Evan's Coolant

nkaminar

nkaminar

Well-known member
My recently purchased Model A came filled with Evan's waterless coolant. This is a special coolant that is used on some high-end cars. It is reported to last the life of the car and never needs changing. It is $50 per gallon with freight included. No water is used. It boils at 375 F and is liquid down to -40 F. I have a sealed cooling system with a leakless water pump and pressure cap.

What do the other forum members think of this coolant? The web site is https://www.evanscoolant.com/products/high-performance-coolant/
 
Seems like a lot of money to do what a conventional coolant/distilled water mix does pretty well in a Model A.
 
A few years back I looked at Evans, decided not to use it mainly for 2 reasons.

The 375 degree boiling point. If you get much over the normal water boiling point of 212 degrees you are running too hot and run the danger of oil flash over on the cylinder walls. The 212 boiling is like an early warning to stop and cool down, and then fix your cooling system. If you run Evans make sure you run an upper hose temperature gauge to monitor you coolant/motor temp.

The other reason is that it is not as efficient as water or antifreeze, at conducting heat from the block/head and dissipating heat in the radiator.

I did call them and after a discussion got them to admit that Evans was best used in a pressurized cooling system, and grudging admit the above factors.

The cost also turned me off.

Before using I would have also investigated if Evans was safe for the materials used in the Model A cooling system - safe for; hoses, the radiator materials including solder, Water pump materials. If not using a leakless water pump make sure it would not flush the grease and lead packing out of the water pump. And lastly what hot Evans would do to Paint in case of a leak.
 
From the website:

Water has superior heat transfer capabilities but water’s low boiling point is close to the operating temperature of an engine, and water can cause corrosion.
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The benefits are no water, no corrosion, lower freeze and higher boiling point. However the main function, which is cooling, ie heat transfer, is less effective than water. In a cooling compromised system like a Model A, which is at the brink of cooling capacity, this is likely not a good idea, unless you have a non stock fan, an excellent radiator, a clean block in the internal water chambers, and don't drive up long hills in the summer. My model A with a new radiator, a stock 2 blade fan and suspect dirty water jacket in places, has no reserve cooling capacity.
 
Mister Moose said:
From the website:



The benefits are no water, no corrosion, lower freeze and higher boiling point.
Click to expand...

Sounds sort of like regular anti-freeze except for the "no water" part. And even then you are using only half the amount of water. My Town Sedan runs at 170°F most of the time on 50/50 mix.
 
Seeing as your new car came with Evans in it, try it and see how you like it. Don't worry about a little extra heat in your system, that is if it occurs. My hunch is you'll hardly tell the difference, if there is any. I recommend it for my new aluminum cylinder heads. Don't listen to the naysayers, use it and make up your own mind. "you'll cry if you blow a rad hose", when was the last time you blew a hose? worry about if it is compatible with the Model A system? Get real!, of course it is compatible, the A system is no different than modern systems.
 
Jim Brierley said:
Seeing as your new car came with Evans in it, try it and see how you like it. Don't worry about a little extra heat in your system, that is if it occurs. My hunch is you'll hardly tell the difference, if there is any. I recommend it for my new aluminum cylinder heads. Don't listen to the naysayers, use it and make up your own mind. "you'll cry if you blow a rad hose", when was the last time you blew a hose? worry about if it is compatible with the Model A system? Get real!, of course it is compatible, the A system is no different than modern systems.
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Not a naysayer just trying to be practical. If you haven’t blown a rad hose or if you don’t know someone that has blown a rad hose you are in the minority. And if you do there is the cost of fluid replacement and what will the liquid do to the $12,000 dollar paint job ?
 
I run water with workshop cutting oil as I think thats what was used back then!
Cutting oil draws heat away from tools etc., oil lubricates water pump, also probably a slight anti freeze and smells great. I add just enough to color water as I would suspect to much would slow water through the radiator
 
I started using Evans Waterless Coolant in my car three years ago. I do have a pressurized system. No water, No rust.
 
McMimmcs said:
If you haven’t blown a rad hose or if you don’t know someone that has blown a rad hose you are in the minority. And if you do there is the cost of fluid replacement and what will the liquid do to the $12,000 dollar paint job ?
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I guess I'm in the minority. :p I have never blown a radiator hose or do I know anybody that has. I do check my equipment out before heading out.
 
It might work great, but I have been using 50/50 Preston for 35 years with zero problems. Don’t over think it.
 
Our Great Race team used it in our '29 Tudor during 2019 Great Race as "insurance policy" as we ran across Southern California desert, over Cajon Pass, and then over Donner Pass in late June. We were running a non-pressurized Berg radiator. Only a couple of times did coolant temp go over 170 degrees (Stewart Warner temp gauge) and we were working that motor pretty hard. Expensive? yes. I would not use it in an attempt to compensate for cooling issue(s). Prior to our decision to "invest" in this product, we talked directly to Model A drivers in South Texas who drive their "A's" in 100+ degree heat with no worries with Evans Coolant.

PS The back cover of Snyder's 2020 catalog shows a photo of our car reaching the summit of Donner Pass.
 
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In a model A that doesnt have a cooling system problem, whats the point? My A hasn't overheated in the 10 years I've had it. Coolant is nice and bright green, doesn't appear rusty at all. I'll probably replace it next year as a precaution but it'll just cost a few bucks and I can run into my local Napa store and buy it. If you run it in a car with a problematic cooling system, what advantage is it? It'll still be hard on the engine if it overheats, even if it doesn't boil. I'm just trying to see why anyone would use it?
 
Del in NE Ohio said:
Our Great Race team used it in our '29 Tudor during 2019 Great Race as "insurance policy" as we ran across Southern California desert, over Cajon Pass, and then over Donner Pass in late June. We were running a non-pressurized Berg radiator. Only a couple of times did coolant temp go over 170 degrees (Stewart Warner temp gauge) and we were working that motor pretty hard. Expensive? yes. I would not use it in an attempt to compensate for cooling issue(s). Prior to our decision to "invest" in this product, we talked directly to Model A drivers in South Texas who drive their "A's" in 100+ degree heat with no worries with Evans Coolant.

PS The back cover of Snyder's 2020 catalog shows a photo of our car reaching the summit of Donner Pass.
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There is absolutely nothing in Evans coolant that increased your car's cooling reliability on that trip. In fact due to Evan's lower heat capacity, you hindered, not helped your cooling system. The benefits from a no water coolant are corrosion and temperature range related, not thermal efficiency.

The level of reduced thermal capacity obviously did not rear its head for your trip, but please don't use that experience as a qualifier for the benefits of this expensive product.

Glycol has less heat capacity than water.
 
For the record, Mr Moose, In my posting I made no reccomdations regarding this product. The original post I believed was asking for first hand experience which I had. Was it a scientific evaluation? No. Unlike most who responded to the post I had first hand experience with the product. Was my experience conclusive? No. Did I represent it as such? No. Just my experience. Lighten up a little.
 
eagle said:
In a model A that doesnt have a cooling system problem, whats the point?/QUOTE]


The original poster brought up the subject because he got a car that already had Evans. And was asking for info/opinions on its usage and advantages/disadvantages. But as I posted I agree with you, did not see the advantage of converting to it. At the time I was looking into Evans I did not see much 1st hand knowledge from the A community. I believe it originall found a niche for Drag racing.
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Jim Brierley said:
worry about if it is compatible with the Model A system? Get real!, of course it is compatible, the A system is no different than modern systems.
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Hi Jim,
I brought this up as a consideration for further discussion since I did not know the answer. I read somewhere that certain Anti-freezes can be hard on solder, I do not remember the specifics, and is why I thought it worth consideration.


My recollection is foggy, are there some types of antifreeze not to be used in systems with aluminum?


I take the approach it is best to be safe than sorry when looking at info provided in advertising.
 
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