How to Tell the Fake Antifreeze or Topical Fuel Oil Apart
In this article, we will look at how simple, that is, at home or in the garage, to distinguish fake antifreeze from the normal.
Good day everyone. In this article we will look at how simple, that is, in home or garage conditions, to distinguish the fake antifreeze from the normal.
There are just a huge number of videos on the network, where they boil it, set it on fire, freeze it and so on, but there is one effective and simple method. You at home with your own hands can easily check the antifreeze or heating oil.
We will check all colors of antifreeze, that is, whether this method works on all antifreeze or only a certain color, as well as on tosol.
Here are the different brands of antifreeze poured into the cups.
So, in order, G11, G12, tosol, G11.
Here the point is, usually antifreeze or heating-water based on propylene glycol or ethylene glycol – this is the simplest alcohols, they do not allow liquid to freeze at -20, at -30 degrees, but unhelpful sellers add instead of ethylene glycol, or propylene glycol, they add acid, I don’t know what kind of acid, sulfuric or some other, they dilute it with distilled water, add coloring agents and such liquid will not freeze up to -20 -30 degrees.
Stores are selling it to us under the guise of antifreeze, and such liquid is cheaper by about 3-4 times than ethylene glycol or propylene glycol-based.
Also, this liquid is very dangerous for your car, if you pour this liquid in your car, it will eventually begin to eat away from the inside of the block, head block, in short, everywhere where there are channels through which the antifreeze circulates.
The head gasket is corroding exactly because of this antifreeze, and people wondered why it is corroding. It also eats away at the pump, radiator connectors, etc.
And you can check it simply and easily with a normal baking soda. Ethylene glycol or propylene glycol they do not react with soda, that is, the soda will fall and just lie at the bottom, but the fake antifreeze, which is made on acid, it will enter into a violent reaction.
Let’s check it out.
Take some baking soda and add it to a cup of antifreeze.
Look, the soda precipitated out, nothing happens at all – this is normal antifreeze.
If you take the antifreeze and add a bit of baking soda, also no reaction at all, it means that the antifreeze is not fake, it is normal.
Now put some baking soda in the fake antifreeze,
see how foamy and squelchy it gets.
You can’t pour it in under any circumstances, look how much it foams.
and that foam won’t go away until the soda’s completely broken down, so there’s no residue underneath.
look, there’s no residue at all.
I hope you have been helpful friends, now you know how to quickly check antifreeze for authenticity.
How to choose a good antifreeze, distinguish it from the fake and the destruction of myths
Many people do not pay much attention to the antifreeze. All due to the fact that its replacement period is not as private as in contrast to the same engine oil, but pouring low-quality or wrong antifreeze you can cause irreparable harm to your car. So how to choose a good and suitable antifreeze?
You can’t choose antifreeze by color. If your antifreeze is green, it does not mean you have to use the same color. The coloring of the antifreeze is just dyes, which have absolutely no effect on anything. Also, if you have seen on the canister that the coolant is written on the brand of your car, say, Mazda, it does not mean that the antifreeze is suitable for your model. It should be chosen by the marking, which you can find in the technical documentation that came with the car or on the Internet.
Do not buy antifreezes that are markedly cheaper than the fluids of famous brands. You risk getting fake and low-quality coolant. The thing is that the quality antifreeze can not be cheap because of its components, and dishonest firms make not the best products in order to make more money.
Especially it concerns the traditional coolant with the addition of silicates. If the coolant is not replaced in time, it causes increased corrosion, radiator leakage and water pump wear, and rubber tubes lose elasticity, become stiff and cracked. As an example, you can often see the marking G11 on antifreeze with silicates.
If your car is less than 15 years old – forget about the antifreeze! Even if you find quality antifreeze, it no longer meets the requirements for modern cars, because the load on the engines have become higher and the temperatures are higher, and only manufacturers of quality antifreeze take this into account. Durability of ash is only 2 years (remember the consequences of untimely replacement of such coolant), and the modern antifreeze of 5 years or more.
Pay attention to the label. It must be precisely glued, it must indicate the volume in liters, not kilograms. Also on canisters are often placed convex brand logos, which are difficult and expensive to forge. Normal firms write their website on the package and place a QR-Code.
Under no circumstances should you mix different antifreeze or refill it. It is only changed completely and with a flush. In a critical case, especially if you don’t know what you filled up the cooling system before, it is better to add distilled water.
There is also no need to buy the most expensive antifreezes, because their composition, as Totachi specialists assure you, is approximately the same (water + ethylene glycol), except for a set of additives, which account for only about 2.5% of the total composition of the ready coolant. But it is the additives that determine the quality of the antifreeze! Almost all modern cars use coolants with carboxylate technology additives, although they differ slightly depending on the requirements of automakers. For European cars of the last generation in the requirements specified the need to fill the lobrid antifreeze with carboxylate additives and limited silicate additives. But the Japanese completely ban silicates, but require a small dose of phosphate additives. The difference seems to be small, but it is reflected in the specific requirements and specifications on the antifreeze labels.
Advice for car owners: read recommendations in your car owner’s manual and buy replacement antifreeze (note timely – it’s a must) with specified specifications or standards.
To get into the subject of antifreeze, I decided to visit one of the plants for its production, which is located in the Tver region in the village Redkino.
Initially, the fluid, prepared in special reactors, is tested in the laboratory, which includes tests for corrosion, freezing and boiling temperatures, and other tests.
