1933 coolant "water"
 

Was it common practice back in the early 30's to use tap water or distilled water for radiators?

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

I dare say whatever they could find...

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

funny....I thought so....I wonder when people started using distilled water.
Maybe the minerals in the tap water help seal cracks? Ha

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

I recall reading somewhere that distilled water was a no-no as it's makeup is hard on the aluminum heads in the form of promoting cavitation through electrolysis. Further, that your best bet was water taken from a dehumidifier.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Isn't that essentially distilled water?

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Funny..great info. The Things you gotta know!

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Guys, distilled water by definition is liquid water condensed from water vapor. That is exactly what a dehumidifier does.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

But how that takes place is the difference or so it would seem judging from the article that petehoovie provided.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Nowhere in the cited article does it say anything about "water taken from a dehumidifier". Again, since it is liquid water condensed from water vapor it is distilled water.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Is Dehumidifier Water Distilled?

Dehumidifier water is not distilled. Stanford Magazine says that water from a dehumidifier still contains biological contaminants in addition to metallic residue, whereas distilled water contains neither.
The way a dehumidifier works is not that different from actual distillation, as both have final results of evaporated and subsequently condensed water. However, the heavy metals in the dehumidifier are always present, and any unsterilized environment (such as the tank) serves as an open environment for microbes. Water collected from a dehumidifier is known as "gray water." This kind of water is not recommended for human or animal consumption, but it is deemed safe for other uses, such as watering plants.

https://www.reference.com/home-garde...4fe19daf180641



Overview

Dehumidifiers extract water from air that passes through the unit. There are two types of dehumidifiers - condensate dehumidifiers and desiccant dehumidifiers.
Condensate dehumidifiers use a refrigerator to collect water known as condensate, which is normally greywater but may at times be reused for industrial purposes. Some manufacturers offer reverse osmosis filters to turn the condensate into potable water.[2] Some designs, such as the ionic membrane dehumidifier, dispose of water as a vapor rather than liquid.
Desiccant dehumidifiers (known also as absorption dehumidifiers) bond moisture with hydrophilic materials such as silica gel. Cheap domestic units contain single-use hydrophilic substance cartridges, gel, and powder. Larger commercial units contain hot air recovery systems in order to remove humid air from outside the room.
The energy efficiency of dehumidifiers can vary widely.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehumidifier

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Remember, water is known as the universal solvent.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Now days you have reverse osmosis as well as distilation. While the RO water might be preferable, it is still basically H2O but just a cleaner version with minerals and other molecules removed. Water, by itself, is not as effective as a coolant mix that will allow heat transfer and prevent corrosion plus be a safer against freezing in cold weather.

These were inexpensive cars for the day so folks weren't all that worried about whether the engine block would rust. They may have worried about it freezing in the winter a lot more than any possible corrosion. Folks in rural America or about any other country for that matter, basically used what was at hand. If it overheated out in the country somewhere, the water from a mud puddle may have been poured in there.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Water by itself is the most effective coolant without regards to corrosion. Antifreeze mixes do not cool as well.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

Correct. They also boil at a lower temp, which is why newer systems are pressurized. A pressurized liquid boils at a higher temperature.


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Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

As someone who is about to install and first fill a reconditioned radiator in my 34 cabriolet am I to assume from the very informative article about the various different waters that my best bet is to use the same red commercial coolant that my Audi uses?

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

I was told by someone on this board to us
Sierra Antifreeze-Coolant Propylene Glycol
to protect my bearings.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

The point is that you can't have your cake and eat it too. It's never has been practical to run straight water. H2O has no lubricant capability by itself and it boils at a relatively low temperature. It also will freeze rather quickly in subfreezing weather. Then there is the corrosion problem.

A person can run Water Wetter with H2O and maybe slow the corrosion problem. I'm not sure how well it works with the pumps. It won't keep it from freezing. A 50/50 mix of good old antifreeze does it all and even increases the boiling point a small amount but at least it helps with the corrosion better.

You can run straight water but it has to be serviced for cold weather so that would mean servicing it twice a year in colder climates. It freezes here in south TX several times during the cold season so there aren't too many parts of the country you can use it without adding anti freeze and changing it out for summer.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

My car with water only stays in the shop over the winter. Going on 25 years now. If i use anti-freeze, it foams and spills out the overflow. I don't understand it, but it is fact. My 39 is an open system.

Re: 1933 coolant "water"
 

When I was a kid up in Kansas, we had some pretty bad winters. The blizzard of 1957 was the worst. The power lines all went down and the highways were drifted over with 12-foot drifts on the average over about a 100-mile stretch. The snow plow technology was there but they needed front end loaders that didn't exist yet. We had natural gas for heat but we had to keep thawing the gas pipes due to moisture freezing in the lines. There was no way to heat anything but the house and that was with open flame only. A lot of old flatheads died a hard death that winter and in another blizzard in 1964. Most of them had anti-freeze but they froze up anyway.

Modern technology has improved winter survival a lot but you just never know.