Low Silicate Green Coolant - Which One Are You Using?

[Brian VT]

What's the difference between the "Precharged" and "Supercharged" in the pic above?

 

[KansasIDI]

What's the difference between the "Precharged" and "Supercharged" in the pic above?

Same thing. Napa just isn’t as dramatic…

 

[WrenchWhore]

@bulletpruf Can we expect any new videos soon on the channel? I was bummed when you had to sell the last truck...

 

[bulletpruf]

@bulletpruf Can we expect any new videos soon on the channel? I was bummed when you had to sell the last truck...

Sure. How about this?

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Or this?

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[bulletpruf]

Finally got around to flushing the radiator. I did remove the block plugs and I was certainly surprised at how much came out.

While I was at it, I replaced the radiator hoses, thermostat (what a PITA!), and heater hoses.

I refilled with Zerex Low Silicate green coolant from Napa. This is conventional coolant. I used the concentrated coolant, not 50/50. I used distilled water at a 50% ratio. After I filled it, I added two bottles of Napa Kool - DCA-2 nitrite based SCA's.

After I got the engine warm and the thermostat opened, I shut it down and then used the Napa 4107 3-way test strips. These test nitrite, ph, and freeze point. Two questions - the nitrite level is what tests the SCA's, right? So if my nitrite levels are good, I'm good on SCA's, right? Next question - my ph level is 6.5 and that's lower than it should be. Looks like the ideal ph is around 9 or 10, and less than 7 is acidic and that's a bad thing. I'll test it again, but if it's still 6.5 I need to boost it a bit. Any recommendations on how to increase the ph?

Thanks,

Scott

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[IDIBOBS]

I just use fleet charge purple. Works great always tests right never had an issue.

 

[bulletpruf]

I'm going to test the distilled water that I used, the coolant that I used, and then test what's in the radiator again. I also bought another brand of ph test kit to compare it to.

 

[bulletpruf]

I'm going to test the distilled water that I used, the coolant that I used, and then test what's in the radiator again. I also bought another brand of ph test kit to compare it to.

Well, I checked the date on the Napa test strips, and they expired in 2022, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were no longer good.

I tested the coolant in the radiator again today with Napa strips and came back with a ph of 7.5. I also tested it twice with some new ph test strips that I picked up at Amazon and according to these, I'm at 8. I'm good with that.

 

[Nero]

Just to toss it out there, ive used many year expired test strips vs new ones with same results. Makes me wonder what actually expires.

 

[MtnHaul]

Just to toss it out there, ive used many year expired test strips vs new ones with same results. Makes me wonder what actually expires.

Off-topic here but it seems dam near everything has to have an expiration date these days. I worked in various mental health facilities when I was in my 20s and had to check in a lot of newly prescribed medications. I couldn't help but notice that the expiration date always seemed to be 1 year from the date the pills were prescribed, which obviously has nothing to do with when the pills were actually produced.

 

[bulletpruf]

Just to toss it out there, ive used many year expired test strips vs new ones with same results. Makes me wonder what actually expires.

Well, I think these expire or maybe they're not terribly accurate when new? I tested the same coolant, two days apart, with test strips from the same bottle, and got results that differed by a fair bit.

 

[MtnHaul]

Well, I think these expire or maybe they're not terribly accurate when new? I tested the same coolant, two days apart, with test strips from the same bottle, and got results that differed by a fair bit.

Only thing I can think of would maybe be if the coolant temps were vastly different when tested, maybe?

 

[Nero]

Well now I want to grab my bottle from home that expired in 2011 and compare it to one at work that is still valid... I think.

 

[bulletpruf]

Only thing I can think of would maybe be if the coolant temps were vastly different when tested, maybe?

There was some difference in coolant temps, but that shouldn't affect the test.

Thanks