Coolant Tester

M

Mysterae

Gawd
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
648
I was wondering how you folk test the coolant mix in your rigs. I measure and pre-mix before filling, but topping up now and then changes the original ratio. I wondered about how to test it periodically, and while in a motor hardware store I saw something that was bleedin' obvious:



Click the image for details on it.

I haven't read on here anybody using such a thing, but I may have missed it. It's cheap and should do the job! Takes the guesswork out of the coolant mix and comes in handy in the garage.
 
1-2 oz is all that you need in a loop. More than that is not necessary.
 
If you premix your coolant and keep extra sitting around in a container, when you top off the ratio will be the same. A hydrometer is kind of overkill.
 
madmat said:
If you premix your coolant and keep extra sitting around in a container, when you top off the ratio will be the same. A hydrometer is kind of overkill.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I keep the extra in the same container I mixed it in, just make sure that nobody thinks it is juice or something ;)
 
Erasmus354 said:
Agreed, I keep the extra in the same container I mixed it in, just make sure that nobody thinks it is juice or something ;)
Click to expand...

That's a good tip that's obvious yet I never thought of it. Will it keep okay and not settle?

I wondered if the mix would change over time, with the absorption of particles over time (however miniscule), changes in temp etc. You do hear of peoples coolant becoming less effective, hence why they change it. This way you can monitor it, especially important if you run the minimum additive amount and have mixed metals in your loop.

It's a practice I will employ.
 
I'd think that if you're losing water to osmosis that you're losing coolant too. It'd be interesting to just keep checking a loop for a year while the coolant dropped and see what happens but at worst you're only going to have the ratio adjust a percent or two one way or the other with time.

As to coolant going bad with time, in a car yes because it's being mixed with acids that result from internal combustion. In a PC, meh, not so much. The bigger worry is that the water ill start to develop bacteria since it's being kept at temps tha are great for culturing them.
 
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