. All the antifreeze you see on store shelves is made up of water and ethylene glycol, and that's where the similarities end. So how do coolants differ from each other, in addition to color and cost, choose the right antifreeze for your car, is it possible to mix different coolants and dilute them with water - read on.
What is antifreeze?
Antifreeze is the common name for vehicle coolant. Regardless of the classification, antifreeze contains propylene glycol or ethylene glycol and its own package of additives.
Ethylene glycol is a toxic dihydric alcohol. In its pure form, it is an oily liquid that tastes sweet, its boiling point is about 200 degrees, and its freezing point is -12.5 degrees. Remember that ethylene glycol is a dangerous poison, and the lethal dose for humans is 300 grams. By the way, poison is neutralized with ethyl alcohol.
Propylene glycol is a new word in the world of coolants. Such antifreezes are used in all modern cars with strict toxicity standards; in addition, antifreeze based on propylene glycol has excellent lubricating and anti-corrosion properties. This alcohol is produced using the light phase of petroleum distillation.
Important facts
You cannot mix G11 antifreeze with G12, even if the composition contains similar or almost the same substances. Yet there are components that are very different and make the mixture impossible to mix. Differences may occur in the presence of lubricating components
and substances with anti-corrosion properties.
Dyes simply provide antifreeze with color individuality; they are added to the composition. If the product is from a different manufacturer, but is of the same shade, it is possible to mix it with each other. Only fakes have exceptions in this regard, where the color definitions are chaotic and without features in the composition. If there is such a need to mix antifreeze, you need to buy G12 or G12+. They have the properties of a normal reaction to any other substance.
What does G12 consist of:
- ninety percent – dihydric alcohol of ethylene glycol;
- five percent – distilled water;
- at least five percent of the additive package;
- dye
Where and how are antifreezes used?
Antifreeze has found its application only in the field of automobile transport. It is often used in the heating system of residential buildings and premises. In our case, the main task of antifreeze is to maintain the operating temperature of the engine in a given mode. Coolant is used in a closed jacket of the engine and the line, and also passes through the passenger compartment, due to which warm air blows when the heater is on. Some cars have a heat exchanger for automatic transmissions, where antifreeze and oil intersect in parallel in one housing, regulating each other’s temperature.
