Coolant Vs. Antifreeze: All The Differences In A Breeze

Key Takeaways:

• Coolant and antifreeze are often used interchangeably, but there are some key differences between the two.
• Coolant is a liquid that helps to keep your engine cool. At the same time, antifreeze is a chemical added to the coolant to help prevent it from freezing in cold weather.
• Coolant is typically made up of water and glycol, while antifreeze can be made from various chemicals.
• Coolant needs to be replaced more frequently than antifreeze, so it’s important to know the difference between them.

When it comes to engines, you want to ensure that you have the right fluids in them. A car needs a lot of essential fluids for optimal operations, such as transmission fluid, engine oil, windshield wiper, brake fluid, and a few more. One of the most important is the coolant and antifreeze mixture that goes into the radiator. Coolant helps keep your engine from overheating, while antifreeze protects it from freezing in cold weather.

This post by Vatland Honda will discuss the differences between coolant and antifreeze and how to choose the right one for your needs!

Are Coolant and Antifreeze the Same Thing?

Let that sink in for a moment: coolants and antifreeze are similar but not the same. You must use antifreeze and coolant to keep your cooling system working properly. However, since many confuse the terms as one, it can be difficult to understand what coolant and antifreeze signify and how they vary.

Antifreeze is a concentrated liquid with a glycol basis that must be diluted with water before use. When it gets diluted, it is known as a coolant. The antifreeze, when combined with water to create coolant, aids in preventing engine parts from freezing up and overheating. It also helps with controlling temperatures to ensure the engine’s performance in hot or cold conditions or at the operational limit of the engine.

What is Antifreeze?

Antifreeze is a chemical additive that reduces a water-based liquid’s freezing point. It raises the boiling temperatures of water-based liquids while lowering their freezing points to produce freezing-point depression for cold conditions. Common antifreeze raises the liquid’s boiling point, enabling a rise in coolant temperature.

Primary Antifreeze Agents:

Most antifreeze is created by combining distilled water, additives, and either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol as the basic product.

Ethylene glycol:

Antifreeze, mostly made of this substance, is used in cars’ cooling systems to keep engines running smoothly even in the coldest conditions. By reducing the freezing point of the coolant liquid within your radiator, ethylene glycol also helps to lubricate the pump and prevent corrosion. Due to their higher boiling temperatures, ethylene glycol solutions were advertised as “permanent antifreeze,” offering benefits in cold and hot weather.

They are still used today for many different things, including cars. When utilized in a system, ethylene glycol may oxidize into five organic acids (formic, oxalic, glycolic, glyoxylic, and acetic acid). Antifreeze mixtures containing inhibited ethylene glycol contain additives that reserve alkalinity and buffer pH to stop ethylene glycol from oxidizing and producing these acids. You can use materials, including nitrates, silicates, borates, and azoles, to stop the corrosive assault on metal.

Propylene glycol:

Propylene glycol is classified as a “non-toxic antifreeze” since it is significantly less harmful than ethylene glycol. It is used as antifreeze in places where ethylene glycol would not be acceptable, including in water pipes, residences where accidental consumption may occur, and even in consumption.

The U.S. FDA, for instance, permits the addition of propylene glycol to a wide range of processed foods, such as ice cream, frozen custard, salad dressings, and baked goods. When propylene glycol takes on a reddish color, it must be changed. When a propylene glycol aqueous solution in a cooling or heating system becomes reddish or black, the iron in the system is severely corroding. Propylene glycol may react with oxygen and metal ions in the absence of inhibitors to produce a variety of chemicals, including organic acids (e.g., formic, oxalic, acetic). These acids quicken the system’s metals’ deterioration.

What is Coolant?

A coolant is a component that lowers or controls the temperature of a system. It is commonly a liquid in conventional automobiles. These fluids offer high thermal capacity, low viscosity, and low costs and are chemically inert. Neither causes nor encourages cooling system corrosion are characteristics of the perfect coolant.

The coolant can also be used as an electrical insulator for some applications. While the term “coolant” is frequently used in automotive and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) applications, the technical term, heat transfer fluid, is more frequently used in industrial processing in high-temperature and low-temperature manufacturing applications. This term also includes cutting fluids. Water-soluble coolant and plain cutting fluid are two general categories of industrial cutting fluid.

How To Make a Coolant and Antifreeze Mixture?

The proportion of antifreeze to water in coolant varies from vehicle to vehicle. Coolant keeps the water in your car’s radiator system from freezing in the winter or boiling and evaporating in the summer. The most popular mixture is 50:50 antifreeze and water, which elevates water’s boiling point to between 240°C and 270°C and reduces its freezing point to about -37°C. Using coolant and never pure antifreeze in your automobile is crucial because the latter has a significantly lower freezing point of roughly -20°C.

The Key Difference Between Coolant and Antifreeze:

The main conceptual distinction is that the engine requires “coolant” every day of the year to be cooled to the ideal temperature year-round, including in the winter. The coolant must have “antifreeze” qualities to keep it from freezing in cold conditions. You won’t need to replace the fluid within the engine for each season because high-quality coolants already include antifreeze components.

Coolant contains an organic substance, mono-ethylene glycol, a colorless, odorless liquid that has a pleasant taste and it’s known for its antifreeze qualities. Ethylene glycol reduces the freezing point and raises the boiling point of water in a car’s cooling system, enabling the fluid to circulate through the engine bay regardless of the time of year or weather.

Ending Note:

In summary, coolant and antifreeze are often used interchangeably. Still, they refer to two different fluids in a car’s cooling system. Check your car’s owner’s manual to see which type of fluid is recommended for your vehicle.

Read also: 3 Signs Your Honda Could Do With A Radiator Check!

Want To Protect Your Engine From Overheating?

Vatland Honda, serving St Lucie, FL, can help! The specialists employed by our neighborhood Honda repair shop are familiar with the servicing needs of your Honda Ridgeline or Pilot. They can swiftly and precisely identify performance concerns or undertake standard Honda maintenance.

Schedule a service today!