Some interesting reading about ratios of ethylene glycol antifreeze freeze to water. This was a surprise to me and thought others may find it interesting. Thought it might be some help to those having overheating problems.
Jason
I forgot to include the link. Sorry.
http://http://hellafunctional.com/?p=629
Yup, 50/50 is optimum-- has been forever.
Brett please set me straight. When I look at the specific heat capacity for a 25% mixture it is about .95 and for a 50% mixture it is abort .85 so we are loosing about 10% of the cooling ability by using a 50% mixture. So if I was having overheating problems wouldn't a 25% mixture be better even though the boiling point will drop a few degrees.
The big problem with a 25% mixture is the freeze point is only about 5 degrees so additional antifreeze would be required for winter. So a 50/50 does not require winter adjustments making it easier.
Thanks
Jason
Actually, the percent is not the most important factor for a diesel, as preservation of the cylinder walls on any linered engine dictates a certain concentration of coolant/SCA or ELC/water.
Do you have an engine with replaceable cylinder liners?
But, in general, if a 10% loss of cooling capacity causes overheating, look for the root cause. All chassis are overbuilt by that amount.
Thank you for taking the time to explain. I have the Cummins M11 ISM which does have replaceable liners. I was not working liner preservation into the equation. I am not having any overheating problems but thought the information may be helpful to others.
Thanks again
Jason