Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by Shannow
The early advertorials claimed that these "wetters" reduced nucleate boiling...which is an order of magnitude better at moving heat than convection, as there's a phase change...OTR rigs are starting to RELY on nucleate boiling as a thermal equilibrium control.
Originally Posted by Redline
Reduces or eliminates bubbles or vapor barrier that form on hot metal surfaces to reduce coolant temperatures by up to 20°
Superior heat transfer properties compared to glycol-based antifreeze
Compatible with new or used antifreeze (including DEX-COOL® and long-life versions) to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems
Improves heat transfer and reduces cylinder head temperature
Designed for use with all modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass and bronze cooling systems
Cleans and lubricates water pump seals
Reduces cavitation and complexes with hard water to reduce scaling
Does not lower cooling system below the thermostatically-controlled temperature
Yep, look at the many "benefits" of Redline WaterWetter. Especially note the last benefit, but also the others. The first one is interesting in that it reduces the coolant temperatures by up to 20°, beyond the "up to" part, why do you want to reduce the coolant temperature? Wouldn't you want to reduce the engine temperature? Nucleate boiling is what you want in order to do that. Even benefit #4 which seems to address this needs to be looked at carefully, what is it compared to? Straight water to a glycol/water mix? Then yes of course as shown below.
And Benefit #2, yes it is better than glycol based antifreeze. But your best heat transfer is going to be with straight water, so adding any glycol will always reduce the heat transfer.
In a warm climate the best approach is to use the minimum coolant concentration allowed by the manufacturer, whatever that may be. This will promote the most efficient heat transfer and requires no unnecessary additives.
The last line does sort of say it all.
- Does not lower cooling system below the thermostatically-controlled temperature
I think what they're trying to say is that it helps if the cooling system is at the point where bubbles interfere with the ability to cool. Not sure I believe it.