Hot Water System Coolant

[P4dstar]

Looking for hot water system coolant recommendations. I’ve been told 50/50 mix of good quality stuff but wondered if anyone has a preferred brand etc?

 

[Pjj]

Looking for hot water system coolant recommendations. I’ve been told 50/50 mix of good quality stuff but wondered if anyone has a preferred brand etc?

We use the red long life stuff there are several brands available and yes 50/50 is the recommended rate I was told by Grippatank if you increase the amount of antifreeze it will make the boiler heat the water a bit hotter .

 

[P4dstar]

Thanks @Pjj I was just going to get this stuff;
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/triple-qx-red-concentrate-antifreeze-coolant-1ltr-523770482It seems to tick the boxes as Oliver suggested. I've not had to fill the coolant yet so figured it was worth checking if anyone had any advice or suggestions first.

 

[Part Timer]

Looking for hot water system coolant recommendations. I’ve been told 50/50 mix of good quality stuff but wondered if anyone has a preferred brand etc?

We've only had ours 11 years and never put anything in ? Probably best not listen to my advice then

 

[Pjj]

Thanks @Pjj I was just going to get this stuff;
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/triple-qx-red-concentrate-antifreeze-coolant-1ltr-523770482It seems to tick the boxes as Oliver suggested. I've not had to fill the coolant yet so figured it was worth checking if anyone had any advice or suggestions first.

This is the one I get from a local motor factors I buy a 5 ltr one cannot remember the exact cost but think it was about £20 , as you can see I need to get another one ??

 

[Pjj]

We've only had ours 11 years and never put anything in ? Probably best not listen to my advice then

By changing the anti freeze every 2-3 years it helps prevent corrosion in the boiler and heat exchangers ,and stops sludge forming blocking the heat exchangers, I was told by an engineer to remove the heat exchangers every 3 years or so and flush them out with water to remove any sludge , I did do this and was surprised what came out Evan with changing the anti freeze regularly also the water was a fair bit hotter after doing it as the exchangers worked more efficiently.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I got told good pink antifreeze so I use the same as in the van.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0052X4C5Y/?tag=wcf01-21

 

[P4dstar]

We've only had ours 11 years and never put anything in ? Probably best not listen to my advice then

So what you're saying is I have 10 years and 10 months before I need to fill it ?

 

[Part Timer]

So what you're saying is I have 10 years and 10 months before I need to fill it ?

Possibly

 

[kevinc250]

thats a really good question @P4dstar its not really a question of quality more of the correct product for your purpose.
first things first, the water you mix the additive with is important lets say you use tap water, i guess yours is quite hard, you would be adding water with loads of calcium and many other things which will only clog up the system over a period of years(hence the need for a system flush every few years) also the disparity about the different metals involved in the heating system adds up to manufacturers using different coolants pure freedom use the blue car type and others again use the orange car type coolant. these are pre mixed probably with tap water--- can you see where i'm going with this?,
with a heater like this you would be better researching heat transfer fluid such as mpg, what you'll find is a better heat transfer between the plates results in hotter water going through the hose.
its really a fine art and lots of tweaking to get the best out of the heater and use "pure water" as a mix to the coolant as it would lower the amount of contaminants resulting in better heat transfer, the amount of coolant helps a great deal too, too much and you'll see lower temps and too little and the boiler will be turning on and off
frequently
hope this helps

 

[dazmond]

I use a generic coolant mix to top up my heater...its yellow but the original coolant is red/pink...I don't bother flushing it out I just mix them together

 

[Pjj]

You should never mix different types of anti freeze as they aren’t compatible, like trying to mix oil and water together

 

[dazmond]

No problems at all and my heater is working better than ever...

 

[Pjj]

Mixing different types of antifreeze can cause problems with reactions between the types when I worked in the garage we always had to drain flush and replace the whole system this was the specifications from Vauxhall

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Mechanic was saying the blue stuff can rot the rubber hose pipes if meant to be pink and vice versa. I find it hard to believe but its true so I'm told. For the sake of a few pounds I use the pink stuff and don't get any headaches.

 

[P4dstar]

thats a really good question @P4dstar its not really a question of quality more of the correct product for your purpose.
first things first, the water you mix the additive with is important lets say you use tap water, i guess yours is quite hard, you would be adding water with loads of calcium and many other things which will only clog up the system over a period of years(hence the need for a system flush every few years) also the disparity about the different metals involved in the heating system adds up to manufacturers using different coolants pure freedom use the blue car type and others again use the orange car type coolant. these are pre mixed probably with tap water--- can you see where i'm going with this?,
with a heater like this you would be better researching heat transfer fluid such as mpg, what you'll find is a better heat transfer between the plates results in hotter water going through the hose.
its really a fine art and lots of tweaking to get the best out of the heater and use "pure water" as a mix to the coolant as it would lower the amount of contaminants resulting in better heat transfer, the amount of coolant helps a great deal too, too much and you'll see lower temps and too little and the boiler will be turning on and off
frequently
hope this helps

That does help. Thanks mate!

 

[dazmond]

Mechanic was saying the blue stuff can rot the rubber hose pipes if meant to be pink and vice versa. I find it hard to believe but its true so I'm told. For the sake of a few pounds I use the pink stuff and don't get any headaches.

You ve had more headaches with your heater than me in the last 5 years!

 

[scottish cleaning service]

You ve had more headaches with your heater than me in the last 5 years!

Its was wired wrong or a wire failed. Since the service a month ago its not missed a beat. Hopefully nothing else happens because I'm getting new work every day. Another old windy has walked away due to his health so I'm getting asked to take on some of his customers. Its all go now, can't believe the work that's coming in. Someone want me to do Trad on their windows but I'm not going back the way.