I'm taking my ST4 off the road for the winter and doing some routine maintenance. I have been doing some research on Waterless Coolant as have been contemplating using it in the Duke, has anyone got any experience of using it. Would appreciate any first hand opinions please!
i've been reading up about Evans Coolant. I like the idea of never having to change it again, but I'm still not confident its the right thing to do! You have to drain the system of any water based coolant thoroughly, and they do a flushing liquid too!
What are the benefits and how much does it cost? Dunno why I'm asking, mind, cos I've got two aircooled bikes...
I saw it on Wheeler Dealers on TV. I like the idea that because it doesn't boil until a high temperature you don't get the pressure build up like with normal coolant. Ed China took the rad cap off the car they filled it with when it was up to temp like you would when it was cold.
There has been a lot of discussion on this subject on the Talk Morgan website and a Morgan Dealer called Melvyn Rutter has been promoting waterless coolant; they may worth a phonecall? (No personal link with them) Bud
I'm thinking about changing my bikes over to waterless. There seem to be a few positives and no negatives (maybe the cost) as far as I can see.
The big advantage that water has is that it's relatively cheap and readily available - but it's not the most efficient coolant and it has the nasty habit of freezing and boiling at extremes of temperature. Plus it does tend to cause corrosion in most engines if not mixed with some form of inhibitor. "Extended life coolants" help and are used widely in marine diesel engines, and others. I would be interested to see the results for "waterless coolant", but the theory sounds good. I am curious about NuttyNick's comment - that would imply that it doesnt expand when it gets hot, and all liquids do that to some extent: it doesn't need to be boiling to create an increase in pressure...
Engines are designed to use water as a coolant, even highly tuned bikes like the Pantygirdle and S1000RR run perfectly well with water. If you feel you need something better I suggest you ring FIM and go find some sponsors...
I hate to disagree Fig, but no they're not - they are designed to use water mixed with anti-freeze and corrosion inhibitors. Run any engine on plain water and you'll end up with a whole heap of trouble...
That's pretty much the point. Water in contact with metal aren't natural bed followes, hence the need for corrosion inhibitors in anti-freeze. Water has been used for years because there was not much else available, I like the idea and benefits of this new technology. It certainly looked impressive on Wheeler Dealers. No disrespect Fig, but by your logic, we should all be running our highly tuned engines on mineral oil, declaring no need for fancy synthetic stuff.
So what exactly do you expect to gain from running waterless coolant, apart from a bigger hole in your wallet? Okay, it doesn't boil at high temperatures, but if your engine is constantly getting too hot I'd suggest you have other problems that need close attention. Maybe a Desmosedici would benefit from it, as they're known to boil over often, but I've run air and water cooled Ducatis in central London at the height of summer and not had overheating problems, and run every bike I've ever owned flat out for as long as my bottle lasts, again without issue. So I'd suggest that unless you've got a highly tuned engine, the only benefit you'll receive from using waterless coolant is the ability to boast about it down the pub...
I just like the idea of not having the corrosive properties of water in my engines. It's not something that's ever kept me awake at night, and until I saw it on TV, I hadn't given it a second thought. But it looked like a good idea. My bikes don't overheat, including the Desmo. At £50 it's hardly going to break the bank. Bragging down the pub..........I'm not that type of bloke.
From the Evans website Q&A: "Properties... Q. What is Evans Waterless Coolant made of?A. Evans Waterless Coolants are patented synthetic non-toxic liquids blended with a non-aqueous proprietary inhibitor package." In other words, they do not want to say what it is made of. Which makes me a bit suspicious.
never had an engine boil over unless there was an underlying problem. as i under stand it various manufacturers use differant anti freeze i know them as red long life or yon yellow shit the french use, because of the kind of metal or alloys used in there engines. change the red stuff every 4 years mixd with soft water no internal corrosion issues. no expensive anti freeze will stop a stone coming through you rad or hoses chaffing through.
It's a no-no for the track? I thought that would be the very place it is aimed for. De-ionised water will also produce less corrosion, I've been informed.
Fair enough. Like you say though, chances are the problems people come across with water damage is likely to be caused by not changing the coolant often enough.
Thanks Arthur. This is exactly what I was hoping for, a little feedback from somone with experience of the product. I may try it in one bike and see how I go.
Three problems with plain water - Firstly it causes corrosion within the engine - and the higher the number of dissimilar metals within the engine, the more corrosion. Secondly it is not the best conductor of heat away from metal - there are various additives on thye market that greatly improve heat transfer. Thirdly at atmospheric pressure it boils at (more or less) 100 celcius and theonly way it will work as a coolant above that temperature - most of the time in an internal combustion engine - is to pressurise it. Yes, you can run an engine on plain water; yes you can probably run it at high power for long periods, but ultimately it will not last anywhere near as long as an engine run on coolant with the correct additives in it. Running on plain water WILL cause the engine to run hotter - heat transfer is not as efficient - and WILL cause more internal corrosion.
