Antifreeze is vital for cooling the engine. It has many features besides cooling, an important feature lies in its name since it has the ability not to freeze at low temperature in winter and, hence, preserve the engine in good functioning conditions in the winter.
There are a lot of antifreeze varieties out there each having its own qualities including color and content. Each manufacturer specifies a certain type of antifreeze in the car manual that the driver must consider to prevent using the improper coolant type that can cause expensive damage to the automobile.
To add a brief solution to the question above, you should under no circumstances mix green and orange antifreeze, because they are composed of distinct components and have different chemical properties. When they are mingled, those excellent properties will be gone and this mixing can trigger a chemical reaction that can do a lot of damage to the engine.
What is antifreeze made of?
Antifreeze contains 80 percent of distilled water that is combined with ethylene glycol. The remaining 20 percent are additives that have peculiar properties to a particular coolant type. These additives and substances are needed to counteract the harmful effect of water and ethylene glycol on the metal sections of the cooling system, in particular cooling system pipes and the radiator.
The antifreeze protects pipes and other cooling devices from aggressive effects by generating a thin layer film. It can also have anti corrosion qualities that are more typically employed in G12 and G12 +.
In addition, there is another form of antifreeze, such G13. They combine the chemical ingredients of both previous divisions. Therefore, they are regarded adaptable and excellent for refilling. But not always!
What features does orange antifreeze have?
The orange antifreeze is a G12 kind. Its composition is based on ethylene glycol, water, and additives (borates, nitrites, etc. ), but additionally, they include compounds of carboxylic acids. They have a lifespan of up to 5 years and have a wide variety of use.
What happens if you mix orange and green antifreeze?
The green antifreeze is a G11 kind. Its makeup is similar to G12, except it does not comprise carboxylic acids. They have a lifespan of up to 2 years and are usually utilized in older automobile models, consequently, they should be changed more often.
Moreover, there is G12 + which is a blend of water, ethylene glycol, and additions. The components that are present in G12+ antifreeze may differ, it depends on the manufacturer and they are most typically in red color.
G12 ++ is also a hybrid antifreeze. For its manufacturing, an organic base and silicic acid molecules are utilized. In terms of qualities, they are identical to the G12+, and their key distinction is a longer lifespan. Available in red, sometimes yellow colors.
G13 is a relatively new antifreeze. Its base, instead of ethylene glycol, is propylene glycol. It is tinted pink or purple and are usually used in current car models. Also, they have a longer lifespan, and changing it is not as often as in the case of G11 and G12 classes.
What types of antifreeze can be mixed?
Mixing a G11 antifreeze type, which includes the green one, and a G12 type, where the orange one is included, is the worst possible combination that it can be formed. By mixing those two forms of antifreeze the consistency of the coolant will thicken leading to clogged pipes, and impaired circulation in the cooling system.
Furthermore, the engine and the oil will overheat leading to possible significant damage. The protective characteristics of those two types of antifreeze will be removed in the chemical reaction produced.
Also, the foam will be formed in the expansion tank and system pipes which will cause bearings to wear out faster, the cylinder head to overheat and distort, but also the water pump to fail.
If you have done that mix, you will require a specialist that will properly flush the entire cooling system and then add fresh coolant.
What types of antifreeze can be mixed?
The color of the antifreeze is not a criterion for mixing different types of antifreeze, but rather the components that they are formed of. As I have indicated above, mixing any coolant from those two types is not allowed, but mixing types of antifreeze is possible under specific circumstances, which I will list below.
Check the label on the antifreeze recipient, it will tell you the class of antifreeze (G11, G12, or G13) (G11, G12, or G13).
Even if you produce this combination, when it’s possible you should drain away the mixed composition, flush the cooling system and add fresh coolant that is recommended by the automobile manufacturer only for safety reasons.
You can make a few experiments by yourself by combining two different antifreeze. This requires samples from both types that can be blended in a transparent recipient. If after 10 15 minutes you did not witness any adverse reaction such as foam development, sediments on the bottom, and the composition has not thickened then this mixing is regarded to be safe.
One thing you should take into note is that the two types of antifreeze should be heated at 80 90 degrees Celsius or 176 194 degrees Fahrenheit for the test to be more accurate.
Conclusion
It is not suggested to mix antifreeze of different brands and colors, but there are some instances in which you have to do this. It is vital to note that, when mixing, the color is not an important aspect, but the chemical composition of the antifreeze, you should mix only identical ones from identical antifreeze classes.
It is crucial to remember that permissible combinations of different antifreeze kinds are merely for emergency situations and it is not recommended to continue driving like this after that. Antifreeze in G11 class and G12 class, should not be mixed, because this can lead to major engine damage and costly repairs.
