Evans Waterless Coolant - How It Works.

I have been putting Evans Coolant in Great Race cars since the early 1990's. Evans is a waterless coolant that has a boiling point of 370 degrees and freeze point of -80 degrees with zero pressure in the cooling system. No... that is not a typo...that is ZERO pressure in the cooling system.

If you have read my "Official Guide To Cooling Systems..." you know that once the coolant boils in the radiator, that is a sign that the coolant is saturated, and cannot absorb any more heat from the engine. If water is part of the engine coolant, the water will expand as it turns to steam which will force the coolant out of the radiator overflow. 

When that happens you loose coolant resulting in less coolant remaining in the cooling system to absorb the heat from the engine. With less coolant present to carry away the heat...the temperature of the coolant in the engine will continue to climb. That is when the physical damage can occur to the engine, Flathead Fords often developed cracks in the block when this occurred. 

The high boiling point of the Evans Coolant combined with the fact that it has minimal expansion even at the higher temperatures means that there is no coolant loss with the Evans Coolant. The Evans Coolant has the ability to absorb a much greater amount of heat from the engine as compared to a 50/50 antifreeze and water mixture.

One thing you will notice with the Evans Coolant installed is that the in dash temperature gauge will read slightly higher. That is because the Evans Coolant is actually drawing more heat out of the engine block. If you check the engine block using an infrared temperature gun...you will see that the engine block is physically cooler than it was with the antifreeze and water mixture. Remember...the temperature gauge in the dash is reading the temperature of the coolant itself, and not the temperature of the engine block.

You also need to remember that the antifreeze in a conventional antifreeze and water mixture does not directly benefit the engine cooling process. It is there to counteract the affects of water in the cooling system, to prevent rust and corrosion from forming that would eventually reduce or stop the flow of coolant thru the radiator. To explain it another way...

Antifreeze... is there to keep the inside of the cooling system clean and does nothing to directly benefit the removal of heat from the engine block. Water has that job. That is why when you add a coolant mixture greater than a 50/50 mix your antique vehicle. it overheats quicker. It is because there is less water present which is actually what draws the heat out of the engine.

One of the first Great Race applications to really test the Evans Coolant was the Fifth Avenue sponsored 1911 Velie the year the Great Race went up Pike's Peak in Colorado. I knew that was going to be a challenge for the Velie as well as for the rest of the cars entered in the race. So I went looking for a way to keep the Velie from overheating.

After about 6 months of searching I found the Evans Coolant. I had numerous long conversations with the engineers at Evans and with Jack Evans himself who invented the coolant. I explained about the Velie and about going up Pikes Peak and they kept assuring me the coolant would do the job. This would be a good test.

The Velie made it to the top of Pikes Peak without stopping, and most important of all did not overheat! There were more than a dozen cars who had to stop along the way due to overheating. Many of the entrants watched in amazement as the Velie chugged slowly to the top. How come "that thing which is nearly a hundred years old" isn't overheating like we are...they all wanted to know. The Evans Coolant worked as designed.

Since those early days I have installed the Evans Coolant in hundreds of different applications besides antique vehicles.  There is also a diesel engine version of the Evans Coolant for over the road trucks and diesel applications. I have used both versions with good success over the years.

For example...I converted an entire fleet of concrete trucks after I put the Evans Coolant in the owner's antique car. He saw and experienced first hand the difference between the Evans Coolant and a conventional water antifreeze mix.  He immediately called and wanted to know if the Evans Diesel Coolant would work in his fleet of Concrete delivery trucks like it did in his antique vehicle? It did the same for his concrete trucks resulting in increased protection from overheating when the trucks were sitting at a job site waiting to unload, and during the unloading process.

Engine cooling fans ran less on the concrete delivery trucks, and plugged radiators were no longer a major concern, resulting in less maintaince. The company used to wash out the truck radiators daily to prevent overheating. Now they do it weekly as a precaution.

Ok...so now you know how the Evans Coolant works. To install it you first need to get all of the water out of the cooling system. You can do that by draining the engine block and the radiator then using a hair dryer of heat gun to remove all of the water.

There is also Evans Prep Fluid that you can add to your cooling system to absorb the remaining water if you do not have a heat gun or hair dryer and /or want to save a little time. Pour in the Evans Prep Fluid and circulate it thru the cooling system and it will absorb the remaining water. You need to be down to less than three percent water before you add the Evans Coolant. Once the Evans Coolant is installed, it is a lifetime coolant it does not need to be replaced. The Evans Prep Fluid is reusable for more than one application.

The Evans Coolant works great and is very popular in Flathead Ford applications (that should come as no surprise) as well in most any antique vehicle, including tractors. I have quite a few tractor pullers using it, both antique and modern Hot Rod pullers, and they say less head gasket damage because of the reduced pressure in the cooling system. I have also installed it in antique Chris-Craft boats and about anything else you can imagine in twenty plus years.

In Review... here are the top ten things you need to know about Evans Waterless Coolant...

1 Evans NPG coolant is a waterless coolant, which means there is no water mixed in with the coolant.

2 Evans coolant boils at 370 degrees Fahrenheit and freezes at minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with zero pressure in the cooling system.

3 The water that makes up 50% of conventional coolant is also the source of rust, hard water deposits, and corrosion, all of which build up and will reduce the circulation of the coolant thru the cooling system, causing the engine to eventually overheat and the radiator to loose coolant. By contrast Evans NPG coolant is non-corrosive to the cooling system and because Evans NPG coolant contains no water all of the problems associated with water in the cooling system are eliminated.

4 After a fresh engine rebuild is an excellent time to add Evans NPG coolant to the engine and cooling system. You will have a lifetime of engine cooling protection and the inside of the cooling system will stay as clean as when the vehicle was new. It makes good sense to protect your investment and keep the cooling system working at top efficiency.

5 When doing an Evans NPG conversion you need to get all of the water out of the engine block and cooling system. Your goal is to have less than 3 percent water left in the cooling system.

6 Evans prep fluid is a hydroscopic fluid that attracts and absorbs water. Evans prep fluid will help to remove the water trapped in the engine block and cooling system. The Evans Prep fluid can be saved and used for more than one application.

7 Evans NPG coolant is more expensive initially than conventional water and antifreeze coolant mixture but will prove to be cheaper in the long run. You will have less cooling system maintaince and will not have to change coolant every four years.

8 You DO NOT have to change the radiator cap when converting to Evans NPG coolant. The pressure in a cooling system comes from the water in the coolant turning to steam. Because the Evans NPG coolant contains no water and has such a high boiling point, minimal pressure builds in the cooling system, even with a pressure cap on the radiator.

9 Evans NPG coolant works just as well in a non- pressurized cooling system as it does in a pressurized cooling system. You get the same freeze protection and boil over protection in both a pressurized and a non-pressurized cooling system. There is also an Evans Coolant for diesel engine applications.

10 Evans NPG coolant is a lifetime coolant, which means once it is installed there is no more maintaince to do. It is good for the life of the cooling system. It will provide the same protection throughout its lifetime. It will protect your cooling system from rust scale and corrosion damage while your vehicle is in storage the same as it does while you are driving it.

You can order the Evans NPG Plus Coolant and the Prep Fluid in the "parts section" of the website under "Cooling"