Can antifreeze be used in a YH compressor for winter use?

[Odoyle]

Water probably has better cooling properties than poop... Imagine if sweat was poop...

 

[Blankshot17]

My setup is a 5 gallon bucket with 40% antifreeze and distilled water. A higher flow tank water pump. When filling large scba tanks, I have frozen quart water bottles that I add to the bucket after I get the water circulating and can pretty much fill a tank and not get past 50 Celsius. I run Royal Purple as well for the piston. The only thing is the antifreeze did turn the factory hoses an off white but are intact. I do an visual inspection every time and have had no issues thus far. 

 

[Scrambler82]

For some reason I don't see any data to prove one way or the other. I am not qualified to post data to prove anything but someone must have some data to prove their point. I always ran anti-freeze in my cars all year long, higher boiling temps for the summer months and... wait for it, anti-corrosive additives !

The main reason for using Anti-Freeze is to stop freezing, anti-corrosion additives are added but not needed for a cast-iron system but since most engines these days are aluminum... it is more important to have anti-corrosion as a high priority, either mixed in to the casting metal or added.

If we called it a "Coolant with Anti-Corrosion Properties" then there would be less talk about using it.

Since the HPA Compressors appear to all be made of either aluminum or a white metal of some sort, I for one would vote to use antifreeze, especially if in areas like mine that have a high corrosion build up of chemicals.

All though, I believe Air Venturi suggests using "Distilled Water", that's interesting, are there anti-corrosion properties in Distilled Water ? Can additives be added to distilled water ? Do you throw out Distilled Water after ever use or save it for another go around ? Will Distilled Water Freeze, of course, but at what temperature ? What is the operating temperature for Distilled Water ?

So many questions... !



If you d decide to use Anti-Freeze the question arises, "Do you drain the Anti-freeze or face a tank cleanup and how long does it last" ? I would think the cleanup time should be taken into account, Anti-Freeze leaves a residue, not just a film but heating it and cooling it and heating it and cooling it, leave something behind, a protectant maybe... good or bad, again not me to post data.



So I'm guessing here, if you do a regular maintenance cleanup, Flush and replace Anti-Freeze, as done for vehicle engines, I don't see why anti-freeze shouldn't work out.



Does anyone know what heat working levels of anti-freeze are when not under pressure, should be above the 170 degrees mark the compressor is spec'd for.



OK, since I don't know much about what I am talking about, I will get off the soap box.

I vote, if there is a vote, use the anti-freeze and do a fresh water flush to clean up the Cooling System and replace the antifreeze, at least once a year.

 

[Scrambler82]

The clear answer is yes you can use it. But the answer to whether you should use it is probably not because it is messy, smelly and doesn't provide any advantages over just letting the water drain out. It's suitable for sealed systems with radiators but useless for simple open systems like these. There you go. Crystal.

But that's the thing. It's not an open system...it's technically a closed-loop system that, for some odd reason, is being implemented as if it were an open-loop system. I would treat it like the closed-loop system it is meant to be. That type of water-jacket cooling is really best suited to keeping it as a closed loop.

I beg to differ. I consider a closed system to be sealed and pressurised. I see no advantage in leaving fluid in these things when not in use. I have seen some attempts at adding radiators and fans and other unnecessary gadgets to these things and none of them does anything better than the simple bucket of water. All they do is add weight, bulk and complexity. I think that requiring a remote water receptacle is a good idea and actually makes the unit more portable. What would your definition of an open system be?

Every time a YH owner fills a bucket with water (maybe with the addition of ice), and then puts the pump/inlet into that bucket, as well as puts the outlet drain line into that same bucket, they have created a closed-loop system, albeit a temporary one. Nothing new comes in or out of the coolant system for that session, it just exists as it is. That is my definition of a closed-loop system in this context. An example of an open-loop coolant system would be if they hooked the pump/inlet to a direct and continuously running water source such as a faucet, and then let the outlet drain out elsewhere. This open-loop would always provide fresh/new water for cooling, and wouldn't be recycling the same water like the closed-loop system does. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages.

Here's the downside to using an open-loop system such as that: One of the biggest long-term concerns of jacketed cooling systems is the build up of sediment/debris/mineral deposits in the cooling paths. With an open-loop system, you have a never ending supply of sediment/debris/mineral deposits that can and will build up over time. In a closed-loop system those sediments/debris/mineral deposits are finite in number and cannot continue to build up over time.

This is where it gets inefficient with the setup that YH recommends. Because they have users setting up that closed-loop system, but then the users also change the water out each time, they completely negate the positive effects (at least the ones detailed above) of having a closed loop system.

So, in my opinion, users should run the same coolant through the system each time, and treating it with the appropriate type of antifreeze is beneficial.

Novice's answer here:

I think YH tells you what you want to hear, also, they are trying to sell a product and if they can get it out there at a lower operating cost, then it is easier to sell. Tell the customers to use the cheapest cooling system they can, happy customer, if some corrode away with in the warranty then replace the parts but how many are going to corrode away with a year or two, probably less than expected.
If an owner creates his own Cooling System, i.e. anti-freeze based and it elongates the life factor or just the run time, then YH is ahead of the game because the new owner is happy that they had something to do with the use of the product. Happy Customer equals more sale in the future.

YH told me to use the European 220V/50Hz Compressor on the USA 220V/60Hz supply line. To me that is a no-no, but to YH if I had accepted their opinion, then they would have sold another compressor and it probably would have lasted beyond their warranty... job done/sale done ! DAVV told me they would make me a 60hz/220V unit but I had to buy 30 of them.

A closed loop system, using Distilled Water and Anti-Freeze Mix or the newer 50/50 Anti-Freeze you can buy, and do a regular flush and replace maintenance thing, it should work out better than using straight water and drain and replace the water each time.

One reason against Water and draining each time is that you are introducing new chemicals with the fresh water. If you have hard water, you bring new corrosion chemicals, if you have high levels of iron, then iron deposits will build up... do we win here or not !



When and IF I get a compressor I will have a closed system with anti-freeze and if possible distilled water, with a flush and replace schedule of one a year... MAX !



Thanks for reading / Ltr