How to dilute antifreeze concentrate?
What is antifreeze concentrate?
Concentrated antifreeze contains only one component missing: distilled water. All other constituents (ethylene glycol, additives and colorant) are usually present in full.
Coolant concentrates are often mistakenly confused with pure ethylene glycol. Some manufacturers indicate on the packaging that there is only ethylene glycol inside. However, this cannot be true just because ethylene glycol is a colorless liquid. And almost all concentrates are colored according to the generally accepted class marking (G11 - green, G12 - red or yellow, etc.).
Previously, colorless coolant concentrates were commercially available. They probably used pure ethylene glycol. However, it is undesirable to use such a concentrate for the preparation of a high-grade coolant. Indeed, without additives, metal corrosion and the destruction of rubber pipes will accelerate significantly. And these compositions were suitable only to enhance the low-temperature properties of the already poured antifreeze.
Breeding technology and proportions
First, let's figure out exactly how to mix the concentrate with water so that you don't have to pour out the resulting composition later.
- The sequence of what to pour into does not matter. As well as the container in which the mixing will take place. It is just important to keep the proportions.
- Pour water into the expansion tank first, and then the concentrate, in some cases it is possible, but undesirable. Firstly, if you are preparing antifreeze immediately for a complete replacement, then the amount you calculated may not be enough. Or, conversely, you get too much antifreeze. For example, you first poured 3 liters of concentrate, and then planned to add 3 liters of water. Because they knew that the total volume of coolant in the system is 6 liters. However, 3 liters of concentrate fit without problems, and only 2,5 liters of water entered. Because there was still an old antifreeze in the system, or there is a non-standard radiator, or there is some other reason. And in winter, at temperatures below –13 ° C, it is strictly forbidden to fill in liquids separately. Paradoxical, but true: pure ethylene glycol (as well as antifreeze concentrate) freezes at a temperature of -13 ° C.
- Do not add concentrate from one coolant to another. There are cases when, during such mixing, some of the additives clashed and precipitated.
There are three common mixing ratios for coolants:
- 1 to 1 - antifreeze with a freezing point of about –35 ° C is obtained at the outlet;
- 40% concentrate, 60% water - you get a coolant that will not freeze down to about –25 ° C;
- 60% concentrate, 40% water - antifreeze that will withstand temperatures down to –55 ° C.
To create antifreeze with other freezing points, there is a table below that shows a wider range of possible mixtures.
| Concentrate content in the mixture, % | Freezing point of antifreeze, ° C |
| 100 | -12 |
| 95 | -22 |
| 90 | -29 |
| 80 | -48 |
| 75 | -58 |
| 67 | -75 |
| 60 | -55 |
| 55 | -42 |
| 50 | -34 |
| 40 | -24 |
| 30 | -15 |
