Waterless coolant

[limey222]

Anyone using Evans Waterless coolant?
Experiences?

 

[RonD]

Yes, but only for smaller engines, i.e. motorcycles and snowmobiles.

I wouldn't use it on larger engines just because the chance of a coolant leak is much much more likely because of all the hoses and leak points in general.

You can add water to Evans in an emergency, BUT you need to drain and flush the system after leak is fixed, so you need to replace all the coolant with fresh, and it ain't cheap.

So really up to you, it will make the engine run slightly warmer, but not much warmer.

The benefit is 0% corrosion, it has no oxygen, which is what you get from water, H2"O", so no water = no oxygen
In side by side comparison there is no reason not to use a waterless coolant.
But in practical reality the cost is excessive in engines 10 years or older.

 

[adsm08]

In addition to what Ron said, if you keep, a cooling system flushed and fresh coolant in it as the manufacturer recommends then you should never have a corrosion issue.

 

[limey222]

Evans coolant

Yes but quite knowledgeable folks will tell you that the Ford Cologne 2.8 V-6 has a hot spot on the heads due to its design. There is a concern that coolant can flash to steam in that area and you lose localized cooling properties. Evans coolant is never likely to become vaporous due to its much higher boiling point. I like the idea of my coolant remaining liquid under all but the most extreme conditions. The lack of corrosive properties also helps when using cast iron heads and block with aluminum radiators etc. Finally because it is a zero pressure or low pressure system depending on the pump for circulation, it lessens the chances for leaking or burst hoses. I think that its just a different mind set that either appeals to you or not. I was just looking for any bad experiences other than the cost.

In addition to what Ron said, if you keep, a cooling system flushed and fresh coolant in it as the manufacturer recommends then you should never have a corrosion issue.

 

[RonD]

Yes but quite knowledgeable folks will tell you that the Ford Cologne 2.8 V-6 has a hot spot on the heads due to its design. There is a concern that coolant can flash to steam in that area and you lose localized cooling properties. Evans coolant is never likely to become vaporous due to its much higher boiling point. I like the idea of my coolant remaining liquid under all but the most extreme conditions. The lack of corrosive properties also helps when using cast iron heads and block with aluminum radiators etc. Finally because it is a zero pressure or low pressure system depending on the pump for circulation, it lessens the chances for leaking or burst hoses. I think that its just a different mind set that either appeals to you or not. I was just looking for any bad experiences other than the cost.

A few engines have that issue from coolant flow design and any engine can have that issue because of other issues.

Nucleate boiling(localized "flash to steam"), happens when coolant next to a cylinder isn't circulating properly or cylinder is "running hot" due to carbon buildup, pre-detonation or both.
50/50 coolant and water has a boiling point at 235degF
with 14psi of pressure(rad cap) that is raised to 265degF
Waterless can go as high as 350degF.

Generally a gas engine should run between 200-220degF, so below non-pressurized boiling point of 50/50.

If there were signs of nucleate boiling in your engine(bubbles in overflow tank), then it would be pointing out a problem that you need to address, it wouldn't be a coolant fault, could be water pump issue or pre-detonation issue, or even unrelated head gasket issue.

On a racing engine where higher cylinder temps would be expected, the waterless would make sense, because higher cylinder temps are needed for horsepower, temporary spikes above 260degF could cause nucleate boiling with standard coolant, which could then effect the rest of the cooling system, i.e. a vapor lock

Also when you shut off a hot engine, circulation stops, this can cause nucleate boiling at one or two cylinders that are the hottest at shut down.
Sign of this is bubbling overflow tank only AFTER shutdown.
Again this should not effect an engine running normally between 200-220degF, a racing engine yes.

While the idea of waterless coolant is fine, I still believe it is application specific.
Using it because a normally driven engine has a hot spot, IMO, would be like turning up the stereo because of the noise from a bad wheel bearing.
Fix the problem, i.e. flush cooling system or use high output water pump to lower the temp at the hot spot, don't just turn up the tunes, lol.

No, no bad experience with that Brand or product.

 

[limey222]

Umm... its not an easily fixable problem because the hot spot is a well documented design fault on the '74 Cologne engine. There is a fix with involves carefully drill two additional holes in the head and using a different head gasket. Not something I really want to get into at this time. My engine seems to hold its temperature at between 200 and 205 degrees depending on whether the electric fan is running or not. It kicks in at 200.

A few engines have that issue from coolant flow design and any engine can have that issue because of other issues.

Nucleate boiling(localized "flash to steam"), happens when coolant next to a cylinder isn't circulating properly or cylinder is "running hot" due to carbon buildup, pre-detonation or both.
50/50 coolant and water has a boiling point at 235degF
with 14psi of pressure(rad cap) that is raised to 265degF
Waterless can go as high as 350degF.

Generally a gas engine should run between 200-220degF, so below non-pressurized boiling point of 50/50.

If there were signs of nucleate boiling in your engine(bubbles in overflow tank), then it would be pointing out a problem that you need to address, it wouldn't be a coolant fault, could be water pump issue or pre-detonation issue, or even unrelated head gasket issue.

On a racing engine where higher cylinder temps would be expected, the waterless would make sense, because higher cylinder temps are needed for horsepower, temporary spikes above 260degF could cause nucleate boiling with standard coolant, which could then effect the rest of the cooling system, i.e. a vapor lock

Also when you shut off a hot engine, circulation stops, this can cause nucleate boiling at one or two cylinders that are the hottest at shut down.
Sign of this is bubbling overflow tank only AFTER shutdown.
Again this should not effect an engine running normally between 200-220degF, a racing engine yes.

While the idea of waterless coolant is fine, I still believe it is application specific.
Using it because a normally driven engine has a hot spot, IMO, would be like turning up the stereo because of the noise from a bad wheel bearing.
Fix the problem, i.e. flush cooling system or use high output water pump to lower the temp at the hot spot, don't just turn up the tunes, lol.

No, no bad experience with that Brand or product.

 

[RonD]

In your specific application you may want to spend the extra money for waterless coolant.

I ran a 2.8l for many years and never had an issue with the hotspot or overheating in general, while it is a known issue it was a non-issue for most owners.
Burning oil from bad valve guide seals and faulty TFI issues were my only complaints, but quite a few Ford engines shared those complaints, lol.