Water Wetter....anyone tried it?

[Unclefester]

Supposed to drop temp of coolant by 16°C.....does it actually work?

 

It's being sold by reputeable competition suppliers (Oreca for instance) and I've had the physics explained once but can't have been tuned in properly and have forgotten why it works....anybody clued up about this stuff?

 

Here it is on DemonTweeks......here

 

 

NICE PLATE!!!

😬 😬here *eek*

 

Edited by - UncleFester on 23 Jul 2006 22:58:55

[John Howe]

I alway use it...

 

JH

Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 230bhp Sausage delivery machine

[Myles]

Uncle. There are quite a few threads about this in history.

 

Not used it myself.

 

Some people seem to think it's marvelous - some people I know tried it in what was effectively a back-to-back test and found that it was totally ineffective.

 

You've got to ask yourself the question(s) - what is your current problem, and what do you hope to achieve?

 

If your rad can't cope at the moment, then try it. If your temps while driving are OK - but not in traffic, try it - but a more effective fan might be a better idea. My Radtec is capable of cooling the engine to the mid-50s if the weather is cool and I've not got a stat fitted - 'clearly' I've no real need for WW.

 

My in-traffic temps do climb in hot weather - probably just need a bigger fan and no undertray...

 

Project Scope-Creep is live...

 

Alcester Racing 7's Equipe - 🙆🏻™

 

Alcester-Racing-Sevens.com

---

[AdamQ]

There's a good description of how it works here. (Note that the figures that he mentions are in Fahrenheit )

 

Immediately before I used it the temperature at idle was 120°C and afterwards it's about 80°C - however, there were one or two other factors involved such as the HG failure that led to the temperature of 120°C ❗ (sorted out in record time thanks to JH ).

 

Adam

[Unclefester]

Yes, here that seems pretty clear description.

 

It increases the actual surface area of the water in the rad by reducing hotspot bubble formation.

 

Seems it's best used without antifreeze, and it acts as an anti corrodant in its place.....presumably you would need to put antifreeze in for winterising.

 

 

NICE PLATE!!!

😬 😬here *eek*

[Normans_Ghost]

I used it some time ago and never noticed the differance. Not saying it didn't do what it says on the bottle.

 

Norman Verona, 1989 BDR 220bhp, Reg: B16BDR, Mem No 2166, the full story here

You and your seven to The French Blatting Company Limited

[MartinWoodham]

I used to use it in my 928 which was generally a hot running b*stard, with water pumps lasting about 2 years.

WW seemed to work, car ran cooler for longer, although I wouldn't recommend using it without antifreeze since that's what keeps corrosion at bay in the block, head and rad. WW is used at fairly low dosages unlike AF. (0.5l in 16l of coolant IIRC)

 

But....If you're considering using it, this must be to deal with an over temp problem. I'd suggest you go looking for the cause of the problem, K series in a small light car with excellent rad airflow shouldn't have any cooling probs at all unless somethings b*ggered, IMHO.

Adam, idle temp of 120°C ain't normal....!

 

Martin

Roadsports B with upgradeitis

 

 

[AdamQ]

Adam, idle temp of 120°C ain't normal....!

 

Martin, I'm sorry, I was being flippant - this was literally immediately after the HG had failed and lasted the two minutes it took me to get out of the jam on the M25 and into South Mimms services where it spat an 'orrible mixture of coolant and oil through one of the breathers on the cam cover.

 

Adam

[Shaun_E]

My cynical view on the reason they say don't use it with anti-freeze is that most modern coolant mixes will perform exactly the same role. Their comparison of temperatures will be between a car with pure water and a car with water plus Water Wetter. If you did the same test but replaced water wetter with "the correct coolant for your engine" then you would probably get exactly the same results. mode off>

I don't think anyone would recommend running a K-series (or any other aluminium engined car) without the correct coolant in it. There are essential corrosion inhibitors in there which will protect the engine.

I obviously can't say that the product doesn't work but I think you'd need to do a back to back test under controlled conditions using the correct coolant for your engine in order to prove that it did.

 

Yellow SL #32

[MartinWoodham]

*arrowup*Adam, I guessed so! 😬

HG all ok now then?

 

Martin

Roadsports B with upgradeitis

 

 

[AdamQ]

Martin 😬 yup, even I recognised the tell-tale signs such as the creamy sludge spurting through the bonnet louvres ☹️ 😬 😳.

 

HG very much all sorted now thanks to JH and I'm now able to enjoy the fruits of Oily's magic (I was on my way back from Milton Keynes when everything went pear-shaped (ought to make it very clear that the HG was well on its way out well before that - I arrived there with a distinct lack of coolant, but it hadn't got hot so we hoped it might just have been a leak)).

 

She now purrs like a kitten or roars like a tiger depending on the mood of the driver! I hope the same can be said of yours and that you're enjoying this fine blatting weather.

 

Adam

[colincagain]

tried it in my fireblade engined car whenit was running 120ish .... water plus WW was zero improvement over water/antifreeze mix .... so it did not live up to advert in this particular casr ... a bigger rad did the job though ... Now it sits on the shelf with about 40 other bottles of half consumed fluid!

[Sheds Moderator]

It seems like snake oil to me. After all when you fill a car with water/antifreeze mix are there any bits where the water doesn't touch the sides? No. Then why wet it out?

[Normans_Ghost]

My understanding is that it breaks down the surface tension. A few drops of detergent will do the same.

 

Modern anti-freeze as well.

 

Norman Verona, 1989 BDR 220bhp, Reg: B16BDR, Mem No 2166, the full story here

You and your seven to The French Blatting Company Limited

[normalbloke]

I run with this stuff, and it does have a small effect on mine, i.e a reduction of approx 10 deg c.But then mine's a bit of a twat to keep cool on a hot day.Maybe I should try it on the chargecooler.....

[JampJ]

I think the cheapest is SC PARTS GROUP LTD. 01293 847210

£8 the last time I saw it a Classic car show.

Cheers J&J

 

JFDI

(Just F*****g Do It)

[MAK]

I do not see how this can reduce coolant temperature if your thermostat is working.

 

Presumably Water weter is claimed to improve heat transfer.

 

IF this is true the real impact will be the thermostat reducing the flow through the radiator in an attempt to maintain the same temp.

 

i think it much more important to use antifreeze to ensure correct corrosion inhibitors.

 

Malcolm

 

 

[Nigel Riches]

Water Wetter is used in Water based fire extinguishers to allow the water to contact more of the combustible material, and it is as Norman points out it reduces the surface tension of H20, have you noticed how water will roll off some materials in big globules, and soak into others, it's down to surface tension, lower the surface tension, quicker it soaks in, or heats up, reducing the temp of the substrate.

 

1982. 5 speed, clamshells. B.R.G / Ali. The True Colours.

[normalbloke]

Thermostat?

 

What's one of those then?

 

I don't have a stat in mine.

[Unclefester]

So the concensus is "Probably Snake Oil"

 

I fitted a new fan on the TC which was running a tad hot. Next step....fit a header tank!