PINK v. GREEN

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I am in the process of replacing hoses on my Cats.

So we all know that the pink antifreeze is supposedly non-toxic and safe for the environment.

Other than that what is wrong using the green?

 

[psneeld]

What Cats?

 

[tiltrider1]

I am not up to speed on all the antifreezes. I just know that they are not always interchangeable.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Green is fine.
Just change it a bit more often.
I have green on my boat but no aluminum is in contact w the AF. If you have aluminum in contact w the AF such as your heat exchanger you should use "extended Life" that is not green.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Be careful with the green, depending on the engine color it will not make an elegant mix.
On the other side, if you use pink you may look girly.

Ok to be serious, the color is a die, you should more look at what it is made of.


L

 

[Comodave]

What Cats?

I think he has 3208TAs.

 

[GFC]

if you use pink you may look girly.L

You haven't lived until you've seen Tom (ASD) in his pink tutu and matching ballet slippers.

 

[AusCan]

the color is a die, you should more look at what it is made of.


L

Exactly.

Green used to always be ethylene glycol with silicates and maybe a few other inhibitors.

Pink used to be mono-propylene glycol, which is much less harmful to the environment)

Now there is also two other types of long life coolants. Organic Aid Technology (OAT) and Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT).
They can be any color, depending on the dye the manufacturer uses. The HOAT I use is green. They also come in purple, orange, pink and yellow.

Do not mix OAT coolants with the old ethylene glycol or you will end up wil a jelly-like mess.

The HOAT coolants can be mixed with either, but I prefer to stick to one type. Both OAT and HOAT coolants are usually recommmended for engines with aluminum parts. Check with you engine manufacturer.

 

[twistedtree]

I really don't think you should be counting on color, but rather going on the specs required by the engine mfg. There is no standardization around coolant color. ASTM D6210 is probably the most common spec, and I have seen compliant coolants in at least yellow, green, and purple.

 

[BIG CAT]

Do not use cat elc in engines that didn't come with it from the factory! The older engine seal where not compatible with elc. Cat deac is rated for 3 years change interval. Green is ok as long as it's the heavy duty green rated for diesel engine use. Napa should know what you're talking about when you ask for it.

 

[psneeld]

That is interesting about Cat ELC.

I started using it in my 3208s based on a friend who worked for a CAT dealership.

They had 3300 hrs on them and were about 12 years old when I started.

Last I heard they had over 6000 hrs each and were now 30 years old. With zip problems.

Was that just luck or what could have made the difference?

 

[High Wire]

I am in the process of replacing hoses on my Cats.

So we all know that the pink antifreeze is supposedly non-toxic and safe for the environment.

Other than that what is wrong using the green?

Are you winterizing or changing the closed cooling side? Not clear what you are doing.

 

[FF]

Some "pink" antifreez is not made for operating engines , its made to winterize fresh or sea water systems .

Its not toxic when pumped overboard .

The choice if AF matters , but so does the time in engine , most seem to need a change at 3 years MAX!.

 

[DavidM]

Mostly correct info above, but to summarize and add a little info:

Pink- Propylene glycol based and is non toxic and ok for the environment. It is the ONLY thing (other than maybe vodka ) that you should use in a potable water system for winterizing.

Green- Classical high silicate ethylene glycol based coolant used in the coolant side of engines. It is highly toxic and dogs have been known to die from lapping up puddles of the stuff dumped on the ground.



Orange/yellow- Low silicate Dex-Cool formulation based on ethylene glycol required in the coolant system of engines with aluminum exhaust manifolds such as Yanmar 4LH, 6LP and 6LYs. The green stuff was found to cause corrosion in the manifold passages.


There is no reason that I can think of to use one type in place of another with maybe the exception that the Dex-Cool stuff is good for non aluminum manifold engines if you flush the old stuff out first.


David

 

[North Baltic sea]

Hi,


Take your CAT manual and see the right class (such as oils), it's not the color but the right additive to your engine.


NBs

 

[BIG CAT]

View attachment One Safe Source - coolant.pdf

That is interesting about Cat ELC.

I started using it in my 3208s based on a friend who worked for a CAT dealership.

They had 3300 hrs on them and were about 12 years old when I started.

Last I heard they had over 6000 hrs each and were now 30 years old. With zip problems.

Was that just luck or what could have made the difference?

the problem was some o-ring were not compatible with elc. the elc would turn them into goo. so i never put elc in older stuff that didn't originally come with it. cat never would admit it caused a problem with older engines but we have seen many cases where liner seals basically melted buy the coolant.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I think he has 3208TAs.

Meow!!!!!

You haven't lived until you've seen Tom (ASD) in his pink tutu and matching ballet slippers.

Ugly ugly sight!!!

Are you winterizing or changing the closed cooling side? Not clear what you are doing.

I am talking about coolant, not winterizing water. In order to change the different hoses on the engine, the coolant has to be drained. The color right now is red/pink. 10 gallons of it.

Thanks everyone. I will check the specs.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

So in doing some research the biggest difference is pink is bio-degradable(safe for the marine environment). Preston which is green also makes anti-freeze comparable with the pink anti-freeze. You can actually mix the two.

The biggest difference is price. The Pink OEM is twice as much as the Preston! Looks like I am going green!!!

 

[Benchmark]

Check with your engine manual and CAT dealer. Only use diesel rated engine antifreeze, designed to protect against cavitation. Buy a subsciption to BoatDiesel and read up on everything obut your 3208's....great engines btw.

 

[C lectric]

Prestone green MAY be ok but be sure it is rated for Diesels and is low silicate.
Just because it is green does not mean it meets a diesel, low silicate spec.

Car antifreeze is not and may form a goo/gel that can be difficult to remove.

 

[Rebel112r]

Cat has anti-freeze, DEAC, I think it is called, it is pink, why not use it..

 

[twistedtree]

Just to repeat.... color tell you NOTHING about the anti freeze, what it’s compatible with, and what it can be mixed with.

You have to read the label to know what’s in the jug, and read the engine’s specs to see what it requires.

Color is totally irrelevant.