Water wetter , yes or no
1969 FHC
I have used it for years with no problems. It can’t hurt, it might help.
Use of standard old antifreeze will work just fine: Water Wetter doesn’t provide any great benefit, IME, and does not provide the corrosion inhibition of AF.
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I agree with Bill in that it doesn’t hurt and might help. In my personal experience all it does is lighten my wallet by about $11.
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I do not use it and I drive in the AZ heat – almost every day back when there were places to go.
My opinion - if you’re not over heating you do not need it, if you are over heating it won’t fix that.
Do run a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze in the coolant. Some run a lower percentage to get better cooling & that is what I do in my engines with cast iron heads but in the E-Type you want the corrosion protection of a 50/50 mix.
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Hi, I used it once, and after seeing no difference stopped using it.
Regards,
Allen
I’ve read bad things about it.
You have probably heard me mention No-Rosion. It’s an anti-corrosion additive to water, specifically RO water (bottled drinking water). Water is a better coolant than anti-freeze. I’ve switched over to it in my cars and am happy. Would be fine in AZ with no freezing. Flush first if you go with it.
https://www.no-rosion.com/tech_coolant.htm
And, I’ve put the no-rosion fuel additive in my cars this spring with the first full tank. I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but they all seem to be running so smoothly and nicely this year, just purring.
From my personal experience, I’m a big believer in water wetter. I had an MGA with chronic overheating problems. Tried everything, and finally ordered a new radiator. But before I got around to installing it, I added water wetter. Didn’t do much right at first, but after a bit of driving, AL of the overheating problems went away. I ended up selling the new radiator to someone else!
Water wetter works on the inner (coolant-bathed) surfaces of the block and head. It reduces the surface tension of the coolant, so that the water forms a more “intimate” contact with these inner surfaces. I suppose it’s effect will depend to some extent of the condition of these surfaces, and thus will vary. It seems perfectly harmless in any case, except for the (nominal) cost.
I now use it in all my old Brit cars. The original brand (AFAIK) is Red Line, but there are others (I’ve also used “Purple Ice”).
JM2CW
Bob Frisby, Boise, Idaho
S2 FHC, a Morgan, a Healey, and 2 Daimlers
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You definitely need the standard mixture of water and antifreeze. That’s a given for corrosion control.
If you do have a cooling problem. you can tape a bandaid on it to try to cover a symptom but the cause of the problem will still be there.
Boiling the radiator will fix half or more of the problems. Both distributor advances and other tuning will fix almost all the rest.
Two other things that will bite you are the water pump impeller having the blades corroded off or boiling the block because all the sand has not been rinsed out of it (the old flathead Ford v-8’s are notorious for this.
LLoyd
In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.
George Orwell
What Bob said…[quote=“Bob_Frisby, post:8, topic:392552”]
Water wetter works on the inner (coolant-bathed) surfaces of the block and head. It reduces the surface tension of the coolant, so that the water forms a more “intimate” contact with these inner surfaces. I suppose it’s effect will depend to some extent of the condition of these surfaces, and thus will vary. It seems perfectly harmless in any case, except for the (nominal) cost.
[/quote]
oh my…another wild topic…as with zddp, synthetic oil, ethanol…Water Wetter (a brand…there are others) is widely used in race cars…note that as a surfectant…it aids in transfer of engine heat, to the coolant…then aids a bit (less so) in transfer of coolant heat to the air…via the radiator…but the net effect is a cooler engine…when…sufficient air is thru the radiator to remove the heat…and the system is in optimal condition,. It works best with water…race cars do not use slippery when leaked antifreeze. It will help by a few degrees with anti-freeze coolant…which when fresh has all the anti corrosion and water pump lube etc needed. Use the antifreeze level percent needed in your area to protect…at the lowest temp possible in your area. There is no reason NOT to use a water wetter type product other than the $9 or so.
I am a believer in water wetter. I use it in three v12 jags and a Triumph TR8. When I first put it in the cooling system in the TR 8 along with 20% antifreeze, I immediately noticed that my two cooling fans were not cycling anywhere near as often with the water wetter. These fans draw 13 amps a piece and the alternator definitely appreciated the improvement.
Thanks everyone for your input , have decided to use it partially for " it can’t hurt " and also because of the traffic in the Phoenix area as all my driving isn’t winding country roads . Guess I believe it will keep it down a few degrees so feel that is worth it .
FitzAgain Thanks for all the input , water wetter it is
Nope! Can’t hurt, but make sure you you use some kind of corrosion inhibitor with it.