Is the Formulation of Antifreeze a Closely Guarded Secret?

Since the early days of the automobile, drivers have poured water into the radiators of their cars.  A substance called ethylene glycol was added to the water to prevent the water from freezing.  The resulting mixture was safe for the car’s engine and radiator because it was turned into a viscous slurry substance with tiny particles of ice, which were unable to cause damage the vehicle’s engine and cooling system.  The resulting substance of water and ethylene glycol seemed to be ideal for older-type cars that had cast iron engines and brass radiators.  The water and ethylene glycol mixture it was safe in terms of corrosion for those early cars.  So it was the beginning for the invention of antifreeze.  The name of the substance literally means “against freezing”.

The First Problems

The first troubles revealed themselves along with the development of more modern automobile construction.  The heated antifreeze slowly destroyed the engine metal when circulating in newer cars’ cooling systems.  For this reason the water pump impeller and the cylinder head channel borders were simply destroyed.

So research institutions began to look for a solution to the problem immediately and proposed the use of inorganic salts additives to decrease the corrosion activity of the antifreeze solution.  It hastened the emergence of a new layer on metal surfaces that was resistant to ethylene glycol.

At this time antifreeze received another name, “tosol.”  The story of this new name is quite interesting.  The first three letters were formed by the name of the institute department that studied the problems of anti-freeze improvement – “The Technology of Organic Synthesis.”  The suffix “ol” is a tribute to chemical terminology.  This was the way “tosol” was introduced to the country for the first time.

So, Is There Any Difference?

It bears repeating that any modern coolant used in auomotive applications is an antifreeze product.  Tosol is also an antifreeze product.  Most sellers use the word tosol to denote a liquid which is designed and suitable for domestic cars.  Although you can buy inferior quality fluids called “antifreeze.”  We recommend buying antifreeze only from reputable and trusted manufacturers such as those having good references from recognized automotive brands to ensure buying a quality product fir your car.

Hunting for the Correct Antifreeze Formulation

Of course not every driver can afford to buy expensive antifreezes from well known manufacturers and suppliers.  That is probably why many car owners began to look for an antifreeze recipe for the purpose of saving money. But, in fact it turned to be not so simple.  Large companies do not give out commercial secrets, one of which is undoubtedly the product formulation.

New data however, has become more accessible with the development of information technologies such as the internet.  In particular, the patent bases of the former Soviet Union were put on the Internet where one could find the a recipe for modern antifreeze.  Here we present only a few options.  Anyone who has access to the network can significantly expand this database.

The data in the table should be considered just for information purposes.