? on topping up 'freshwater' (antifreeze...)

[eagleswing]

in replacing two hot water heater hoses running off the engine on my yanmar 3jh4e, , i lost a quantity of antifreeze . now i need to top up the antifreeze , putting it into the main filler cap area. i don't know the quantity i lost because i cleverly cleaned up the bilge and pumped the antifreeze / bilge contents into bottles and (properly) disposed of them without measuirng how much was there...

a logical fillup would be to top up the antifreeze til it can be seen a little below the the radiator cap ... but both the owners' and service manuals make no mention of this old car technique, , preferring instead to tell me the total quantity of antifreeze the system requires...

so i intend to top up the antifreeze to just below the radiator filler cap, unless some one here tells me that is a terrrible idea... ???

 

[ksutton]

Here in UK you can buy pre-mixed antifreeze from auto factors, its usually a 50/50% mix. Try PEP Boys or something like that in USA. Whats more more important is to top it up with very similar anti freeze that's already in there, usually identified with its color (pinkish or blue).
Another advantage of using the pre-mixed anti freeze is that it will have been mixed with de-ionized water, so you are not putting hard water into your system.
If your engine antifreeze/coolant has not been changed for 3 years than why not consider draining and refilling the whole system with fresh stuff. Its important to regularly change the coolant/antifreeze to prevent internal engine corrosion, because there is a corrosion inhibitor function built into modern antifreeze.

 

[jordanbasset]

Does your engine not have an expansion tank, thought they were standard on your model, in which case there will normally be a minimum and maximum fill level on it. See link here
http://www.merequipment.com/products/3jh4e-yanmar-marine-engine.aspx
Would agree with others if you have not changed the coolant recently may be as well to replace the lot.

 

[VicS]

Remember that there are two basic types of ethylene glycol based antifreeze with different inhibitor systems that are not compatible with each other.

There is the traditional low silicate type, which should be changed at 2 yearly intervals and there is the "advanced" or "longlife" type with "organic acid technology" (OAT) which needs only to be changed every 5 years.

The two types must not be mixed, although it is possible to get "universal" top up mixtures which can be used for topping up either.

You should of course use which ever type is specified by the engine manufacturer .. I don't off hand know which that is for the Yanmar 3JH4E.

Remember that ethylene glycol is toxic to mammals and marine life. It should always be disposed of safely.
In some countries ( eg USA) propylene glycol based antifreeze is also readily available as a non toxic alternative

 

[eagleswing]

still curious...

thanks for the replies... but

1 i had just cleaned the system with a flush, and changed all of the antifreeze a month before. and i now want to top up (with the same Dexcool that yanmar recommends and that i have been using for 10 years.) i do not particularly want to flush again, just get enough AF into the system to replace the unknown quantity which was lost. ... thus the original question was not regarding the type of antifreeze to use , but rather whether if one fills the dexcool to just below the radiator cap, that will fill the system sufficiently to its capacity.

(NB that yanmar recommmends only a particular type of AF for its engines, which here in the USA is the DexCool, as the 'other kind' ) will cause precipitates and potential engine damage...


NB: one cannot fill the main coolant compartment thru the overfill 'expansion' tank, that tank is used to merely top up a little.

 

[vyv_cox]

I'm not familiar with DexCool but Google tells me that some is available diluted 50/50 with water, other supplies are 100%. I would top up as you suggest with 50/50, either bought for the purpose or diluted by yourself. I find it worthwhile to run the engine briefly after topping up to ensure any airlocks are filled. If any parts of your system are higher than the filler cap it is worth filling while the engine is running.

 

[VicS]

thanks for the replies... but

1 i had just cleaned the system with a flush, and changed all of the antifreeze a month before. and i now want to top up (with the same Dexcool that yanmar recommends and that i have been using for 10 years.) i do not particularly want to flush again, just get enough AF into the system to replace the unknown quantity which was lost. ... thus the original question was not regarding the type of antifreeze to use , but rather whether if one fills the dexcool to just below the radiator cap, that will fill the system sufficiently to its capacity.

(NB that yanmar recommmends only a particular type of AF for its engines, which here in the USA is the DexCool, as the 'other kind' ) will cause precipitates and potential engine damage...


NB: one cannot fill the main coolant compartment thru the overfill 'expansion' tank, that tank is used to merely top up a little.

So you know exactly what type of antifreeze is in the system... that's good as it removes any uncertainties about types.

Simply top up your system with a 50/50 Dex-Cool mixture to its normal working level following whatever procedures are recommended in the owners manual for refilling and venting air etc.... run the engine as Vyv suggests and check the level, topping up again if necessary.

You can if more convenient buy pre-diluted Dex-Cool.

If Yanmar state a quantity of concentrate to use when refilling the system I suspect it is to ensure that the correct 50% concentration is obtained even if the system is not fully drained after flushing. Apparently it is important to ensure that a 50% mixture is always used. 30% or even 25% was at one time quite commonly used with the older antifreeze types.


FWIW
Dex-Cool is an ethylene glycol based antifreeze with organic acid technology (OAT). In countries where Dex-Cool is not available and some other brand must be used then it should be an OAT type.
Texaco Long Life Coolant and Havoline Extended Life Coolant are the ones mentioned in the on-line manual.


.

 

[eagleswing]

the final solution...

thanks for your thoughtful replies. i have the 'owners manual' (written in 5 languages,) the service manual, the parts manual, and the engine install manual for this engine.. interesting that NONE of the yanmar manuals gave as much info as the good readers of PBO...

so i'll just fill it up to the brim like an automotive radiator, which is what i thought to do since yanmar doesnt tell you otherwise, or in fact tell you much at all..

reminds me of the vague directions on the flushing of the turbos on the big yanmars, which seem designed to allow only the professional mechanics to do this procedure. in the USA yan would not sell an average person the secret turbo washing solution ... and failure to do the turbine wash resulted in $$damage$$ to the turbocharge system...