314 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 



May, 1922 



Radiator Cleaning Compounds 



By G. L. Shanks, Professor of Agricultural Engineering, 

 Manitoba Ag-ricultural College, Winnipeg 



Radiators are the most universally used 

 type of cooling apparatus on all classes of 

 tractor or portable internal combustion 

 engines. The efficient and satisfactory 

 operation of any engine so equipped de- 

 pends to a marked degree upon the proper 

 functioning of this important adjunct of 

 the cooling system. The cooling system of 

 ordinary engines must dispose of, by ra- 

 diation,' about 45 -per cent, of the total heat 

 of the fuel and by so doing keep the tem- 

 perature of the cylinder walls within the 

 limits set by the designer. Automobile and 

 tractor engines operate more economically 

 when the temperature of the cooling water 

 nears the boiling point but when the water 

 boils the cooling system can no longer func- 

 tion properly. Where radiators are used, 

 therefore, they must be designed to suit 

 the particular engine without much sur- 

 plus cooling effec^ if temperatures giving 

 economy are to be attained. It follows then 

 that when the radiator becomes coated witli 

 scale or foreign mat'er its radiating cap- 

 acity is reduced and trouble from over- 

 lieating results". 



Overheating is a trouble more common in 

 tractors than in automobiles for three rea- 

 sons, viz: (1) the tractor usually works 

 at nearly its full load but the auto only 

 <)ccasi<mally does so, (2) the tractor ra- 

 diators usually are designed to hold the 

 temperature as high as permissil)le, (3) 

 operators of tractors use more dirty water, 

 partly through lack of good supplies and 

 par'^ly through carelessness. 



Deposits found in radiators include the 

 following: rust particles, calcium and 

 magnesium carbonates, calcium and mag- 

 nesium sulphates, sand, clay, grease and 

 such miscellaneous materials as leaves, 

 .straw and hair. The rust particles come 

 chiefly from the iron of tlie engine itself 

 and may be found in considerable ((uantity 

 and usually to an exten" sufficient to color 

 all the deposits. The carbonates and sul- 

 phates are the result of using hard water. 

 Some tractors will evaporate as much as 

 twenty gallons per day and the importance 

 of using i)ure water is readily seen. Very 



fine sand and clayey material is suspended 

 in running water and sometimes in pond 

 water and where such water is used for 

 cooling purposes will form a part of the 

 deposit. Grease may make its way into 

 the radiator either from the water pump 

 lubrication or by using oil cans for dipping 

 water. Dirty containers for water or open 

 radiator filling caps account for the pres- 

 ence of most of the miscellaneous mat- 

 erials. The net result of all these various 

 deposits is that the radiator loses its effi- 

 ciency and can no longer keep the engine 

 sufficiently cooled for proper working. 

 When this condition is reached (and many 

 tractor operations in the Red River Val- 

 ley have reached it in one season) it is 

 necessary either to clean out the deposits 

 or purchase a new radiator. Several dif- 

 ferent cleaning methods have been widely 

 recommended in the past ancl with a view 

 to finding out the safest and most effective 

 treatment a brief investigation was com- 

 menced last July and recently completed. 



The experiments were carried out in two 

 distinct phases. The cleaning solutions 

 were applied to small copper cups made by 

 soldering .sheets from an old flat tube ra- 

 diator with a view to determining their 

 relative corrosive effect. Next a second 

 set of similar cups were coated thickly with 

 .scale by evaporating to dryness a quantity 

 of Red River water and then applying the 

 cleaning agents as directed. It will of 

 course be recognized that the results ob- 

 tained in this way are only relative and 

 could not be taken to represent the actual 

 proportions in radiators. 



The following were the treatments test- 

 ed, all being recommended by commercial 

 finns or taken from the iiandbooks on trac- 

 tor operation. 



Treatment No. 1. Take a .solution of mur- 

 iatic acid and water in equal parts. Heat 

 it. Fill the radiator and run for five min- 

 utes. Di-ain and flush radiator. Repeat if 

 necessary. 



Trcdhncnt Xo. 2. Put a solution of one 

 l»ai't muriatic acid to si.\ i)arts of water in 

 the radiator cold. Leavt^ for fourteen 

 houi's. 



