NH coolant Poll

Phred · Jul 5, 2004

Do you guys actually use NH antifreeze or some other brand?
I am sure that the NH is pricey in comparison to the alternatives.

For those far enough south that are using a 50%/50% mix,
what type of water are you guys using? Distilled, DI, plain old tap etc...?

Fred

MikePA · Jul 6, 2004

I use Fleetguard and distilled water. Never even checked on the NH stuff.

jinman · Jul 6, 2004

The last time I changed antifreeze, I used Zerex 50-50 pre-mix I found on sale. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

spencer200 · Jul 6, 2004

The new holland antifreeze comes from fleetguard

Phred · Jul 6, 2004

Fleetguard makes a bunch of different products.
Some are Ethylene Glycol (EG) and some are Propylene Glycol (PG).
It appears the difference is that the PG is greener since it is less toxic but the EG offers lower freeze points.

Also some have anti-corrosion additives.
Anyone have opinions which ones are better or perhaps none are needed?

Fred

Phred · Jul 7, 2004

I made a few calls.
Dealer number 1: Use fleet guard and be happy. They sell it for ~$2.8/gallon. They claim you need a PG and not EG. The guy says EG breaks down to fast and PG is better. Sounded pretty thin to me. I doubt this bit of info.
Dealer number 2: special NH collant that he will let me have for ~$7 / gallon. No info on what it is , I just must use it. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Thats not going to happen.

So I guess the choice is which fleet gaurd product makes sense.

Fred

jinman · Jul 8, 2004

Fred, what does your Owner's Manual say? Mine says,"...50-50 solution of permanent antifreeze." That's as specific as it gets. I guess you could interpret this many ways, but on diesels designed as ours are, I think the decision to change the coolant annually is much more important than what type we use. I believe if there were special requirements, our Owner's Manuals would say so.

I gotta get me some of that $7 per gallon stuff. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

spencer200 · Jul 8, 2004

The 7.00 a gallon stuff comes direct from fleet guard, premixed with water I might add, supposedly with additives to protect the engine. This is the line they give us for the price difference anyways. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MCas · Jul 8, 2004

Our Ford 1900 has had plain 50-50 auto antifreeze in it for 12 years that we know of and maybe since new in 1983 no problems with hoses or water pump or radiator.

Phred · Jul 9, 2004

Well I know I am making more of this than needed....but for the record I wanted to get to the bottom of this. I got so much different info from so many sources, much of which did not make sense, so....

Dealer #2 that wanted ~$7 / gallon? Turns out this is just straight EG with no additives. Yep, no water mix, no additives. Just the same thing that wallmart sells for ~$2. Not even NH brand.

So I called fleet gaurd and got what I think is the straight scoop.
Bottom line is if the diesel is a wet linning engine then you need aditives to prevent corrosion. The NH TN series are not wet linned diesels so cheapo EG is all that is needed. Anything else is a waste of money. Keep in mind that this is from a antifreeze company who would profit from me buying the pricey additive product.

As far as PG versus EG. EG is slightly better but the difference is so small that you will never notice. The freeze points are a degree or two lower for the same concentration of EG when compared to PG.
However, EG is a lot more toxic, so PG is probably the best approach assuming the cost is the same.

As far as how to mix it. They recommend disltiiled water, like what walmart sells. Two issues; this will contain no Cl like tap water and very little minerial content.

Fred