got a good deal on a drum of quality automotive antifreeze….any problem running this in my radiant system instead of glycol?? thanks for your input….john
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Big problem. Additives are totally different. I know somebody will say no big deal, but personally, I figure there is too much invested in the system. I prefer gambling at a casino.
After a short search, it looks like heat transfer liquids used in heating and cooling systems are formulated a little differently. The additive, or inhibitors, for typical HVAC systems are there to protect the copper, brass, and solder used in those systems. Automotive coolants seem to be formulated to protect aluminum and steel components used in engine blocks.
Also, auto anti freeze is poisonous. If it gets in to your water system, it could kill you!
All glygol antifreeze is toxic. It can be an acute toxin or a chronic toxin. The big difference is how much can be ingested before it reaches one of those levels.
There is no way you want that in your house heating system!
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You will have to contact Wirsbo for the real answer. They will probably say no, it will void the 30 year warranty.
You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
even if Wirsbo accepted it, it would eat up three sets of circulators and valves in the life of the pex
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For the most prt, we are told to change our car's colant because it is the additives that are used up ... not the 'anti freeze' itself.
Ordinary auto antifreeze is actually quite corrosive, especially to iron alloys. This is why auto formulations have a corrosion inhibitor added.
"Safer" antifreeze, the type advertised as less toxic to pets, has a different base chemical that is so safe it's often used as a food additive. Mind you, any other ingredients may not be so safe..... An unexpected side effect is that this other ingredient is, of itself, a corrosion inhibitor.
I once worked at a place where the vast majority of the machines were lubricated with simple 30W oil - except for one blower, which got Mobil 1. Curious, I asked why - after all, we had barrels of 30W laying around.
The explanation was: that blower cost $30,000 .... and it has a five year warranty. Figure all the oil we'll use over that time, and you can see that the cost savings in using cheap, unreccomended oil is trivial, when compared to the cost of the blower.
I suggest you also consider the cost of repairs to your system when you are evaluating the risk posed by using an unknown fluid in the lines.
>>Safer" antifreeze, the type advertised as less toxic to pets, has a different base chemical that is so safe it's often used as a food additive. Mind you, any other ingredients may not be so safe..... An unexpected side effect is that this other ingredient is, of itself, a corrosion inhibitor
Safe is retaliative to concentration and amount ingested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol