Coolant - Water Wetter

[JimS]

Has anyone used a product called Water Wetter? I checked out their web site http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/redtech3.htm and it looks like it can keep a motor about 20+ degrees cooler. It will freeze, so it can't be used in winter. Any feed back would be great.

Thanks -JimS

[Ken]

It works.

_ken

[JT ZR-Won]

Jim,
I'm currently using it in my ZR-1. Can't realy tell if it works though because I don't have a digital readout of my Temp........just analogue. I've heard a lot of good things about it though.

Jay

[78SilvAnniv]

...and I liked it.
78 had a problem with running hot during the summer or with the AC on. After water-wetter, it ran approx. 10-15 degrees cooler. I still felt the overheat problem was not solved, but when we installed a flex-fan in addition to using the water-wetter, the engine temp has not been over 190. Slow traffic, hard driving or AC...it makes no difference.
Silver

[racecar]

When you put an additive in your radiator, and the water temperature runs cooler, that means that the coolant is not absorbing as much heat. If your goal is to keep the radiator temp down this may be the solution. The motor is still running hot. A low temp thermostat, and a lower temp fan switch might be a
better overall fix.

[Ken]

Originally posted by racecar
When you put an additive in your radiator, and the water temperature runs cooler, that means that the coolant is not absorbing as much heat.

Red Line WaterWetter with Rust and Corrosion Inhibitor (liquid) is designed to provide improved metal wetting and excellent corrosion inhibition when added to plain water or a glycol coolant. The most poorly maintained system in an automobile is usually the cooling system. Maintenance is quite simple and only required once each year, but most vehicle owners never routinely change the coolant or replenish the corrosion inhibitors which are required for trouble-free operation. Proper cooling system maintenance is very critical for most modern engines which utilize more aluminum.

Aluminum has a very high corrosion potential, even higher than zinc, which is very widely used as a sacrificial anode. The only property which enables aluminum to be used in a cooling system is that it will form protective films under the proper conditions which will prevent the uncontrolled corrosive attack of acids or bases. Poor aluminum corrosion inhibition will cause the dissolution of aluminum at the heat rejection surfaces, weakening the cooling system walls and water pump casing and weakening the head gasket mating surfaces. These corrosion products will then form deposits on the lower temperature surfaces such as in radiator tubes which have very poor heat transfer properties, causing a significant reduction in the cooling ability of the entire system. Red Line WaterWetter@ with Rust and Corrosion Inhibitor will provide the proper corrosion inhibition for all cooling system metals, including aluminum, cast iron, steel, copper, brass, and lead. Water has twice the heat transfer capability when compared to 50% glycol antifreeze/coolant in water. Most passenger automobiles have a cooling system designed to reject sufficient heat under normal operating conditions using a 50/50 glycol solution in water.

However, in racing applications, the use of water and WaterWetter@ will enable the use of smaller radiator systems, which means less frontal drag, and it will also reduce cylinder head temperatures, even when compared to water alone, which means more spark advance may be used to improve engine torque.

• BENEFIT SUMMARY
• Doubles the wetting ability of water
• Improves heat transfer
• Reduces cylinder head temperatures
• May allow more spark advance for increased torque
• Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis of all metals
• Provides long term corrosion protection
• Cleans and lubricates water pump seals
• Prevents foaming
• Reduces cavitation corrosion
• Complexes with hard water to reduce scale

_ken

[maxrevs85]

I read an article in Circle Track magazine earlier this year and it stated that test were run on many products , including water wetter and found it made no difference in temps. They stated that water was still the best heat transfer solution . As for corrossion, use nothing but distilled water and water pump lube in climates where you do not need antifreeze Corrosion comes from the water and all water has minerals that corrode . I have prooved this with race cars with aluminum heads radiators etc. After draining the systems there was absolutily no sign of any corrosion. We ran high dollar radiators and water cooled oil coolers and had no corrosion .The.problem with factory systems is the dont run enough pressure . If you can run 20 to 24# caps you'll see better results too. We ran an expansion tank and a non filler cap radistor with the expansion tank being at the highest point to facilate the removle of any air with can get traped in the engine creating hot spots and interupting the flow of water.......so called coolants do nothing to inhibit overheating. Its mainly for corrosion protection.

[maxrevs85]

One last point.....if you think about it, all engines produce a mass amount of heat. you need to remove this heat or a melt down will occure . The more timing you run ,the more compression you run ,the harder you run, it creates more heat. The heat doesnt just magically disappear . You have to remove it by transfering it to somewhere which is the air by the means of a radiator and the water is what carries the heat there. Under pressure itis kept from boiling. the bigger the cooling system the the better the cooling. Running the smallest sytem you can run is better in race cars for less drag .But still has to be adequete to cool. Fans facilitate cooling. No additive can be abetter heat tranfer the water. It only keeps the system free from build up which insulates the radiator and inhibates the trans of heat.

If my memory serves me correctly I believe the stuff works by reducing the surface tension within the water/coolant itself.
The analogy I remember goes something like this.
If you wax a surface the water beads up and does not lay flatly on that surface. Water Wetter does the exact opposite of that & allows the water to coat surfaces evenly, thus increasing the surface area of water in contact with the water jackets. I'm not a chemist but thats how it was explained to me at one time.

[racecar]

We ran it in the road race car. I remember the water temperature going up, from the last weekend. Of course weather conditions may have been different. We thought that it was good because it was allowing the coolant to take more heat out of the engine.
Cylinder head temp cooler, water hotter.
It made sense then.

[maxrevs85]

I can't disagree with the philosophy. It makes sense . I wouldnt say to not use it. I have a problem with some manufactures claim about products. I dont believe in the temperature decrease they claim ,but I cant dispute the possible physics of it. I was trying to remember what it was made up of and I think there was something about that ,that made me little curious too. Oh well , like anything else ,ya either like it or ya dont. Stricking revelation huh?

[maxrevs85]

Thats whats fun about race cars we can always pin results ,good or bad, on weather ,track conditions and a whole bunch of other great stuff....lol.......I still believe a well engineered cooling system is the best coolant. A tight air box and a big radiator. re ran a Howe cool with no problems without a fan. We also ran Griffiths and wouldnt use one of those for nothing . You get what you pay for there. Ours was a double pass type and they seem to be the thing to use.

[Ken]

Wetter water is the result of reduced hydrogen bonding between adjacent water molecules. The effect is demonstrated by the reduction in the hydrogen bonding between the water molecules, and the surface tension is reduced. As a result of the reduction of hydrogen bonding between the adjacent water molecules, the water becomes "wetter".

H2O molecules link up to each other because of the dipole nature of the individual H2O molecules. As oxygen is more electro-negative (electron "hungry") than hydrogen, the electrons will spend a greater part of their time orbiting the oxygen atom versus the hydrogen atom. As a result, the dipole is created. The additional negative energy in the water (as a result of the electronic unit), reduces the bonding of the oxygen atoms of H2O molecules and the hydrogen molecules of the adjacent H2O molecules. As a result, there are fewer hydrogen bonds between the individual H2O molecules.

And it's not only used by the automotive industry...

From Watercooler.com

WaterWetter® Supercoolant is a unique wetting agent for automobile cooling systems which when used in our computer cooling systems can reduce coolant temperatures by as much as 10% or more. It provides excellent, long lasting corrosion protection. It also provides much better heat transfer properties when used in glycol-based antifreeze. Designed for modern aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass, and bronze systems.

While the bottle recommends 4 oz per gallon in automotive cooling systems, extensive testing in our own systems has shown that 2 oz of Redline Water Wetter in one gallon of water is an optimum mixture for our computer cooling systems. Any less reduces its heat transfer properties. Any more just adds color to your coolant. So the 12 oz bottle is actually enough to treat up to 6 gallons of coolant.

Mixed aluminum, copper and brass samples immersed in the above solution have not shown any corrosion at all since their immersion on October 17th, 2000.

Update..02/27/2001.. still no corrosion!

_ken

Extremely well put Ken. When we used the stuff in Rotary engines the Temp reduction was 4% on average, I believe the marketing people add a few degrees of temp reduction to the sales literature.

[maxrevs85]

whoa Ken . Your scarin me .........


Red line Water wetter and Neo synthetics.......It dont get any better........Make mine a double LMAO