Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 09:01:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: William Lewis <wrlewis(at)ucdavis.edu>
Subject: radiator flush
So what is the best way to flush the coolant system in an Alpine?
Adding fresh water while draining out of the petcock is an extremely
inneficient way to flush any system. This is a sumular problem to
determining the half life of a radioactive element. You never ever get
to zero. If you are intrested in the math consider:
Cf = Ci*e^-(D*T/V)
where
Cf = final concentration
Ci = initial concentration
e = the natural log
D = drain rate in gpm
T = time in minutes
V = system volumn in gal.
Add to the equation that the thermostat won't open under these
conditions.
I flush my radiator by filling and running the car untill the thermostat
opens. Shut it off, and cool. Remove lower hose and thourghly drain.
Replace hose.
Repeat twice.
Assuming an initial antifreeze mixture of 50% (500,000 ppm) three cycles
with 95% removal efficiency will be better than an afternoon with a hose
in the top of the tank. (My scientific calculator is not in my brief
case so a solution will have to wait untill tomorrow)
Paul Gilbert in New Orleans
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