Mixing coolants?

[liyi_92 37]

I was wondering if coolants could be mixed?

CHeck coolant warning has been flashing a couple times so I think to top up.

I have no idea what the coolant in the vehicle is now but I was thinking of putting some Prestone extended life to top it up.

Prestone states "Compatible with ANY antifreeze/ coolant – regardless of color."

Many people on the BMW forum in the states use this so it should be no problem but I was wondering if you can mix the two for example if it now had the BMW coolant in it now

THanks

[*Glenn* 854]

Just top it up with water. Don't mix coolants. And I suggest you do a flush at some time and use BMW coolant ... $20 for 1.5 Litres

[liyi_92 37]

Just top it up with water. Don't mix coolants. And I suggest you do a flush at some time and use BMW coolant ... $20 for 1.5 Litres

Is Christchurch tap water ok? We drink from the taps.

I know its best to use bottled water... haha

Edit: I wanted to top up some coolant as when I did my service they said my antifreeze percentage were a bit low.

Edited November 15, 2012 by andy_e39

[Allanw 1071]

clean tap water is fine.

Be careful of bottled water - most of it has more minerals that town water, and the stuff that doesn't, may be RO water, which will suck all the metal it can out of your engine!

[antil33t 90]

Best water to use is that water you buy to put in batteries. Demineralized or whatever it is.

[Michael. 2313]

Distilled water, ie soft water free from all the minerals that can gunge up a cooling system.

Never use tap water (unless you don't care about your engine!)

[Allanw 1071]

Obviously everyone will use what they feel comfortable with, which is fine. Just be aware that what people say, isn't always fact. I've seen people talking about using pure water and RO (Reverse Osmosis) water, and it is absolutely the worst thing you can use.

Average tap water in NZ exceeds BMW requirements many times over. Anyone know what the dealers use? Or the average workshop?

If you have water that is too pure, metals will dissolve into it. Water doesn't like to be "empty" - it's the universal solvent. It will dissolve anything it can, to become saturated with the Ions of anything that surrounds it.

Pure water will eventually dissolve even stainless steel. Brass and aluminium disappear much faster. Some of the Dialysis equipment I maintain uses pure and ultra-pure water - we have to be VERY careful what metals we use for this exact reason.

Hard water can leave calcium and magnesium deposits, but you're hardly going to gets rocks forming. If the water has been through a water softener, it has gained sodium Ions, so do you want lightly salted water in there?

The problem with using anything out of a bottle, is that you don't know what has been done to it. It could be softened or Ro water, without necessarily being labelled as such.

[euroriffic 609]

Saw a sticker on the tourings radiator today saying not to mix coolants and not use coolants with alkalines

[polley 916]

just get bmw coolant, its cheap enough. mix it with tap water.

[flake 0]

Have made the change over to using BMW coolant on my new engine just for compatibility with the overhaul of the cooling system. Plus a bit for piece of mind factor. Added with a new clear coolant reservoir and it makes checking the level much easier with just a quick glance.

Opinions with using water for an Artesian aquifer?

Edited November 17, 2012 by flake

[_Matt_ 42]

This is the longest discussion about coolant ever haha. I just use prestone 50/50. You can get it from supercheap, you don't need to add water and it doesn't contain the stuff old engines don't like.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

This is the longest discussion about coolant ever haha. I just use prestone 50/50. You can get it from supercheap, you don't need to add water and it doesn't contain the stuff old engines don't like.

expencive way of buying it because you are paying for water too. plus just because it says 50/50 on the bottle, im one of those people that think its probably more like 30/70 because they can get away with it

[_Matt_ 42]

expencive way of buying it because you are paying for water too. plus just because it says 50/50 on the bottle, im one of those people that think its probably more like 30/70 because they can get away with it

Not really since the 50/50 is half the price of concentrate.

So...convenience for no extra cost. About $20 for 4 litres.

[Allanw 1071]

This is the longest discussion about coolant ever haha.

Nah, it really isn't! You should check out the threads on some of the US sites! Some of them suggested RO water so there was no minerals... These guys can argue for pages and pages about what should be used. On one of them, someone posted the BMW water requirements and it kind of put a damper on things. The limits are quite high really.

If you had to fill it with new water everyday for years, you'd run into issues after many years - like the stuff that accumulates in your electric jug. However, if you boiled the same water everyday in a sealed jug, the buildup isn't even visible - which is similar to the radiator setup.

[liyi_92 37]

Ended up buying BMW coolant for $25 for 1.5 litres just to be safe.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

If you had to fill it with new water everyday for years, you'd run into issues after many years - like the stuff that accumulates in your electric jug. However, if you boiled the same water everyday in a sealed jug, the buildup isn't even visible - which is similar to the radiator setup.

Interesting perspective and probably correct too

[polley 916]

Not really since the 50/50 is half the price of concentrate.

So...convenience for no extra cost. About $20 for 4 litres.

And you need about 10 litres.... so 3 bottles = $60.

[_Matt_ 42]

And you need about 10 litres.... so 3 bottles = $60.

What's the ratio of coolant to water using bmw coolant? 50/50? About $75 + fancy water

Edited November 18, 2012 by _Matt_

[polley 916]

Forget the fancy water, tap water is fine. I can get fancy double distilled unicorn piss for free, but im not gonna use it.

Im not sure what ratio the BMW coolant is mixed in, i'm gonna tip two bottles in the hole and fill the rest with water. It costs like 40 bucks.

And its blue, like unicorn jizz.

[_Matt_ 42]

[Allanw 1071]

Forget the fancy water, tap water is fine. I can get fancy double distilled unicorn piss for free, but im not gonna use it.

Im not sure what ratio the BMW coolant is mixed in, i'm gonna tip two bottles in the hole and fill the rest with water. It costs like 40 bucks.

And its blue, like unicorn jizz.

You drunk too much of that piss?

[antil33t 90]

Pee in the hole.