Coolant: the

chemistry
experiment!
Aims:
1. to determine whether mixing 'green' and 'blue' coolant would result in
precipitation
2. to determine whether mixing the coolants would alter the
boiling point

Methods & materials:

25ml Superplus 3 antifreeze - call it 'A'
25ml Blue OAT-based coolant - call it 'B'
London tap water ;o)
Dilute 'A' and 'B' 50:50 v/v with water. Call it 'C'.
London tap water 'control' - call this 'D'
Coolant mixes heated in 100ml Pyrex beaker with blow torch (thought I'd
better not use the Smeg hob LOL ;o)). When boiling, measure temperature
with a mercury thermometer.

Results:
Observations
'A' actually appears yellow, with a green tinge, especially to its meniscus.
Good clarity and transparent, albeit with yellow colouration.
'B' was blue. Good clarity and transparent.
When 'A' and 'B' were mixed, 50:50, the result was,
unsurprisingly, a bilious green concoction - probably
unlike a student's DIY cocktail nasty... Translucent.
Looked rather turbid. No precipitates.
Boiling points
'A' boiled at 103.5C at atmospheric pressure
'B' boiled at 104C at atmospheric pressure
'C' boiled at 103.5C at atmospheric pressure
Tap water boiled at 99C. D'oh. Probably reflects an
imperfectly calibrated thermometer - the fact that I
was attempting to boil water in a beaker in the
garden probably has nothing to do with it ;-)
Summary
Apart from the lovely colour (not), nothing too nasty
happened when mixing the coolants in respect to precipitation or boiling point.
However, I do wonder if the turbid appearance of 'C' might be reflective of a
chemical reaction? Might be worth checking the pH's of each of the coolant
mixes. An acidic coolant could corrode the aluminium head...