maybe368

No problem, this is probably the most civil response on this issue I have ever gotten. One thing I didn't mention is my 26 years as a firefighter in Phoenix. In that time, I went on hundreds of vehicle fires and never saw antifreeze burn. That doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, just that I never saw it. Another consideration is the flammable range, lean/rich. There is a good chance that 100% iwould be too rich to burn.I don't know what it is for antifreeze. I am finally feeling better, so maybe I'll try to find out.I can say this. I was never worried about antifreeze burning. I was a captain for 18 and a half years and the thing that I am most proud of is that EVERY time we went on a call, I brought home a whole crew, I must have been doing something right.... Mark

maybe368

Sorry, I cannot remember the last boil over I had, might have been my 65 Dart I had in high school...Mark

maybe368

Here is the msds for ethylene glycol. It gives it a flammability rating of 1, with 4 being that it may burn if you look at it. Also it only gets a 1 in health hazard, with a 4 being it will kill you if you look at it. It also has a very high boiling point, just south of pure water. I assume that this is for pure eyhylene glycol...Mark

12valvewagon91

This is interesting to say the least, and I see your point that you dont like corrosion, I dont either, But I have always been tought by my ol man, my high school instructors, and college instructors that the coolant is to be mixed 50/50. Thats it, and if its too strong it dosnt flow the same, Ive been wrenching on cars/trucks/semis/tractors for going on 15 years and have never used pure coolant, but I will tell you from my own experiance with my demon and the 408 I built in it that it tended to creep up in coolant temps when I accidently mixed the coolant stronger than 50/50. I messed up and figured it wrong when I added the water weter to it. It took me a while to figure it out, but after trying everything, I finally dumpped the coolant, and put a 50/50 mix, then added the % of water the bottle said to, and then added the water wetter and the thing never gets over 185 degrees. Mind you this is a stroked and poked 360 making 408"s and cranking out 525hp and 545lb ft. Aluminum heads and 10.8 compression. All I did was changed the coolant and it fixed the issue, Not saying there wasnt air or something odd trapped in the block, but seriously all I changed was the coolant and very carefully mixed it to what the purple ice instructions told me on the bottle.

Im curious as to what the straight coolant would do in the same engine, and he!! no am I gonna try it out with the cash I have in this engine.

12valvewagon91

Oh and I know a lot of drag racers who cant per NHRA rules run glycol in their engines since its so slippery when spilled on the track, and the only thing they ever really worry about is not corrosion, but calcium build up in the block, and the water wetter workes to aid that.

maybe368

A performance engine is probably a different animal and If you look at the prior threads on this you will see that I have always said that the only foreseeable problem might be a rise in temp. I just have not seen it. My most performance engine is in my Porsche, but I can't seem to be able to find the radiator......Mark

maybe368

Don't many dragsters not run a radiator at all? That is the way it used to be, but I am way out of the drag loop...Mark

12valvewagon91

Nope, just an a drunk dragster,

and since most 6.7 and 5.9s I run are a higher hp engine in stock form I would say a 50/50 mix is crutial for the same reason. EGTs and that big snail mounted on the side build heat, so that would make me want a nice efficient mix. Our 6.7 trucks egt will rise rapidly when climbing a small incline with a 30ft cattle trailer and 8-10 cows in it. as soon as we level out the egts and coolant temp drop quickly.

Thats all im saying here is I think the reasoning is efficiency. not just because some dude in the 40s said its a good thing to do.

12valvewagon91

drunk meaning running 80-100% alcohal.

maybe368

Don't want to argue, but I don't see a radiator on this one...Mark

12valvewagon91

I know of a lot of "dragsters" with a wedge engine, carbureted, running either pump gas, or race fuel and running a 22" radiator. Very common, and every door car out there unless a funny car, or a pro mod has a radiator.

and the car you listed is a top fuel dragster running NITRO, and they are mixed with alcohal. I assumed you knew the top fuel cars were/are in the same catagory as a drunk dragster.

maybe368

I searched AA fuelie and this came up. Heck they only run them for 5 or 6 seconds and tear them down after 1 or 2 runs, I guess they figured that the loss of the extra weight was worth it. Also, I know they started putting the engines in the rear years ago, so this is a very old one..Mark

12valvewagon91

Back to your origional question, Im thinking the reasoning for it is the efficency of the coolant at that mix.

taterfarm

I am thinking that the flamability rating of items on a MSDS sheet are at specific temperature to keep things equal, not sure but I would think that temperature would be closer to room temperature and at that range then no it is most likely not a fire or health hazard, then again not much is. Now at an upper operating temperature of an overworked vehicle with a neglected cooling system then the flammability would be much greater. Once a fluid is hot, pressurized and sprayed as a fine mist then you know its dangers are greatly increased.

According to wlamarts MSDS sheet it looks like supertech 100% antifreeze is made by prestone, here it is

Also it contains 1-5% water, so you have some in there already so why not just use some more distilled and keep it safe?

The antifreeze has a health rating of 2

Here is the fire part :

I watched antifreeze burn yesterday, I lit it on fire so I could tell you that I have actually seen antifreeze burn. In the reports I have read they say that the water has to evaporate from the mix before it will burn, so with a OEM recommended % there is little chance that the fire will be caused by the coolant. It takes a lot of energy for a component to go through a phase change( such as the water going from a liquid to a gaseous state), when the coolant is exposed to a fire the water is holding the temperature down to the 212*F range while it is converted to steam, without any water there is nothing to keep the temperature down and it will quickly heat to a temperature where it will burn on its own. of those fires you went to then it is unlikely that any of the cars were running 100% antifreeze.

being too rich or lean has nothing to do with the percentage of the fluid mixture, that is a air/fuel ratio and brings another excellent point that a firefighter must be very aware of. Yes, if the A/F ratio is too rich it will not burn..... until some more oxygen leans it out...then it explodes. Just like the movies when they leave the propane stove on.

All that is needed to burn is heat, air and fuel and I am absolutely certain that a 100% mix is going to burn much sooner than a 50/50 mix.


Here is a warning on inhaling the vapors

This heated material in an enclosed and poorly ventilated workplace sounds like the cab of a truck with a leaking heater core. A quick search will show cases where people have experienced these symptoms along with a leaking heater core, and thats at a lesser concentration.

dieselJon

Interesting...

If a radiator burst and the coolant vaporized with you near it, I would be more worried about burned lungs from the steam than the potential for fire.