Recycled Coolant ???? - Opinions Please

[Bugshu]

I had Butler do a coolant analysis for me and it came back as needing urgent attention. It seemed the glycol was fine but the coolant was dirty and needed to be changed. Anyway, Butler recommended that rather than do a normal flush and refill that it also needed to be cleaned.

Anyway, I decided that I should have this changed professionally. I called around and was astonished that people were quoting prices ranging from $75 - $100 for a coolant flush, clean, and change.

I finally found a Goodyear shop with an old coupon in the phone book that was about to expire with last years price of $50 so I went ahead and had them do the job. It took them about 2 hours to drain, clean, flush, and refill the coolant and they put 3 gallons of coolant back into the system.

I asked them what brand they used and they informed me that they recycle all the coolant that they take out of peoples radiators and then resell it. They run the coolant through 6 filters and then make certain that the glycol and ph levels are correct and then they reuse it. The owner informed me that disposal cost as much as recycling so he recycled all the coolant he took out and resold it. He assured me that the coolant was just as good as any coolant that I could buy in stores but Im not quite 100% certain that I believe him. It kind of irks me that I was paying $10 per gallon for coolant and got recycled coolant rather than new coolant even though Im sure that I got a good deal on the labor, clean, and flush.

Does anyone have any comments about the quality or lifespan of recycled coolant? According to Stinky and Butler I needed to get the old coolant out of there and I know when to take advice. Im sure that the recycled stuff is better than my old coolant. Still, for $10 per gallon Im somewhat miffed that perhaps Im not getting the good stuff put back into my car. Im somewhat particular about second class fluids and Im not sure that I can fully trust recycled coolant.

Does anybody have opinions or knowledge about coolant and its ability to be recycled and reused?

Happy Motoring All,

Bugshu

 

[ChrisW]

The ethylene glycol may be good as well as the pH, however, any corrosion inhibiotrs would need to be replenished after recyling, so filtering it alone wouldn't do you that much good.

Ask him how he determines the corrosion inhibitor's concentration in parts per billion or million after he filters it and replenishes it. What chemcial method does he use to ensure the pH is ok?

I'm ok with recycled coolant, just depends how the recycled it. I dont think EG goes bad.

 

[Big Jim]

The etheyene glycol doesn't wear out, the additives become depleted. As long as he replenished the additives you should be fine. Most recyclers use an additive package after the reclaiming process has been completed. If they did, you should be fine.

 

[CoolantChemist]

We have found that using recycled glycol is NOT a good thing. Recycled EG loses its pH and RA rather quickly. After making premixes out of the concentrates, we have seen recycled EG drop 1-2 pH units in a matter of weeks. As a result, you get less corrosion protection (as stated above), and your RA (reserve alkalinity) will be depleted.

 

[doitmyself]

Off topic - don't want to beat on you too hard Bugshu, but welcome to the "it's priced too good to be true" club.

For me: Goodyear front end alignment special - they tried to sell me special "cam bolts" at $89 bucks each to get a "better alignment".

Local shop: $59 trans fluid change. They put Dexron in my Chrysler (shudder). Blackstone anaylsis forced them to reflush the tranny.

Thanks Stinky and Coolant Chemist. Teach us more! My friends pester me because I change my fluid every two years.

 

[Stinky Peterson]

Coolant can be recycled using distillation and reverse osmosis type equipment and both yield a very high quality product. I've never had much faith in the shops that use a filtering device to "recycle" coolant but then I haven't tested any of this coolant either. My training does however make me suspicious and I think there is a potential for wide variations in quality.

My biggest concerns are with removing the breakdown products such as acids and corrosion product/metal ions etc. Most of these are not filterable. In Bugshu's coolant the biggest problem was a large amount of solids and these can contribute to or are the result of scale formation and or corrosion. Solids also can cause waterpump seal problems.

As for glycol wearing out, in a way it does. It breaks down to form several different acids as shown below.

Bugshu why don't you send me some of that new coolant and we'll see what it looks like.

Mark

 

[rgl]

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they tried to sell me special "cam bolts" at $89 bucks each to get a "better alignment".

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I think those are required for some vehicles, e.g. Ford Explorer. Otherwise the alignment is pretty much worthless. Don't know about the price.

 

[Big Jim]

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Originally posted by rgl:

quote:

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they tried to sell me special "cam bolts" at $89 bucks each to get a "better alignment".

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I think those are required for some vehicles, e.g. Ford Explorer. Otherwise the alignment is pretty much worthless. Don't know about the price.

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This is getting completely off topic, but it is true that there are a lot of vehicles that as built from the factory provide for very litte if any caster and camber adjustments. Often, they are marginally in spec. If you really want to dial in an accurate alignment you often need to add such adjusters. Sometimes the factory sells such parts through the dealer, and often they must be purchased from other sources. One of the best aftermarket manufactures of this sort of thing is Specialty Products.

http://www.specprod.com/