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How can the inside of the radiator get dirty


Rahimdad

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@Gaurav Recently a common question that popped in our heads when we were discussing the cleaning of the radiator before putting in new coolant was that how can dirt get in when the radiator is completely sealed and no outside elements can get in. I asked Naeem and he had a very good answer which I think strikes a cord.

The raw form of coolant cannot be used in the radiator as it is very thick, so some mix of water is required, this water if distilled would reduce the problem greatly, but we cannot be sure what water is used in the mix. Generally in Dubai all water including branded water on the shelves have added solid in them, like calcium, minerals and you can read the list on any bottled water. These solids over time would settle at the bottom of the radiator, so it is not dust or sand which accumulates over time, but the solids from the water which is the problem.

Hope this satisfies your curiosity.

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Fantastic explanation and finding, although I never got this curiosity before but while reading first half it got me highly curious.

So pouring the battery water in radiator is a better idea than masafi...? To not to clog up the radiator over time.

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Thanks @ethan for reading and appreciating. I think Barry was the one to explain earlier that battery normally consists of acid which is not usable for anything else. However, the distilled water which most people used to add to the battery in the conventional ones is even good as drinking water. So yes you can use distilled water to mix with the raw coolant and is better any day than any Spring, Mineral or drinking water which already consists of solids.

BTW, I have a RO purifier in my house and it takes away all the calcium, mineral and other additives in the water, this is good for our consumption and also cost less than the distilled water they sell off the shelf.

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Well what you found is true, but only half in Japanese cars which is usually hooked to expansion bottles. If ever you have a chance then clean your expansion bottle and see the amount of sand it has. Though that part is loosely designed to let air out and suck/return the coolant means it also inhale the atmospheric sand and dirt and keep churning inside the bottle and from time to time that sand makes it way to the radiator and sit nicely inside the core and block them overtime.

If you clean your coolant expansion bottle every month and top up with fresh coolant, then you can delay the radiator core cleaning from every year to once in 2 years easily.

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Corrosion. Rust. Ferrous oxide. Your engine block is made of iron. Water iron and oxygen equals rust. The constant flow of water breaks off tiny tiny powder like particles which circulate through the system. These particles are often mistaken for sand and collect everywhere but look closer it's brown not yellow like sand. Aluminium oxidises even faster than iron. If you take a hose off the cylinder head you will see all the white crap inside. This is aluminium oxide. Oxidisation is caused by using either water or cheap crap coolant in your cooling system. Proper coolant has anti oxidisation properties which helps to stop this. If you're really worried you can buy bottles of dedicated corrosion inhibitors. A lot of people with heavy plant no machinery use these as filling a fifty tonne machine with expensive coolant is expensive. 

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