N52 coolant refresh, where can I get distilled water?
- Thread starter Meds
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When water is distilled or stipped of its impurities etc you are left with water that has chemically unbalanced Ions. This leaves it 'ionically hungry' and it will try to re-acquire so it will strip electrons from the metals in the coolant system to re-balance itself. Over time this can do as much damage as plain tap water.
Use softened water, waterless coolant or an additive that lets you use tap water. Softened water is mistakenly thought to have salt added but that is not true, the impurities are exchanged with a sodium Ion meaning the water is Ionically balanced, non-corrosive and therefore non-threatening to the metals in the coolant system.
Before you get to any of that the flush you use is just as important. Use a Bilt Hamber anti-corrosive additive to run through the system first, can not only stop any 'carry-on' in there but also make sure that there isnt any further carry on. Atom Mac and Deox C can be used. The Deox C is better at removing and as our cars are older this would probably be the best choice as a flush to remove more and then the Atom mac as a treatment to a cleaned system. I did email their technical department to confirm after I looked into this particular subject.
Use softened water, waterless coolant or an additive that lets you use tap water. Softened water is mistakenly thought to have salt added but that is not true, the impurities are exchanged with a sodium Ion meaning the water is Ionically balanced, non-corrosive and therefore non-threatening to the metals in the coolant system.
Before you get to any of that the flush you use is just as important. Use a Bilt Hamber anti-corrosive additive to run through the system first, can not only stop any 'carry-on' in there but also make sure that there isnt any further carry on. Atom Mac and Deox C can be used. The Deox C is better at removing and as our cars are older this would probably be the best choice as a flush to remove more and then the Atom mac as a treatment to a cleaned system. I did email their technical department to confirm after I looked into this particular subject.
SparkyE86 said:
I only did chemistry at degree level back in 1974….but that just seems to be a load of bollocks..
For sure if you’re not careful you can get dramatic internal corrosion within engines that have dissimilar metals in contact with each other..but that’s a different matter…
I would assume if you had put the correct fluids to start with in the engine then simple replacement of those fluids should work fine..
B21 said:
I only did chemistry to A-level so I didn't feel qualified to say that. I've no idea what that laundry list of quack medicines was but there is a reason that coolant comes with corrosion inhibitors in which, after many years of dicking about in engines, seem to work quite happily.
I'm reminded of the waterless coolant of about 15/20 years ago. No idea what the point was as water has as high a thermal capacity as you might want but it was notable for being highly flammable.
The irony is that we are discussing the finer chemical points of what to cool a "water-cooled" engine with, and yet no-one would buy distilled water, or expensive chemicals to put in their wet home heating system. We all have a 'fill loop' on these, straight off the mains water supply. A home heating system does the same job as a car's cooling system (just we use the heat rejected) with many different metals exposed to the heating medium; boilers have aluminium heat exchangers, rads are steel, pipework is either copper and brass, or plastic with rubber seals, etc. A £10 bottle of 'inhibitor' sees it run for years without problems! :lol:
The only real difference is your heating system at home is not left outside in the freezing weather most nights.
The only real difference is your heating system at home is not left outside in the freezing weather most nights.
I asked the guys at Bilt Hamber if those 2 products had been used in this way. They said yes. After many years of dicking about in cars especially older ones the coolant system does suffer a LOT and as a way of preventative maintenance I looked into it. Those were my findings. Yes, waterless coolant doesnt have the same heat dissipating qualities as water but it can run at a higher temp and therefore not build up so much pressure as water does....so if something does go wrong etc etc. There are additives that even stop rubber hoses from perishing over time, from the inside!....Things have moved on chemically as have lots of things since we were all at school/college/university. Pondrew gave a very good example. What I said was not wrong. One of those products takes rust and corrosion away, the other stops it coming back. Both tested on their capabilities and are proven extremely good. They are not advertised for this particular purpose so I asked the only guys that would know. Is this really that hard to understand ? The usual additives do work but still break down over time and you get a load of crap just not as much without any additive.
Pondrew said:The irony is that we are discussing the finer chemical points of what to cool a "water-cooled" engine with, and yet no-one would buy distilled water, or expensive chemicals to put in their wet home heating system. We all have a 'fill loop' on these, straight off the mains water supply. A home heating system does the same job as a car's cooling system (just we use the heat rejected) with many different metals exposed to the heating medium; boilers have aluminium heat exchangers, rads are steel, pipework is either copper and brass, or plastic with rubber seals, etc. A £10 bottle of 'inhibitor' sees it run for years without problems! :lol:
The only real difference is your heating system at home is not left outside in the freezing weather most nights.
The primary focus on the home heating system is as you say reduce corrosion…the primary issue in the car is frost protection…then came along aluminium / iron engines then now magnesium alloys / aluminium with steel bolts etc..corrosion did turn out to be a big issue with these engines, some even got a bag of chemicals to sit in the coolant circuit to help mitigate it..
The good news for once is that on the BMW engines there has been very little problems caused by this issue providing you have the right antifreeze…interesting to see that whilst BMW mandates 2 year brake fluid changes there is no time limits on coolant..
B21 said:Interesting to see that whilst BMW mandates 2 year brake fluid changes there is no time limits on coolant..
Years ago in my E36 days it was a 4 year change, so every other Timer Service. Things have moved on and various bottles of gloop have become stable indefinitely. So, a concentration check to compensate for topping up due to loss is all that's needed.
It's a bit like the synthetic lifetime gearbox/diff oils. They have an easy life so don't actually degrade in service and will never be a causal factor in mechanical failure (ie, if it's going to go bang, it'll go bang no matter how often the oil's changed.)
You say that, but I changed the coolant in a Mini the other day (which is a BMW after all) only due to having a cracked thermostat housing. I am glad I did; the 'stuff' that came out was the consistency and colour of thick pea soup. I am amazed the water pump could move it TBH. Don't know how long it had been in there, but it was far too long!smorris_12 said:
I should have added an E&OE about maintenance! Sounds like someone has slung Radweld or some other jollop in there. I've not seen ethylene glycol go thick, even when boiled.
Pondrew said:You say that, but I changed the coolant in a Mini the other day (which is a BMW after all) only due to having a cracked thermostat housing. I am glad I did; the 'stuff' that came out was the consistency and colour of thick pea soup. I am amazed the water pump could move it TBH. Don't know how long it had been in there, but it was far too long!smorris_12 said:
Probably somebody reading a Mini forum had put some strange s**t in it..technical term..
Just to make it clear. I only touched on additives. What I was suggesting was using something that would dissolve all the crap without harming anything and then cleaning the system in such a way that all the areas are treated and prepared for whatever coolant etc you decide to use.
