Anti-freeze restriction for 2011?
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 12:29 pm
On Sunday at Burke as we waited for the hard working volunteers to clean up the mess on the road left when Earl's radiator hose let go, James Melhuish came up to me and suggested we might want to consider a rule for next year prohibiting antifreeze in the prepared classes - e.g. anywhere but in U class. I think the rationale is that race prepared cars are more likely to overheat and spew than U cars since the engine power is usually bumped up but the cooling system capabilities are not. Also race prepared cars are less likely to be daily driven or need to run a 50-50 antifreeze for warranty purposes.
The more I thought about it the more I agree, for a couple reasons.
Ethylene and Propylene Glycol antifreeze spills are slippery and need to be cleaned up. Propylene Glycol can be washed away but that requires water be brought to the scene. Washing away Ethylene Glycol puts both plants and animals at risk (and again water is scare on the hills). Peat-moss type absorbent and subsequent burning of the peat is used...Very time consuming.
Ethylene Glycol is toxic. More accurately it oxidizes in the body and produces the toxic oxalic acid which attacks the central nervous system, heart and kidneys. It is also a sweet tasting liquid so any left standing may attract animals to consume it. It has also been shown to be readily absorbed by plants which then tend to die out. Propylene Glycol has a very low toxicity rating - very large quantities must be consumed quickly to produce any toxic effects. It can cause water quality problems for fish because the microbes which consume it absorb large quantities of oxygen in the process, lowering available oxygen for fish. At low concentrations in water this is not a particular problem.
Since Burke I switched to water coolant with a 3% concentration of Redline's Water Wetter (basically Propylene Glycol). Water Wetter has been shown to provide adequate lubrication and anti-corrosion properties at 3% concentration with distilled water for cooling systems. And a spill at such low concentrations is not particularly slippery, toxic or likely to harm streams or ponds.
The downsides I see to such a rule are 1) cold temps and 2) SP cars that are also daily drivers. Events like Philo can get pretty cold, potentially below the freeze point of a water or water/water wetter coolant. Then we must drain the water (or part of it) and add in an antifreeze for winter storage or use, or thoroughly drain the system before storage. We have a few SP cars for whom this would be a burden since it is not generally recommended to run a water/water wetter only coolant on street driven cars (Redline suggests a 25% minimum concentration of antifreeze during warm temps and up to 50% in cold for street driven cars). I think anything we can do to reduce the number of long delays due to coolant leaks and cleanup would be good.
Comments? Other ideas?
The more I thought about it the more I agree, for a couple reasons.
Ethylene and Propylene Glycol antifreeze spills are slippery and need to be cleaned up. Propylene Glycol can be washed away but that requires water be brought to the scene. Washing away Ethylene Glycol puts both plants and animals at risk (and again water is scare on the hills). Peat-moss type absorbent and subsequent burning of the peat is used...Very time consuming.
Ethylene Glycol is toxic. More accurately it oxidizes in the body and produces the toxic oxalic acid which attacks the central nervous system, heart and kidneys. It is also a sweet tasting liquid so any left standing may attract animals to consume it. It has also been shown to be readily absorbed by plants which then tend to die out. Propylene Glycol has a very low toxicity rating - very large quantities must be consumed quickly to produce any toxic effects. It can cause water quality problems for fish because the microbes which consume it absorb large quantities of oxygen in the process, lowering available oxygen for fish. At low concentrations in water this is not a particular problem.
Since Burke I switched to water coolant with a 3% concentration of Redline's Water Wetter (basically Propylene Glycol). Water Wetter has been shown to provide adequate lubrication and anti-corrosion properties at 3% concentration with distilled water for cooling systems. And a spill at such low concentrations is not particularly slippery, toxic or likely to harm streams or ponds.
The downsides I see to such a rule are 1) cold temps and 2) SP cars that are also daily drivers. Events like Philo can get pretty cold, potentially below the freeze point of a water or water/water wetter coolant. Then we must drain the water (or part of it) and add in an antifreeze for winter storage or use, or thoroughly drain the system before storage. We have a few SP cars for whom this would be a burden since it is not generally recommended to run a water/water wetter only coolant on street driven cars (Redline suggests a 25% minimum concentration of antifreeze during warm temps and up to 50% in cold for street driven cars). I think anything we can do to reduce the number of long delays due to coolant leaks and cleanup would be good.
Comments? Other ideas?
so I havent spoke up yet.