I know that a richer mix is run way up north.  I'll look up what is recommended.  Probably the 60:40 that you mention, rather than the 70:30 that I thought I remembered.  I knew the part about too concentrated being undesirable, I just didn't remember for sure what the actual recommended in the cold lands is.

mcneely

---- Jim Arnott <jrasite@EONI.COM> wrote:
> On Feb 4, 2011, at 5:41 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>
> > ---- Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote:
> >> never had the problem myself.
> >> 50-50 mixture is so easy to have in there.
> >> For most people if it's even 'sorta close' it's adequate.
> >>
> >> and since it should be in there year-round ..
> >> it sure 'should' be in all cars, no excuse not too really.
> >
> > Well, the original poster's engine or other components likely did
> > not freeze, but the engine probably experienced the too frequent
> > leaking from the heads in cold weather that our vans are known for.
> > But, he reported that the temperature was -25 F.  Slightly too
> > dilute a mixture, and microclimate variability in temperature, and
> > freezing could be a possibility for any vehicle.  If I lived in a
> > climate where -25 was a possibility, I'd run Canadian mix rather
> > than U.S.  At least I think I would.  Back when I was a kid, in
> > Dallas, in my family we ran 50:50 at a time when it was not yet the
> > common recommendation.  Some folks still ran denatured alcohol in
> > car engines in winter at that time, and others drained the radiator
> > and block on cold nights.  I knew more than one person whose car
> > block froze.  My father thought that was simple carelessness, and we
> > ran 50:50 ethylene glycol.
>
> Sorry folks. Living where we are about guaranteed to see -20 deg. F at
> least a couple times a year means that I KNOW about coolant/
> antifreeze.  A couple years ago, I believed as many of you seem to.
> More is better.  Not so. I was the guy that made it 3 miles out of
> town before the h pipe failed.  About 80% ethylene glycol. Frozen solid.
>
> You want a 50:50 mix. Too much ethylene glycol raises the freezing
> point. Too little ethylene glycol raises the freezing point. 50:50.
> Dow Chemical says 60:40 is that absolutely richest.
>
> See the linked article.
>
> http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/680.html
>
> "Actually, this is to be expected when one considers that ethylene
> glycol, the principal component of most antifreezes, freezes at 8
> degrees above zero, Fahrenheit. It is only when water is added that
> the freezing point is depressed. The freezing point of an ethylene
> glycol and water mixture drops rapidly as the concentration of glycol
> is increased to a mixture of about 60% antifreeze and 40% water.
> Around that point, an abrupt turnabout occurs, and as more antifreeze
> is added, the freezing point rises almost as fast as it had previously
> dropped."
>
> Jim
> (deep in the (remember the Oregon Trail game?) Blue Mountains)

--
David McNeely