Wynns Radiator Flush

[richardabeattie]

This product is said to clean scale, contain no acid and be safe with all materials likely to be in my raw water Yanmar engine. But what is its active ingredient and would it work if I left it in the block for a while?

 

[RichardS]

Contains no acid = snake oil?

Probably just a bit of surfactant to wash out the waterways. Better than nothing but severly limited.

Richard

 

[VicS]

This product is said to clean scale, contain no acid and be safe with all materials likely to be in my raw water Yanmar engine. But what is its active ingredient and would it work if I left it in the block for a while?

Nitrilotriacetic acid trisodium salt monohydrate, a chelating agent similar to EDTA, and iso-tridecanol ethoxylate, a surfactant.

I believe the instructions are to warm an engine up , after replacing the coolant with plain water and the Wynns, and run at idle for 10 minutes.
My guess is that it would take forever to do any good in the cold ....

 

[thinwater]

Remember that this is an automobile product (their market) for cars with paper thin aluminum radiators (acid is a really, really, really bad idea). Wynn's sells a product that is safe for an idiot to use on a cooling system that does not really need cleaning (has always had good coolant--why in the HELL would it need cleaning?).

If you're thinking about descaling the raw water side, it's all wrong. And why would the coolant side ever need cleaning, assuming good maintenance?

 

[richardabeattie]

OK it's back to brick cleaner but that means taking out the anodes and finding a way to block up their holes while the brick cleaner gets to work.

 

[RichardS]

OK it's back to brick cleaner but that means taking out the anodes and finding a way to block up their holes while the brick cleaner gets to work.

How about removing the anodes and putting a piece of polythene over them and screwing them back in but not tight. Cling film will also work as well. No need to do up too tight so as to rip the film as a little leakage past the film will not touch the anode.

Richard

 

[thinwater]

There is a middle ground. Many cleaners are based on organic acids and are less digressive, but still effective.

Lactic acid (CLR) and citric acid based products are good for this.

 

[richardabeattie]

How about removing the anodes and putting a piece of polythene over them and screwing them back in but not tight. Cling film will also work as well. No need to do up too tight so as to rip the film as a little leakage past the film will not touch the anode.

Richard

Clever!

 

[vyv_cox]

I used it, or something similar, in the sadly neglected indirectly cooled BMC 2.2 diesel in my motor sailer. The engine had had almost nothing done to it for years and, as I discovered later, not only did not have a thermostat but the housing for it had been 'modified' so that it was not possible to fit one. I found the stuff to be extremely effective, bringing out an enormous amount of rust and other deposits. Probably not so good with a raw water cooled one though.