The Washington herald., 1920-11-21
BY JULIAN CHASE.
Copyright, 1920.


II it were not a well demonstrated
fact that, in freezing, water ex-
pands, this article and similar ones
which have preceded it and others
which will follow it would not. be
written. NBut it is a well demon
strated ia et and the evidence of its
relationship to automobile operation
has been found in cracked water
jackets and burst radiators. Hence
! there is good reason for this writing
and doubly good reason considering
that We are just entering the season
for these peculiar and often expen-
siVe manifestations of the opera
tions of natural law.
Some users of acknowledgement
ably most users of them-must use
some kind of anti-freezing cooling
mixture in their cars during the
winter months. Some need not.
Among the latter class are those
who use their cars no more, per-
haps, than once a week and make
no long stops on the road when they
are using them. Such car users can
best draw of the water at the end
of each run and refill with hot wa
ter when their cars are to be used
again. The hct water, If allowed a
few minutes to do the work, win
warm up the engine sufficiently to
make starting 1t an easier job. 1t
can be done this way, but there is
always the chance that an enforced
stop of considerable length may re-
suit disastrously. This danger is
reduced by the use of radiator COW
ers, as is also the danger. experI-
enced in extremely cold weather, of
freezing in the bottom of the radia-
tor, while running, with consequent
| overheating.
Systems Require Protector.
The cooling system of the present
day automobile is necessarily so de-
signed that it will keep the engine
suficiently cool in hot weather.
Thermostats, in many cars, tend to
overcome the possibility of too
much cooling in cold weather, but
they can not entirely equalize con-
! ditions in our coolest weather with
out the assistance of some form of
| radiator protector.
Most automobile users do need an
anti-freezing cooling mixture. To
/ these We are going to say openly,
frankly, and almost brazenly, that
the best thing ohey can do is to 60
and buy some of the several es-
pecially prepared solution makers
offered on the market, and then
/ follow the directions on the can.
That's the best advice that anyone
can give, but knowing that there
| are some who can not or will not
| take advantage of it, we will tell
| you something about how anti
freezing cooling solutions are made.
Nearly every one knows what
things are used, but few make more
than temporary mental note of
what they have heard or read re-
garding how much of this or that
to use for re.ious temperatures.
Denatured Product Best.
First, let us consider alcohol-the
stuff that made the vofstead act
famous. The kind used for this
| purpose is the denatured.- It is not
so cheap as it was, but 1t is Just
as effective: Using one pint of al
cohol to a gallon of water, you will
get solution which will not freeze
! above rs degrees Fahrenheit. The
freezing points of stronger solu-
tons are: 3 1-2 pints to one gallon
of water. zero degrees; 5 pints to
one gallon of water, is degrees be-
low zero; 6 pints to one gallon Of
water, 22 degrees below zero and
SO on. IL you live where it gets
down to 40 degrees below zero, you
will have to use ~ pints of alcohol
to gallon of water, which might
be said to make the drink bigger
than the chaser-if you know what
we mean.
Denatured alcohol vaporizes read
lily, But not so readily as wood al
cohol.s which for that reason is not
suitable, really, for this purpose. In
the operation of the car. under the
influence of the heat of the engine,
the alcohol is evaporated faster
Z n tnei water and as a, result the
solution constantly becomes weaker.