Antifreeze

C

Cinnamon

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 Aug 2005
Messages
108
Location
England
www.vega1494.blogspot.com
Anyone know if there is an environment-friendly antifreeze on the market in the UK?

Last time I needed antifreeze I was in France &, without really looking for it, came across some biodegradable, environment-friendly stuff.

Seems to me a very poor show that, even with the help of Mr Google, I can't find any similar product locally. Sounds like a job for YBW forum!

Cheers
CC
 
The orange antifreeze is supposed to be more environment-friendly and better corrosion inhibition as well, but there can be problems switching between antifreeze types.
 
My friend, who is a chemist, told me that most are enviromentally friendly. They appear as a sugar solution to the enviroment. The green stuff looks a bit obvious when you tip in the sea though, so you might want to do it at night!!
 
Common anti-freezes contain the toxic ethylene glycol. Non toxic propylene glycol is used in heat transfer fluids in the food industry but I am not sure if that is considered environmentally friendly. There are environmentally fluids made from vegetable sources but I am not aware of them being generally available to Joe Public.

Google finds that info quite easily
 
If you have a modern Yanmar YM series, you must use Orange (Havoline/Texaco or GM/Vauxhall) asthey have marginal heat exchangers which, as they have too many fins per inch, clog up. This causes overheating just when you need the engine power.
Ask me how I know....
 
The orange Havoline extended life antifreeze/coolant (XLC) is still ethylene glycol based.

Texaco do a a couple propylene glycol based coolants, P200 and P205 but they are not for automotive use etc.

I failed to discover what the GM Vauxhall stuff is but no indication that is is anything other than ethylene glycol.

One thing very apparent is that different antifreezes contain different inhibitors making them non mixable with each other and perhaps some less suitable for aluminium blocks and heads than others. Its a minefield.
 
Texaco supply the GM stuff relabelled.

It is in the silicates apparently that the issue lies with very fine heat exchangers.
Jeanneau in their infinite wisdom used the barrels of stuff they had in stock. GREEN.

Yanmar swapped mine out twice under warranty. The second one was changed from 63 fins per inch to 38 fins per inch. I havent had a problem since. Well documented on Yanmar forums
 
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