![]() ![]() ![]() Lower Freezing Pointįirst, despite the name, 100% antifreeze will actually freeze before coolant at temperatures between 0 and -5 degrees Fahrenheit. Why Do You Need to Dilute Antifreeze?Īntifreeze needs to be diluted before putting it into your vehicle for a couple of reasons. It should be changed every 30,000 miles or so to prevent corrosion and ensure proper temperature control. The coolant continuously runs through the system but breaks down over time. Then, it goes through the radiator to dissipate the heat to the outside air. It's pumped through the engine and heater core of a vehicle to absorb excess heat. What Is Coolant?Ĭoolant is a mixture of antifreeze and water, often a 50/50 ratio. Antifreeze makes it harder for the molecules to join together and crystallize, causing the freezing point to drop. How? When water freezes, it expands and crystallizes. It's helpful because it can prevent liquids from freezing within a system and causing damage. The active ingredient is typically ethylene glycol or propylene glycol. What Is Antifreeze?Īntifreeze is a substance that lowers the freezing point of water. Put simply, coolant is the product you put into your car, while antifreeze is the active ingredient in coolant that requires dilution. What's the Difference Between Coolant and Antifreeze? Let's take a closer look at each and which one you need to use. That confusion is problematic because using the wrong product can have detrimental effects on your vehicle. Clean Car Wash.You may have heard that you need antifreeze, coolant, or both and wondered, "What's the difference?!" The terms are often used interchangeably, which can cause a lot of confusion. For more information on our radiator flush service and other auto maintenance repair services, check out Mr. A radiator flush is a great way to winterize your cars coolant. Understanding what makes your coolant work as well as understanding the needs of your car will help you decide on the right mixture of water and antifreeze. Then once you’re done, pour the excess antifreeze back into the proper container. If you’re replacing your coolant, you’ll most likely need more than one bottle– so pour the excess into the milk jug as you mix. Pour the appropriate amount of antifreeze into the milk jug and then fill the original container back up with water. Now that you’ve decided what percentage mixture you’d like, how do you go about putting the parts together? The best way is to keep a spare container around even a clean one-gallon milk jug can come in handy when trying to mix antifreeze and water. However, in climates where temperatures drop below 32☏ for long periods of time, mixtures closer to 70% antifreeze and 30% water are better suited to keep coolant from freezing. For example, 50/50 may work best in more moderate climates where the temperature gets below 32 only on occasion. However, when speaking in terms of climate, you may want to take temperature into consideration. Generally speaking, a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze is a good place to start. However, it gives you more flexibility when it comes to mixture. However, it is not very good at drawing heat away from the engine– as antifreeze was actually produced as an aid to water.īuying an antifreeze that requires you to mix it with water can be a little more involved. Antifreeze has a lower freezing point and a higher boiling point than water so it helps protect your engine in extreme weather conditions. While water is the best fluid for cooling, it can cause corrosion. You may be wondering why both water and antifreeze are needed. So how much water to antifreeze is the correct ratio? Read on to find out. Others are concentrated and need to be mixed with water to achieve the proper level of cooling for an engine but give you the ability to customize the ratio of water and antifreeze to your climate. While some antifreeze comes premixed with water, allowing you to simply add more as needed– these types of antifreeze can be more expensive. Coolant is the fluid in your radiator while antifreeze is the liquid being added to the radiator to help prevent the coolant from freezing. Winter auto prep is also a good time to check your coolant’s antifreeze. Many think that getting ready for the winter simply means snow tires and new wiper blades– but there’s more. Winter auto maintenance repair means different things to different people. ![]()
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