New corrosion protection option for Fluidyne, other aluminum radiators

timbo3282

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I was speaking with the owner of Fluidyne trying to get advice on how to make the radiator last as long as possible.

He said because there are so much electronics in the Terminators that galvanic corrosion is a major issue with an all aluminum radiator.

I discussed my plans to use 50/50 Motorcraft Premium Gold Coolant and filtered drinking water along with some purple ice and he said that I was on the right path.

He also mentioned that they had a new part in the works to address galvanic corrosion - a zinc anode drain plug. This makes perfect sense, as there are tons of zinc anodes on all the aluminum on my boat.

The theory for those that aren't aware (or were lucky enough to skip 3 years of college chemistry is that the zinc sacrifices itself to protect the main metal. Steel naval ships, metal dams and lock gates use large zinc anodes to protect the steel. As electricity passes out of the metal to the water the zinc is corroded and the anodes shrink. Periodically the anodes are replaced and so long as there is zinc left the protected metal won't corrode.

Because I'd had trouble getting in contact with anyone from Fluidyne, they were nice enough to send me one for free. Big thank you to Fluidyne.

The part is Fluidyne part number FHP32004 described as a Zinc Anode. The anode drain plugs will be available soon through Summit Racing (it is already for sale on their website), directly through Fluidyne and I'm sure other shops as it is more available.

You'll likely change the drain plug every 3-5 years when you flush and fill the coolant. Between the coolant mix I am intending to use and the anode drain plug I am confident that my Fluidyne radiator will have a nice long life.

A couple pictures of the anode drain plug:

anode1.jpg


anode2.jpg


Link to Anode Plug on Fluidyne plug:High Performance Cooling ACCESSORIES by FLUIDYNE®

Link to Anode Plug on Summit Racing: Fluidyne High Performance FHP32004 - Fluidyne High Performance Radiators - Overview - SummitRacing.com
 
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timbo3282

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i used the Peak corrosion protection you get at autozone and it works great :shrug:

The Peak antifreeze is a good product but it isn't going to provide the same level of protection the anode will.

Using a quality coolant, the appropriate water (filtered drinking water NOT distilled water), a quality additive like Purple Ice and the anode will provide significantly more protection than coolant alone.

The Peak coolant isn't capable of preventing galvanic corrosion over it's life. Unless you have a very short maintenance interval with the Peak (like total flush and fill every 12-18 months) you'd be smart to invest in some additional insurance for your radiator.

Eventually the coolant will attack the aluminum in the radiator and you'll end up with a leak. Cathodic protection is the gold standard for protection against galvanic corrosion and I applaud Fluidyne for introducing the plug.
 

oldmodman

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About time that someone made these available.

Absolutely required for an all aluminum radiator, let alone aluminum heads.
Have you been grounding your radiator? I use a braided cable just like the Ford block grounds.

I even change the sacrificial anodes in my water heaters. 12 years old now.
 

timbo3282

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03cobra#694

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Interesting, what size is the plug? I might stop by one of the many marine places right by my work.
 

timbo3282

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Interesting, what size is the plug? I might stop by one of the many marine places right by my work.

It's 1/4" NPT and the length overall of the plug + anode is 1 3/4" (so if you bought the piece from my previous post you'd have to cut down the zinc rod. But that is really easy - zinc is pretty soft and if you saved $15 it'd easily be worth it.
 
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SoCalHarley

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I have heard of this before as a possible solution to the corrosion issue. Did he mention a grounding strap or wire to the radiator in your discussion.
Thanks
 

03cobra#694

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It's 1/4" NPT and the length overall of the plug + anode is 1 3/4" (so if you bought the piece from my previous post you'd have to cut down the zinc rod. But that is really easy and if you saved $15 it'd easily be worth it.

Thanks, yeah they did look pretty long in that marine link you posted. I'm going to stop by a place right up the road on my way home.
 

timbo3282

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I have heard of this before as a possible solution to the corrosion issue. Did he mention a grounding strap or wire to the radiator in your discussion.
Thanks

He said there was no effective way to ground it on the car so that a strap wasn't worth the trouble, but I figure it sure can't hurt. The more protection you afford metal the longer it'll last.
 
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SnakeBit

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The Peak antifreeze is a good product but it isn't going to provide the same level of protection the anode will.

Using a quality coolant, the appropriate water (filtered drinking water NOT distilled water), a quality additive like Purple Ice and the anode will provide significantly more protection than coolant alone.

The Peak coolant isn't capable of preventing galvanic corrosion over it's life. Unless you have a very short maintenance interval with the Peak (like total flush and fill every 12-18 months) you'd be smart to invest in some additional insurance for your radiator.

Eventually the coolant will attack the aluminum in the radiator and you'll end up with a leak. Cathodic protection is the gold standard for protection against galvanic corrosion and I applaud Fluidyne for introducing the plug.
What's wrong with using distilled water?
 

timbo3282

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But he did say that it was OK to ground it.

Absolutely - it won't hurt anything at all. He just said there is no way to get a good ground on the car, and with all the electronics without taking proper protections corrosion will kill any all aluminum radiator in a hurry.
 

timbo3282

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What's wrong with using distilled water?

So the answer to that made me dig into my Organic and Inorganic Chemistry textbooks from college. I won't get too geekey in my response - otherwise we'd all be asleep before finishing the post.

Water wants to dissolve ions to get to a neutral state. Soft water will dissolve rock in nature - think of what water does to limestone over time. Water will also dissolve metals through corrosion. Because distilled water is very nearly totally pure water - it is 99.9% water - it will be the much more active in attempting to dissolve the easiest thing it comes into contact with - in the case of the Terminator cooling system that will be the aluminum in your radiator in an attempt to become more neutral.

Deionized water is quite corrosive and should NEVER be put into anyplace it will come into contact with metals. Comparatively distilled water is much more neutral. But to have the best possible safety margin filtered drinking water is best.

Distilled water is very reactive and seeks to dissolve things into it to get to neutral. If you think of soft water (which distilled water is to the extreme) - it is looking to dissolve calcium and other things to get to a neutral state. This reactivity is corrosive to metals, . Using a filtered drinking water that has had a small amount of hardness added back is better because the water is not looking as hard to dissolve things. This protects the radiator. Filtered drinking water is relatively soft (there is not much hardness added so don't worry about it scaling in the radiator, it will just keep the water from attacking the metals in the engine).

The best protection against galvanic corrosion for an all aluminum radiator (like a Fluidyne or Mishimoto) you should use a 50/50 mix of Motorcraft Premium Gold Coolant and filtered drinking water with Royal Purple Purple Ice added according to the directions. Make sure you are getting FRESH Purple Ice as it was reformulated to provide better corrosion protection recently. And finally the anode drain plug should be installed so that as galvanic corrosion does occur, the zinc anode is sacrificed to protect the other metal parts in the cooling system.
 

timbo3282

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Hows about one for the stocker? Anyone know the drain plug thread type and pitch?

It would be difficult to make an anode drain plug work on the stock radiator as the drain plug threads into the plastic tanks and not into metal. You would have to solder a wire to the drain plug or attach it by other means and then run that wire to ground.
 

03 DSG Snake

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Very nice find. You have been doing your homework on these Fluidyne units for sure.

Mine has been in the car maybe 4 years now. Definitely will be flushing and refilling along with the anode plug.



Now if you could figure out a higher flowing fan setup than the OEM or Mark VIII you'd be a god. :rockon:
 

Tractionless1

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It would be difficult to make an anode drain plug work on the stock radiator as the drain plug threads into the plastic tanks and not into metal. You would have to solder a wire to the drain plug or attach it by other means and then run that wire to ground.

So the anode being screwed into the end tank is actually causing a neutral charge to run through a 100% aluminum radiator as a whole? Coolant/water mix simply passing over the anode on its way by makes no difference?
 

black 10th vert

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So the anode being screwed into the end tank is actually causing a neutral charge to run through a 100% aluminum radiator as a whole? Coolant/water mix simply passing over the anode on its way by makes no difference?

No, because it is an anode, it needs a conductive path to operate, in this case a ground path.
 

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