Evening star., 1927-11-13
HOST OF ANTI-FREEZES MAKES \ i i
CHOICE OF RIGHT ONE DIFFICULT
Selection Should Lie Between Alcohol and
Glycerin; Latter Given Preference
by Experts

NY 40
Anti.freeze time Is at hand and
already the thoughtful motorist neces-
sariIy must consider the various sub
stances which will protect the engine
of his car during the months when the
ICY blasts of Winter blow unabated
day after day.
There are many car owners. OF
course, who do not give the subject
sufficient consideration. They drift
along until cold weather comes in
earnest and, il they have the good for
tune to escape with a whole engine
after the first cold night. they stop at
the nearest service station and have
the cooling system filled with what
ever anti-freeze solution is in stock
there and in whatever quantity the
station emplOye recommends. They
may get the best solution available
and in quantity sufficient to assure
protection without harm TO the engine
or interference with it's efficiency.
But, then, they may not.
Anti.freezes Ignored.
As the autOmotive engineer views
it, motordom pays heavily every Win.
ter by treating the question Of anti
freezes as If it were, after all, OF little
consequence. But this continued
heavy payment is having its dlsas-
trous effect. The car owner who has
dug down into his pocket for the re-
pair or replacement of cylinder
block, a radiator, water pump. or
some other essential and expensive
engine unit that broke from freezing,
Go ~, Of ha nc
the right anti-freeze and the correct
amount of it.
SO the subject is deserving of
thought.
An anti-freeze solution must fulfill
three functions. First, it must be
adequate to protect the engine by pre-.
venting the cooling system contents
| from freezing. at the lowest possible
| temperature in any given locality.
| Second, it must be of character that
will not damage the cooling system
through solvent or corrosive action.
| Third, it must circulate freely at the
lawest operating temperature likely
| to be encountered.
Scores of Remedies Available.
| There are scores of anti-freeze SUBJ
| stances offered under a wide variety
of trade names which are claimed to
meet all of these requirements. Oils,
salts. sugars and alcohols (glycerin, of
course, falling into the latter class)
| form the base of virtually all of the
solutions. The virtues of each sub.
stance have been measured scientifi.
| cally by experts of the Federal Gov
ernment and their findings provide
the basis for any recommendations
made in this article.
| Denatured alcohol long has been the
most commonly used anti-freeze but
recent years have seen a steady rise
| in popularity for glycerin and gly.
cerin-base solutions. Still, if the tide
is turning, it has rather a long way to
go. One of the most important fac.
tors in this situation is that every.
where one looks. one finds alcohol on
sale while, in some places, glycerin
can be found only after an exhaustive
| search.
How do these two compare? The
individual motorist must decide this
| Tor himself. of course, but his task
Will be much easier if he knows the
advantages and disadvantages of
each.
Alcohol Regarded as Fickle.
Alcohol is cheaper and more avail.
[ able. 1t offers adequate, protection to
the cooling system if present in suf.
ficient quantity. But, alcohol, per.
haps. is the most tickle anti.freeze.
| Having an extremely low boiling
point. 1S0 degrees, it evaporates rap.
idly and the result is that, in localities
| where the temperature range is fairly
wide, cold spell may find the solu.
ton inadequate. The volume of al.
| cohol present, however, is easy to de.
termine by a hydrometer test. The
| motorist does not make such tests in
too many cases. He assumes that
the supply is sufficient and that as.
sumption often proves costly. Though
he may consider it an annoyance, II
he is to protect his engine fully and
perhaps save himself a major repair
| job. every mOtOrist who uses de.
natured alcohol will find it we'll worth
| his while to have his solution tested
| regularly. He may find that evapora.
ton has reduced the proportion of al.
cohol considerably.
| Other disadvantages that may be
charged to alcohol are minor. For
one thing. it's low boiling point tends
to keep cylinder temperature sub.
normal. Another is that alcohol
| spilled or splashed upon a nitrocellrl.
lose finish is quite likely to prove
harmful if not Immediately removed.
| Good rs Radiator Protector.
On the whole. alcohol is a good
| radiator protector. In case the
motorist decides its advantages out.
weigh its frailties. the following table
indicates the effective solution by
volume for certain temperatures and
the specific gravity reading for the
various percentages:
Percentage of
Alcohol Protects to Gravity
| 10 % above zero 0.9SS
| on a 90