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Does anti-freeze evaporate?

R

Rich'sToys

Well-known Member
Location
Southern MN
I started messing around with a barn find tractor I recently acquired. Supposedly it last ran sometime in the 1990's.

The engine block had anti-freeze in it when I opened the drain, but very little came out of the radiator itself. There are no obvious stains or signs of a leak, although I have not pursued that at this point. I just started working on it today. Just wondering if is possible that it would have evaporated in the last 20+ years. The cap was on it.

Doesn't really seem possible, but wanted to throw it out there.
 
in a closed system( no )but if there is a air leak at say the cap there could be a minimal loss but I do not believe it would drain the radiator more likely boil over
 
Several years ago, I poured straight antifreeze into a small cup and put it under my tool box. I just checked it the other day and its still almost full. If it evaporates at normal ambient temps, it must take a long time.
 
I put a little bit (maybe 2 tablespoons) in a saucer for the mice in my heated barn. It will stay there all
winter accept for the few sips the varmints take.
 
Not much.

I would expect that the radiator has a leak allowing the coolant to drain from the radiator, whereas the coolant in the engine block cannot.

Dean
 

If you still have the old coolant test it the color does not mean its good coolant If its over diluted YES it will evaporate to some degree.
 
Evaporate from a closed system?
Most likely not.

Antifreeze has a reed vapor very close to normal conditions so while it will evaporate it does so very slowly.
The water is more likely to evaporate out of the mix leaving the antifreeze behind.

Before I jumped to the conclusion that the radiator is leaking I would think a dry rotted hose is the problem.
 
Antifreeze would only evaporate on a very minimal basis. And mainly just the water portion of the mix. And realy
unlikely in a closed system. Guessing what's missing ended up in block (cracked head or block, or leaking head
gasket, ect.) or it leaked out of elsewhere in coolant system (seepy radiator, bad hose, seepy water pump, etc.).
Drain and fill up with appropriate fluids. Look for leaks, take notice of where any missing fluids end up.
 
(quoted from post at 08:16:08 11/04/18)

I would expect that the radiator has a leak allowing the coolant to drain from the radiator, whereas the coolant in the engine block cannot.
Click to expand...

I suspect this is the case also, and will be looking further into it in the coming days. But just wanted to throw it out there.

I pulled the lower hose off, so I know there's no more in the radiator. And, according to the dipstick, it's not in the crankcase. I'm suspecting there's some radiator repair in my future.

Thanks to all who replied.
 
my Uncle ran a used auto parts yard for about 10 years, he used to drain the antifreeze mixture and let it sit out, the water would evaporate but not the antifreeze when a batch stopped evaporating he'd put it
into bottles and sell it for $1.00/gallon to folks who weren't sporty enough to buy new stuff
 
As a follow up to this--After I posted this thread I capped off the bottom of the radiator and filled it with water. It is still sitting there and has not leaked a drop!
My first thought was that the PO had drained the radiator, but not the engine block. But then the radiator should have been completely empty and not had a gallon of coolant left in it.
So if it didn't evaporate, what happened to it?

One of life's mysteries, I guess.
 
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