Fall 2009

Dear Fellow Car Enthusiast,

Before putting your cars away for storage this winter, do not forget to spend a few minutes taking care of the single most overlooked maintenance item:  The Cooling System.

I say a few minutes, because that is literally the amount of time it takes to remove the radiator cap, pour in a bottle of No-Rosion or HyperKuhl, and provide 100% protection from corrosion and electrolysis.

In this letter, I will bring you up to date on recent happenings here at Applied Chemical Specialties. And I will answer the question I am asked most often: Which type of water is best to use in coolant, and why?

No-Rosion is being used by NASA.  We are excited to announce our involvement with the Marshall Space Flight Center. They are using No-Rosion in the coolant that circulates through their spacecraft launch pad. By no means are we rocket scientists. But we are excited about working with some!

Congratulations to Team HyperKuhl for a solid 2009 race season. As announced in the spring, this was our first year of team sponsorship in Motorsports. We are pleased to report that our HyperKuhl-sponsored driver finished the season in the top 25% of his race league.

Speaking of racing, check out our collection of vintage drag racing videos! The founder of the industrial water treatment division of our firm was a pioneer in the early days of drag racing, having won the 1960 AHRA Nationals in the A/Altered class. When he was not racing, he was photographically capturing historic vintage drag racing, to include:

     * Some of the only known video footage of the first ever NHRA Nationals in 1955, taken before the remainder of the event

        was rained out.

     * Video and photos from the 1959 AHRA Nationals.

     * Video from the 1955 World Series of Drag Racing in Lawrenceville, Illinois.

     * Quarter mile runs by Art Arfons Green Monster 2, a 20 foot, six-wheeled car powered by a 2,000 horsepower

        Allison aircraft engine.

We have posted this entire collection of videos and photos on YouTube. To view them, visit www.YouTube.com, and search the word HYPERKUHL. All our videos will then appear on your screen. 

Which type of water is best to use in coolant, and why?  There is a lot of confusion and misinformation on this topic. Radiator manufacturers often recommend using distilled water. But this can be a mistake.

To understand why, you have to first know a bit about the chemistry of distilled water. Through the distillation process, impurities such as calcium and magnesium (i.e. hardness) are stripped from water molecules. This leaves a water molecule that lacks electrochemical balance.

If used as straight water coolant, distilled water seeks to regain electrochemical balance by stripping electrons from cooling system metals. Aluminum is particularly vulnerable, because it is more reactive than other metals.  So while it is true that the purity of distilled water prevents the buildup of scales and deposits, this comes at the cost of increased aluminum erosion due to electrochemical stripping.

A much better type of water to use as coolant is softened water. This is because rather than stripping impurities from water, as is the case with distillation, water softening exchanges the impurities for a sodium or potassium ion. The result is water that is electrochemically balanced, and non-reactive.

This begs the question: But I put salt in my water softener, and salt is corrosive. So is softened water corrosive to a cooling system? The answer is: No. The sodium chloride or potassium chloride salt used in a water softener NEVER comes into contact with water. Only the resin in a softener is in contact with water. The resin uses salt as a source of sodium or potassium ions. These ions are exchanged with harmful calcium and magnesium ions in water, and are discharged when the softener is regenerated.

Here is the bottom line: If you run straight water coolant, use softened water. Or you can use tap water, because the polymer dispersants in No-Rosion prevent water hardness from forming harmful scales and deposits. But do NOT used distilled water as straight water coolant - especially if you have aluminum components in your cooling system.

If you run a 50/50 mix, you can safely use distilled water. This is because distilled water seeks, and finds, electrochemical balance through the ample quantity of glycol molecules that exist in a 50/50 mix. And also because diluting the distilled water 50% with antifreeze drastically reduces its level of aggressiveness. As such, it will not harm metals in your cooling system when used with equal parts antifreeze. And its purity is actually an advantage when mixed with antifreeze, which is why it is used by antifreeze manufacturers in blending the various pre-mix coolants that are widely marketed today.

Remember, the protection that our products provide is slowly depleted over time. For this reason, it is important that you add No-Rosion or HyperKuhl every year.  This provides complete protection against corrosion, electrolysis, and overheating for a period of 5 years.

The enclosed form can be used to submit your next order. To order online, visit: www.No-Rosion.com.  If you have any questions, shoot me an email at Norosion@aol.com, or give me a call at: (847) 477-9262.

Thank you for your continued support. As always, we remain fully committed to providing only the absolute finest quality engine coolant products available.

Sincerely,

Applied Chemical Specialties, Inc.

PS  In our Spring 2010 newsletter, I will address the complex issue of electrolysis. Do not miss it!