Antifreeze lifespan

[TJ Hopland]

I don't know if it would be worth wasting a strip but what happens if you test the plain water?  And the concentrate?

[Cadman-iac]

I don't know if it would be worth wasting a strip but what happens if you test the plain water?  And the concentrate?

 I'll find out and let you know.
 I've got plenty of the strips, there were 70 in the bottle.

[TJ Hopland]

IF the strips give some readable results with water it would be interesting to try different waters.

[Cadman-iac]

IF the strips give some readable results with water it would be interesting to try different waters.

Without traveling to get another sample to test, all I can do is test my well water and the distilled water I've got left. It would be interesting to see if it makes any difference in the test.

One thing I noticed is that the color scale for the reserve alkalinity is somewhat subjective in the middle range. If you look at the picture of the bottle you can see they conveniently left out that portion of the scale, so you just have to "guess" as to where you think it falls.
There are several things that have to be correct before you do the test as well. The coolant has to be below 110°, you have to submerge the strip for 2 seconds before removing it, and you have to flick it to remove any excess coolant from the strip. Then you have to wait 40 seconds before reading it and comparing the color of the "pad" to the bottle. This is for the protection level, they make no mention of a time constraint for the other 2 tests on the strip, but I would think that you should be as quick as possible just in case.

I don't know if the other test strips that were discussed would have been any better or not, but they didn't have many strips unless you wanted to pay a lot more for them.
Wondering now if they would have worked better, or I just wouldn't have had extra strips to double-check things like I'm able to now.
Bottom line is, just replace the coolant every 2 years and you'll be safe.
These claims of antifreeze being good for 350,000 miles or 15 years is sales hype in my opinion.
But I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and testing what I can.

Rick

[Big Fins]

In any of the classics, I use the Prestone green concentrate and distilled water. Then change it out every 3-4 years. The pre-dilluted stuff doesn't impress me.

After flushing and reverse flushing of the block, radiator and heater core, I blow out any residual water with my leaf blower. Then, in I put in 3 gallons of the concentrate, half a gallon in the overflow bottle and then top with distilled water and monitor the level for additional needs after 'burping' the system.

[Cadman-iac]

  That's what I do when I change coolant. First drain, then fill with water and a flush agent, in this case I used Prestone's own flush, then drain and refill again with just water, (and I back flush through the heater core and thermostat opening each time), then fill with coolant and water. It depends on what the capacity of the system is that determines exactly how much coolant I'll put in. I had been going with a 70/30  mix, but this time I chose to use a 60/40 mix. I doubt that it'll make much difference either way.


Now, as for the test of the premixed coolant and tap water and distilled water separately, here's the results.

Prestone Platinum premix at 56/44, (yeah, they're that precise, right)?
Test shows the freeze point is at -52°.
The reserve alkalinity shows to be approximately 3.5. (Hmm)!!
The PH level showed up at 9.0.

For the distilled water alone, the freeze point was as expected, 32°.
The reserve alkalinity came in below 3.0.
And the PH level was 7.0.

My well water tested a freeze point of -60°!!
Actually, it was 32°.
The reserve alkalinity was the same as the distilled water at below 3.0.
But the PH level came in at 8.0. A little bit better than distilled water.

So either these test strips are bogus as far as the alkalinity goes, or even Prestone cannot get it to pass when they mix everything themselves. I don't know!

And here's a picture of what I tested and the strips showing the results.

My takeaway on this is save your money and just change the stuff every 2 years and don't worry about it. Don't believe the hype printed on the coolant jug, it's just a sales gimmick.
Every few years a "New and Improved" version comes out with even more outrageous claims.
Time and experience has proven that you can't go wrong at a 2 year interval.

What do you think?

Rick


 The strip across the bottom is an unused one to show what they look like before its dunked.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Don't forget to read the instructions, as the water has to be up to temperature.

Bruce.

[Big Fins]

Isn't the base test temperature 60^oF? That seems to be the base temperature for most light oils and liquids for concise testing. If you can't get the base temperature, you would need a hydrometer and a conversion wheel, or 'whizz wheel' as they call it in the petroleum industry.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Just read the instructions on my container of strips, and the temperature range is between 50 F and 140 F (10 C and 60 C) so there is a good range to allow testing.   Probably to stop people trying to test if the engine is too hot, thereby not scalding themselves.   And no legal ramifications.

Bruce.