I have two questions about coolant. One is more rhetorical, and the other I'd really like to know the answer.


1. When did selling pre-diluted coolant catch favor? It seems silly to me. All you're doing is buying water, right, along with the coolant? So if I need 16 quarts (four gallons) of 50/50 antifreeze/water, I have to buy four gallons of the pre-diluted stuff instead of two gallons of the concentrated, as I've been doing since Cro-Magnon Man was in diapers, right?

question 1A. What's so hard about diluting it myself? I've been doing this forever. Has something changed? Funnels haven't fallen out of favor, have they?

question 1B. I figure that if I'm buying half as much antifreeze in the pre-diluted container, it should cost about half as much as the concentrate, or maybe slightly more. But it doesn't. I just now bought some concentrated for $11.99 per gallon. The pre-diluted right next to it is $10.99. So four gallons of that is $44 versus $24 for the concentrated once diluted. Yes, I have to add water, and if I want to use distilled water, add maybe another $3.00 for two gallons of water from the drugstore. I'm still WAY ahead doing the dilution myself. Am I missing something?



2. I see fewer and fewer choices for the concentrated green antifreeze in recent times. Most of the stuff on the shelf now is the extended-life, orange stuff. The containers for these say on them that this antifreeze is good in ANY engine, with the word "any" capitalized, bolded, italicized, and underlined. Does this mean I can use it my '73 Oldsmobile? Can I mix it with the green?



Thank you.

 

I don't think your missing a thing. Its all about marketing to the lazy masses who would rather spend money then time. Examples are pre-made meals.

 

When the antifreeze companies figured out that the American public really sucks at math...

My local Wally Mart sells both regular and extended life Prestone, however the extended life Prestone CLAIMS that you can mix it with any antifreeze.

 

Yes but.

The typical buyer of auto-parts-store antifreeze is at least somewhat of a gearhead and not only has the time to do the dilution, he's smart enough to do it, too, and he's obviously not a lazy person because he's doing whatever work his car needs himself. Who are the lazy masses who buy all that antifreeze but can't figure out the dilution part?


TV-dinners are something different. They really can save you a lot of time. That's another thing about the pre-diluted antifreeze. Using it might save you all of the five minutes it would take to dilute it yourself. So I don't see time savings as a selling point for the stuff.

 

That's it.

I can see one advantage to it. You have a breakdown away from home and need some antifreeze quickly to get back on the road. You don't have the facilities to dilute, so being able to buy the ready-mixed stuff and dump it straight into your car while working on the side of a lonely road somewhere would be an advantage.



Has anyone actually tried this, though? Has any actually tried using the orange stuff, even unmixed with the green, in their vintage engine?

 

PS, your 2 questions technically equal 4.

 

Rapidly veering off into the weeds, but...

I actually bought a Pet Rock in the early 1970s as a gag gift. You weren't paying for the rock. You were paying for the care and feeding manual that came with it. The book was freaking hilarious. I about wet myself.

 

Hahaha Joe, I rest my case, and I can add bottled tap water into the mix also.

 

If I'd ever come across a TV dinner that tasted better than its packaging I might concede you have a point.
To me fixing up something good to eat is a worthwhile thing in itself, just as fixing my car is.


But we buy bottled water that has more impurities than most tap water, take all kind of slimming aids so we can eat our fill of junk, drive ten miles to a gym to pay to walk five miles on a treadmill....
So it's hardly a surprise that we will pay for diluted antifreeze, or windshield washer fluid come to that.


Roger.

 

a lot of people are totally mechanically challenged so a premix is perfect because they dont have to worry about what the existing mix in the car is or what outside temp determines your ratio...etc when the bottle says ''premixed just add'' you dont have to figure anything if your uncertain

 

I don't see how the premixed helps if you want a ratio other than 50/50, unless the ratio is less than 50/50 antifreeze/water, and who would want that?

In all my years of doing this, I've never mixed it at a ratio other than 50/50. Unless you live in Antarctica or on the surface of the sun, this ratio should work fine for you. The premixed stuff IS 50/50. I doubt anyone cares what ratio is in the car if they're topping off, and if they cared at all, it's likely 50/50, anyway.

I don't think concern about ability to mix in proper ratios is the reason for the pre-mixed stuff.

 

Here's another forum on this I could have written myself.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/archive/in.../t-182635.html

 

I take this back. I've done some looking around, and concern that people don't accurately mix the concentrate to get a 50/50 mixture IS one of the prime drivers behind the push to pre-mixed antifreeze.

Another is a concern I hadn't thought of. People, apparently, didn't historically keep antifreeze already diluted to the 50/50 mixture on the shelf in the garage. If they noticed their car's antifreeze was down a little bit, and they didn't have any ready to pour in, they would likely neglect the problem. Mechanics reported seeing cars come into their shops with the overflow reservoir empty and the level in radiator down significantly. By having available off-the-store-shelf antifreeze that would be ready to pour right in, consumers could buy this, put it on the shelf in their garage, and be ready to top off their cooling system if needed.

 

The marketing guys have figured out that the masses are not very smart or observant. I bought my first gallon of premixed by mistake. Didn't even know they sold the stuff. Picked up my favorite brand and didn't notice until I got home that I bought 1/2 gal of water. Same with packaging in the grocery stores. Went to buy the value sized big box of my favorite cereal.....it has to be cheaper than the small box right? Wrong! If you look at the cost per ounce the small box costs less even though the big box says value sized. Go figure.

 

Well, look at the bright side, the 1/2g of water was only about $5 right?

That's better than the bottled water at $2 a qt.

I took my mom to see a show at the University's performing arts center. Bought 2 FOUR OUNCE bottles of water, just in case. $4 each. What is that $128 a gallon?

*sigh*

I always buy full strength coolant and then immediately mix it 50/50 or so, and write that on the jugs.

 

I think that it has been covered in previous replies, but I would just add this:
My father, who is an intelligent man, (though not a car guy), cannot fathom that coolant becomes more effective with dilution. If his car overheats (or needs coolant/anti-freeze) he would gladly buy the gallon of 50/50 mix at the parts store so he doesn't have to, "mess with it". By being factory-mixed, that is a type of assurance from the manufacturer that their product (as sold) will get the job done.
I suspect that my Dad would also pay a premium to buy gasoline/oil to run his 2-stroke snow thrower at a reliable 50 to 1 mix.
At least in my Dad's case, confidence and convenience carries a premium in regard to price.
We sometimes take for granted our knowledge and disallow others' ignorance in these matters. (How much did you pay for those muffler bearings?)
I would also like to add that when my sister (also an intelligent person) and I bought a 1970 Buick Skylark together, the car stalled when stopped at intersections. I told her it was just the idle, she said, "how much is an idle going to cost"?
Mick

 

LOL now that you mention it I have seen 1 quart ? cans of 2 stroke premix for sale in stores like sears... I was like WTF at the rate I go thru 2 stroke the sellers could retire on my purchases alone LOL

 

It's a simple matter of profit margin. If they can sell you half as much product and ad water for the other half, for about the same price, their profit margin went up by about 50%. They are actually pretty darn smart..............

 

Something that I have always done. Didn't inherit it from dear ole dad, the guy that said to me as I was under his van replacing the fuel pump "remember righty tighty, lefty loosey", to which I replied "how about I drop you off at the Moose, and pick you up when I'm done"?

 

Forget 50/50 mix. I was taught to test my coolant the right way. Check it out!

http://prestone.com/node/387

 

It is also on the weak side for us Northern people where temps hit -50 with the windchill. Pretty sure the one I tested was the high -20's in strength.

 

This is a long winded doc., but a refractometer is best, and prices have dropped. I worked on engines kept at 145 F for starting purposes.
The temp of the coolant affects hydrometer testers.

http://doclibrary.com/MSC167/PRM/Rei...ometer3641.pdf

 

Interesting, I had no idea.
I have been using the hydrometer for years.
Learning is fun. Thanks for posting.

 

Wind chill doesn't mean anything as far as coolant needs. It's air temperature.

 

Another reason would be because some people's tap water is laced with either impurities from their well or chemicals added by the "city water" company that may wind up causing corrosion in the system. Full strength with "pure" water for me.

 

True, wind chill is base on how fast the humidity in the air evaporates versus the actual temperature evaporation rate. Moisture evaporates faster in wind, and the more wind the faster the evaporation. The evaporation causes the perceived temp to go down therefore giving a wind chill temperature lower than the body thinks it really is.

 

a little less the 10 years ago i would purchase radiator fluid booster. It came in quart bottles. I would pour it in just prior to the start of winter. At the time you could get the 50/50 mix. Have not seen it lately... has anyone seen this and was it crap.

 

I was in Target the other night and could not believe what I saw - The 50/50 mix was about $1.50 more per gallon than the full strength. I think the sale of good stuff has dropped off enough to cause the price to drop.

 

I wonder how many people by the premix and do not pay attention to the label and go home and add water?