[C320-list] Antifreeze

[Graeme Clark]

I hate to carp on about this but the color is a distraction not a guide AFAIK.

From the web:-

"In days gone by, the color of coolant was determined by the type of chemicals used to prevent corrosion — meaning you could tell a lot about the type of coolant used by its color. Older coolants that used Inorganic Additive Technology (IAT) were usually blue or green in color. With these types of coolants, you’d normally have to change them every two years, or every 60,000 miles. 

Next came Organic Acid Technology (OAT) coolants, whose chemical make-up offered better protection for cooling systems, and extended the life of the coolant. These ‘Extended Life Coolants’ (ELC), were usually orange in color and offered a five-year or 100,000-mile change interval. They could be a blend of IAT and OAT chemicals, and were therefore named ‘Hybrids’.

Newer coolants such as Prestone, based solely on the OAT chemical make-up, now offer a 10-year or 150,000-mile change interval thanks to their superior corrosion protection. Prestone is yellow, but many other coolant manufacturers use different colors.

THESE DAYS, THERE’S NO REAL REASON FOR A COOLANT MANUFACTURER TO USE A CERTAIN COLOR, SO IT’S NOT EASY TO KNOW WHAT CHEMICALS ARE IN THE COOLANT JUST BY SEEING WHETHER IT’S BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW OR ORANGE.”


Graeme


> On 22 Dec 2017, at 14:51, sail-ability sail-ability <sail-ability at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> 
>   The thing about changing the antifreeze in the 3GM30F is the difficulty
>   in getting the antifreeze out of the hot water heater. The easiest way
>   I've found is to find the  engine hose which pumps the antifreeze
>   through the hot water heat exchanger. You disconnect this hose and with
>   the engine drain cocks open blow into that hose. It will force the
>   antifreeze out of the heat exchanger into the engine and will drain out
>   through the drain cocks. If the antifreeze has recently been changed
>   (within 3 years) I would just drain the engine and replace that
>   antifreeze. As has been suggested any of the good modern antifreezes
>   are compatible with one another. As I recall there is about a liter of
>   antifreeze in the hot water heat exchanger.
> 
>   Cheers
> 
>   JohnM
> 
>   1999#574
> 
>     ---------- Original Message ----------
>     From: Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com>
>     Date: December 22, 2017 at 8:42 AM
>     Changing antifreeze types (color) in the past could be a problem. If
>     it has not been changed in years, may still be a problem. From what
>     I've read, the newer types will tolerate any of the older types
>     without congealing. But be sure to check authoritative sources
>     before proceeding.
>     Warren and Pattie Updike
>     1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62
>     Middle River, Chesapeake Bay
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: Bruce Hunter [mailto:swampcreek42 at yahoo.com]
>     Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2017 12:08 PM
>     To: C320-List at Catalina320.com; Tom Talling;
>     c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
>     Subject: Re: [C320-list] Antifreeze
>     It depends on what you want to do. Most just go with what color they
>     have and stick with it. I went from green (Yanmar, I think) to red
>     Yanmar Long Life BUT flushed my engine out 7 or 8 times Flush #2
>     being with Prestone cleaner to make sure ALL the green was out.
>     Simply changing color without flushing all the old stuff out can
>     really mess things up from what I've read. Why did I change? They
>     say the red is better and last longer and since I'm nuts about my
>     boat (she is a living being after all) I only give her the very
>     best! :)
>     Bruce HunterNauti Time #719
>     Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
>     On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 11:48 AM, Tom Talling<ttalling at gmail.com>
>     wrote: What type of antifreeze should I use for my Yanmar diesel.
>     What is the right color?
>     Regards,
>     Tom Talling
>     215-262-1427
>     Ttalling at comcast.net
>     Sent from my iPad
> 
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