straight water in Radiator as coolant?

blunosr

Member
Hi, I ended up ordering a new radiator, but it'll be a week getting here (and cost $600 just for the rad itself).

I'm in the middle of haying so I flushed everything and put it all back together with the old parts. Can I get away with just straight water for a week? I'd rather not have to go back to town for antifreeze...

Thanks,

Troy
 
As long as it's not going to freeze any time soon, no problem.

If the tractor is old enough, it was designed for straight water anyway.
 
I'd want soft, distilled or what have you, the idea is the mineral or deposits left from heating, which you don't want. Short duration, probably negligible in amount. Diesel ? Cavitation a possible concern?

One question arises, what about water pumps and this scenario, anything to using water vs coolant in regards to same ?
 
Antifreeze does have some lubrication properties. They claim death to waterpumps if you run with straight H20. As others have said, if it were mine, I'd run it with water in the summer for a short time. Distilled water is best, what comes out of my well would clog stuff up pretty quick.
 

Antifreeze has lubricating properties to help your pump bearings and seals. It also has anti corrosion properties for all your metal cooling components. What is your radiator made of?
Years ago only alcohol was used with water to lower the freezing point which I believe has no lubrication or anti corrosion properties.
 
If it is a diesel your are asking for a lot of
problems. Corrosion,erosion and
cavitation,especially in sleeveless engines. I have
re sleeved so many Ford engines due to this I have
lost count. Get the antifreeze ASAP.
 
AS long as it doesn't freeze... I wouldn't worry about it for a short period of time. Just make sure you put the correct mix into it after you install the new parts..

Rod
 
(quoted from post at 08:27:05 07/23/14) Oh,

Put the water in. Isn't gonna hurt a thing. Just don't forget the anti-freeze before winter.

Allan

Exactly!! Drag out the garden hose and fill-er-up. All this talk about using "soft" water and a bunch of additives must be coming from guys who want to sell you something.
 
My dad's tractor and farm truck didn't know what antifreeze was, in all the years I was growing up. Straight tap water, then drain in the winter. He never had a problem, as far as I know.
 
if you have hard water like I do. The radiator will
be full of lime in short order. I don't use anything
but soft bottled water with my antifreeze.
 
For that Kubota? No. Get some antifreeze for the diesel, or if you still have some of what you drained, filter it through an old tshirt and put it back in, assuming its all AF, not oil or anything else in it.
 
any water pump I rebuilt the bearing is sealed. the
pump seal keeps the water in and the bearing dry.
the water seal is essentially the same seal thats in
your water pump in your house and they run for years
with no lubrication or additives to your well.
 
I read a catapiller report a few years back. Said cavation was caused from a bad electrical ground. Had a air ride semi, the water antifreeze was turning red. Bottom line. Rear ends ground wires were never hooked up.maybe could drag a chain
 
Well, I filled it with straight water, and finished my mowing. It worked great, maybe ran cooler than ever. I will put the 50/50 mix in next week when I get the new rad, but for now water works great. It seems I might have gotten away without a new rad, but there is obvious damage, so better safe than sorry...

Thanks for all the replies!

My Father passed several years ago, and I would have asked him about this, and several other questions you guys have answered for me over the years. Thanks for being there.

Troy
 
water is fine
(all that scientific stuff.....actually the best coolant I think)
Only problem is water makes rust.
So just give it a good flushing often to get the rust out of there.

You'd be surprised on how long you can use a junk engined tractor
that gets a little coolant in the oil, if you put a draincock on the oilpan
to drain off water before starting, and run straight water as coolant..............
 
The water has a better heat transfer, so yes it might run cooler. The anti-corrosion and ant-freeze properties of the mix out weigh the slight gain in cooling.

Make sure you are protected against cavitation if a diesel, I do not know if normal antifreeze does that.
 
Danger! Not sure about your tractor but most vehicles will only drain out about 1/2 of the water/coolant.

So don't count on draining them to prevent winter freeze damage.
 
Correct,I run straight water in my drag car,but drain it before winter,including the block plugs.
 
Elecrolysis is a electrical driven chemical reaction.
Cavitation happens as the result of mechanical vibration creating a "boiling" effect in a liquid at a small point.

Sure someone can better my description.
 
Distilled or demineralized water. Hot water is a solvent that will move metal and minerals. With the same principals as a battery and electroplating.
1/8" of minerals conducts heats as well as 4 inches of cast iron.
Do you want to plate deposits into the brand new rad.
A good pressure cap and better yet with a overflow tank. These reduce oxygen ingress into the cooling system which reduces oxides.
 
Good grief guys, this is TEMPORARY, only for a WEEK.

He is getting a NEW RADIATOR.

He is only going to put a few hours on the tractor to get haying done! If he has cavitation problems now, it's because cavitation was ALREADY GOING ON, and the engine was ready to give out.

Bad luck, poor timing. Not 10-12 hours running straight water.
 

And space aliens will come down and chase him across the field...


No,, the water will be fine for a week or two... even longer..
 
(quoted from post at 11:33:10 07/23/14)
(quoted from post at 08:27:05 07/23/14) Oh,

Put the water in. Isn't gonna hurt a thing. Just don't forget the anti-freeze before winter.

Allan

Exactly!! Drag out the garden hose and fill-er-up. All this talk about using "soft" water and a bunch of additives must be coming from guys who want to sell you something.

You really have no clue , do you?
 

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