Low Silicate Green Coolant - Which One Are You Using?

Brian VT

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2021
Posts
1,044
Reaction score
645
Location
Maine, USA
What's the difference between the "Precharged" and "Supercharged" in the pic above?
 

bulletpruf

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2022
Posts
281
Reaction score
214
Location
San Antonio, TX
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

You must be registered for see images attach
 

bulletpruf

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2022
Posts
281
Reaction score
214
Location
San Antonio, TX
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

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2022
Posts
281
Reaction score
214
Location
San Antonio, TX
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

HD Diesel nut
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Posts
3,180
Reaction score
3,505
Location
OR
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

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Posts
789
Reaction score
401
Location
California
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

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2022
Posts
281
Reaction score
214
Location
San Antonio, TX
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

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Posts
789
Reaction score
401
Location
California
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

HD Diesel nut
Joined
Jan 3, 2022
Posts
3,180
Reaction score
3,505
Location
OR
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.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
91,933
Posts
1,140,547
Members
24,755
Latest member
Jt64

Members online

Top