Water Wetter?

[stormchaser]

Anyobdy ever used Red Line's Water Wetter coolant addative with a DD? I know it actually WORKS with car engines...brings down water temps by 10-20*F with no changes other than adding it. They claim:

* Reduces or eliminates bubbles or vapor barrier that form on hot metal surfaces to reduce coolant temperatures by up to 20°
* Superior heat transfer properties compared to glycol-based antifreeze
* Compatible with new or used antifreeze (including DEX-COOL and long-life versions) to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems
* Improves heat transfer and reduces cylinder head temperature
* Designed for use with all modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass and bronze cooling systems
* Cleans and lubricates water pump seals
* Reduces cavitation and complexes with hard water to reduce scaling
* Does not lower cooling system below the thermostatically-controlled temperature

I was thinking...many of us have TI or TA engines which have barely adequate cooling capacity to begin with...if this could either reduce temps a bit or at least help keep them stabilize...it would be well worth it.

Thoughts?

 

[stormchaser]

Looks promising: http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/Diesel Water Wetter Tech Info.pdf

But I always worry about using things that aren't official "DD Approved"

 

[stormchaser]

Also, we all know that pure WATER actually removes heat better than a 50/50 coolant mix...an that the lower the percentage of coolant, the better...anyone using less than a 50/50 mix? What are the advantages/disadvantages? I'm not concerned with freezing, as a live aboard, the block heaters remain on 50*F all winter...

 

[Genesis]

My standard view with DDs in non-freezing areas is to use distilled water with corrosion inhibitors. This is an approved DD combination. Simple computation shows that this should result in significantly greater (10-20% or so, end-to-end, depending on conditions) BTU removal capacity in the system than a 50/50 glycol mix. Empirical evidence says it makes a big difference in temperature stability under "difficult" conditions, which we have around here as a matter of course (e.g. raw water in some cases can approach 90F in the bay in August!)

My concern with something like this "water wetter" stuff is that I would want to know what's in it so I can evaluate its compatibility with corrosion inhibitors. It might work but if its incompatible with the additive package you're using, either in the coolant or with distilled water, who knows what you get a consequence.

If freezing is not a concern I'd go with the DD-approved method of improving heat rejection capacity, which is distilled water + an approved inhibitor package.

 

[stormchaser]

Not that I can be sure...but if you beloieve their website, they claim

Diesel Water Wetter: Designed for heavy-duty diesel engines which use more than 33% antifreeze or a supplemental corrosion package. Compatible with new or used antifreeze (including DEX-COOL and long-life versions) to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems.

They also make a version that has corrosion inhibitors in it, for use with water rather than coolant with inhibitors already in it:
Water Wetter: Rust and corrosion protection allows for use of straight water in racing or reduced antifreeze levels in warm climates

 

[Bill Allen]

I use it in my MG's and triumphs, works very well. Never in my boats, not comforable in diesels plus I've cleaned the heat exchangers and really have never seen (i know famous last words) a heat problem in my hatt. Bill

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Stormy,
Did you search this topic? Here is the discussion from 2006.

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3544&highlight=water+wetter

 

[stormchaser]

I was HOPING someone had tried it. I've contacted RedLine to get their thoughts...

 

[ThirdHatt]

I've used it religiously in my Porsche racecar. It made a 10 degree drop in water temps while road racing in the summer time. Lots of bang for the buck!

Honestly, I have no idea how it would work in a Detroit Diesel combined with antifreeze. You're doing the right thing by researching it before just dumping it in. Also, you'll need maybe 5-6 bottles to get the proper ratio with so much more coolant capacity than a car radiator.

Good Luck!

 

[stormchaser]

The heavy duty diesel version treats 10-15 gallons per bottle. Unless I can find a reason not to try it...its relatively inexpensive...and as long as it doesnt HURT...I see no reason not to.

 

[ThirdHatt]

OH, I had not idea that the made a heavy duty diesel version. Sounds like it should work GREAT!

Hell, I might want to try some of that in my Cat 3412's!

 

[stormchaser]

$12.95 for a bottle big enough to treat 10-15 gallons of coolant. http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=75&pcid=10

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If it actually reduces bubbles it may help to reduce the crevice corrosion that can happen in wet liner engines.

 

[stormchaser]

Bringing this back to the top for a question...I'm going to give this a try finally. How many gallons of coolant does a 871TI have? Trying to determine how much to use...

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I don't think this product should ever be necessary. If the cooling system is maintained, it should run at proper temperatures. Don't put a bandaid on it. Fix it right. If the temps are too high, clean both sides of the system, rebuild your raw water pumps, replace themostats and coolant. It will run within specs if maintained.

 

[stormchaser]

The cooling systems if absolutely perfect are marginal at best and with water temps being well into the 80s this time of year, it can be problematic. Any even tiny reduction in cooling capacity for any reason means temp creep at WOT. It certainly will not hurt and any margin of safety added is always helpful. She doesn't overheat and trip alarms, but at WOT she does approach 190 and I'd like to see that closer to 175-180. Heat Exchangers were dipped/cleaned 2 seasons ago and she's had under 100 hours since then. In the fall, I will redo the cleaning of the exchangers, drain all coolant and run distilled water with Water Wetter with the additive package. I'm just going to add some to the existing coolant for now for added safety. So the question is...how much coolant does each engine hold?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

The cooling systems if absolutely perfect are marginal at best and with water temps being well into the 80s this time of year, it can be problematic. Any even tiny reduction in cooling capacity for any reason means temp creep at WOT. It certainly will not hurt and any margin of safety added is always helpful. She doesn't overheat and trip alarms, but at WOT she does approach 190 and I'd like to see that closer to 175-180. Heat Exchangers were dipped/cleaned 2 seasons ago and she's had under 100 hours since then. In the fall, I will redo the cleaning of the exchangers, drain all coolant and run distilled water with Water Wetter with the additive package. I'm just going to add some to the existing coolant for now for added safety. So the question is...how much coolant does each engine hold?

Sounds like you've been listening to too many internet experts. When did you last rebuild your raw water pumps, change thermostats? The 8v71TI's do NOT have marginal cooling systems. If they are not running at near 180 at WOT even with those raw water temps, you've got a problem somewhere. Find it and get it fixed.