ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 19

By Steve Schaeber

Properly mixing coolant

Kevin Coshin

H

ere's an issue that comes up
every once in a while when
I am mixing antifreeze for
a customer's vehicle: How
to properly mix the coolant
and water to ensure a correct 50/50 ratio?
I suppose purchasing pre-diluted coolant
would take the guessing game and extra
work out of the equation, but I like to mix
my own. I'm sure there are many opinions regarding this topic, so I'm going to
explain the way I do it, and then ask for
your comments. There will likely be many,
since everyone seems to have their own
way of doing it.
I start out with two, one-gallon antifreeze jugs, one new and one empty. The
ﬁrst thing I do is mark the full level on
the new bottle, so I know how much I
started out with. Then, I pour half of the
new coolant into the empty bottle, and
check to make sure they're both at the

A refractometer gives you a precise measurement of the coolant's freezing point.
same level. That way I know I have the
same amount of new coolant in each bot-

tle. Next, I top off both coolant bottles with
distilled water, up to the same level that it
was when full. Doing this gets me pretty
darn close to a perfect 50/50 mixture of
coolant in each bottle, so I end up having
two full gallons of pre-mixed coolant to
ﬁll the vehicle's cooling system with.
Here's where I take things just one
step further. Before I use the coolant, I get
out my refractometer and test the new mix
to make sure it reads -34°F on the scale.
Maybe you'd say I'm going a bit overboard by taking this step (I've sure heard
that one before), but I like to ensure that
the mixture I'm going to put in the vehicle
is actually going to provide the freezing
protection required. Not only that, but
if any corrections need to be made, it's
much easier to do before it's been poured
into the system. There have been plenty of
times that I ﬁlled a cooling system with
an incorrect mixture, then had to drain it
back out to make the correction. Unfortunately, dirt has a way of getting into that
drained coolant no matter how clean the
system or vehicle seems to be. Then that
dirt would have to be strained or settled
out if the antifreeze is to be reused, taking
more time and causing further delays.
How does your shop do it? Gallon
jugs? Pure bulk? Pre-diluted? Drop a line
to Steve@macsw.org and let us know! ❆

Spring 2015 * ACTION/NAPA

19

ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE

ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - Cover1
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - Cover2
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 3
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 4
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 5
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 6
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 7
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 8
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 9
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 10
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 11
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 12
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 13
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 14
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 15
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 16
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 17
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 18
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 19
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 20
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 21
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 22
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 23
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 24
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 25
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 26
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 27
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 28
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 29
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 30
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 31
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 32
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 33
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 34
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 35
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 36
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 37
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - 38
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - Cover3
ACTION NAPA AUTO CARE - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20176
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20160910_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_napa_2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_napa_2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_napa_2015spring_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201307
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201306
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201305
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201303
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201207
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201206
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_201205
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20120304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20120102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20111112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/action_20110910
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com