Electrolysis solution?

Because ... (surprise!) dissimilar metals - in this case, steel or brass, copper, aluminum in the presence of an electrolyte - water, engine coolant, etc, makes a weak electrical current. A battery. This is exactly how a battery works, in fact. Ideally two elements from the far end of the reactance scale - Carbon and Zinc for example, were used for a long time.
 

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I was using NO ROSION with antifreeze and that picture in another post scared me. Drained it out. I think I will change anti freeze more often and maybe an anode.

John
 
36tudordeluxe said:
Word of caution on NO-ROSION. I used this product with straight water and a water wetter "Purple Ice" and this was the result.
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WOW! Never saw anything like that when I removed my heads. My block was a clean as a whistle. You must have had something else going on there to form all of that crud....

BTW - I'm using reverse-osmosis drinking water with no other additives other than the No- Rosion in my cooling system....
 
petehoovie said:
WOW! Never saw anything like that when I removed my heads. My block was a clean as a whistle. You must have had something else going on there to form all of that crud....

BTW - I'm using reverse-osmosis drinking water with no other additives other than the No- Rosion in my cooling system....
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I don't believe Purple Ice and NO-ROSION are compatible.
 
Research No-Rosion.com for what might be the easiest thing to do. I use it in a few of my cars. Haven't had the heads off of the one with aluminum heads to see if it works. But I've had no issues in 15 years.
 
Here's a new idea. Cut a piece of clear hose, slide 2 anodes inside, close both ends with a tie wrap, attach it to bottom of radiator cap with copper wire and insert in radiator top tank. Clear hose with anodes lays on top of radiator tubes. I installed one anode made of zinc and another made of magnesium to see which corrodes faster. I believe it will be the magnesium anode after referring to the Electrolysis Chart. Also read that magnesium anodes work better in fresh water and zinc works better in salt water. Will be interesting to see what happens. Radiator is 18 year old Walker. Cap is 10 lb. Walker. Heads were installed in 1999 and never taken off since. (Glad I used head bolts, not studs.)
 

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From what I have read, the anode must be electrically connected to the metal it is to protect. Maybe someone can verify or dispute?
 
I have used "No-Rosion" for the last 10 years and have never had a problem with any vehicle it was in. I certainly never saw it do what was shown in a previous post. I believe "36tudordeluxe" might be right that there is a compatibility problem with "Purple Ice".
 
40cpe: I thought that the liquid in the radiator acted as the electrolyte solution between the anode (zinc or magnesium) and the aluminum heads (cathode).
 
19Fordy said:
40cpe: I thought that the liquid in the radiator acted as the electrolyte solution between the anode (zinc or magnesium) and the aluminum heads (cathode).
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I'm certainly no authority, but I Googled it to satisfy my curiosity and found a couple of references to being electrically attached to the metal. If you don't find any info I'll send you some links.
 
If you buy a modern anti-freeze like Pentofrost (the purple/lavender stuff in a lot of German cars) it is specifically formulated to not cause corrosion, it lasts years and years, and it won't kill your dog.
 
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