When you buy a new car, keeping an eye on your car’s temperature isn’t much of a concern. But as the car ages, its efficiency decreases, making it heat up easily. It is now that you need to keep a close eye on your car’s water or coolant levels.
Is using water or coolant in your car’s radiator one and the same or is there a difference?
This blog is all about water vs coolant efficacy for your car. What’s the difference, and which is better to improve your engine’s life and efficiency.
How Does Water or Coolant Cool Down the Engine?
The cooling efficiency can vary depending on whether you are using water or coolant. However, both serve the same purpose, i.e. cool down your engine’s temperature.
Let’s start by seeing how a radiator coolant works.
As the coolant flows across the engine, it absorbs heat due to its heat-absorbing properties. The heated coolant is now pumped back to the radiator, where it cools down in small tubules. Irrespective of water or radiator coolant, the process is actually the same.
Are Water and Coolant the Same?
Let’s clear some misconceptions. Many people consider coolant as processed water. The truth is water and coolant are not interchangeable.
Plain water used in the radiator isn’t processed. It has tons of impurities, which is why calcium and rust build up in your engine and radiator block. For this reason, it’s not safe for your engine in the long run.
Here are the pros and cons of using water as a coolant.
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Efficiently cools down and serves the purpose
- It can be sourced from anywhere
Cons:
- Can lose efficiency at higher temperatures
- Corrosion, rust and calcium deposits are common effects of using water as a coolant
- Highly pressurized boiling water can be hazardous
As compared to water, coolant on the other hand is a processed fluid comprising de-ionized water, primarily ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, and many other chemicals. This chemical composition helps it achieve extraordinary efficiency in cooling down the car. Following are the benefits and disadvantages of using coolant in the radiator.
Pros:
- Highly efficient even at high temperatures
- Prevents engine damage from corrosion and rust
- Resistant from freezing and boiling temperatures
Cons:
- Expensive
- Older coolant can be acidic
There are lots of inherent benefits of using a coolant which we will discuss later in this blog.
Why Should You Never Use Water?
Despite both being used as a coolant, differing chemical compositions of water and coolant serve different purposes. First, let’s start with the water; why you shouldn’t use water as a radiator coolant.
Water boils and freezes at hot and cold temperatures; coolant doesn’t. Boiling water in the engine’s chamber is only increasing the pressure inside of the chamber, and the cooling process significantly decreases due to the boiling water. Thus defeating the original purpose of using a coolant in the first place.
Apart from that, the impurities in the water can accelerate the rusting, corrosion and calcium deposits in the radiator and engine block. Thus decreasing the lifespan and efficiency of your engine.
Unlike water, coolant has a much higher temperature tolerance making it suitable for extreme engine temperatures. Coolant makes sure the car never exceeds a certain temperature level. And this should be the key objective of any fluid poured into the car’s radiator.
Apart from the temperature resistance, coolant has additives that prevent corrosion.
Can you use a mixture of water and coolant?
Auto experts suggest using a 50-50 mixture of coolant and water. You should do this only if you live in a low-temperature area. In a tropical region like Pakistan, using pure coolant in the radiator is beneficial.
Another thing that demands attention is that many people use different types of coolants interchangeably. No coolant should be replaced by a coolant having different grades and properties.
New cars don’t heat up. But as the car ages, you need to start thinking about whether you want to use coolant or water to keep your car’s engine temperature at an optimum level. In this blog, we have laid down in detail both the pros and cons of using water and coolant in the engine.
You may also like:
Leave a Reply