Warm antifreeze you say?

rsv1cox Tue May 19, 2015 8:28 am

I'm trying to resurrect my old Sterling Fledgling motored with a trusty and great running Enya .29 which was all gummed up.

I have tried about every de-gumming procedure known, but willing to try new ideas as posted on this forum I warmed up some antifreeze in the microwave and dumped the parts in.

After a few minutes an easy brushing seemed to loosen the burned on caster quite well but I have forgotten how long a soak is required?? I didn’t soak the gaskets, but I think it would be ok to do so as antifreeze doesn’t harm them in automobile cooling systems.

Warm antifreeze you say? Enya%20002_zpsj9epmbgy

Warm antifreeze you say? Enya%20007_zpslon1mxla

roddie Tue May 19, 2015 9:28 am

I think it's better to maintain a high temperature. How high?.. I'm not sure. Some people mention using a crock-pot cooker. Whatever you use.. you MUST keep it away from pets. Ethylene Glycol smells sweet to them and they will drink it. It's poisonous.. and ingesting even a small amount can be fatal. You may have known this already, but it never hurts to mention it.

A standard Crock Pot is kinda' big if you only plan to soak one model engine. Maybe try a sauce-pan and hotplate? There used to be a heating coil that would fit over and warm a coffee mug. It plugged into std. AC current and had a 3' long cord. Remember those? That'd be perfect for small engines.

They are still available.. http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Immersion-Heater-Portable-Beverage/dp/B000VK0DRY

Warm antifreeze you say? Heatin10

This is a 200w unit. I'll bet it'd work well with a Pyrex 8 or 16 oz. measuring cup. I'd say to try a pickle-jar.. but I don't know if the heat would be too much.

I'm also unsure of the evaporation-rate of ethylene glycol when heated to a steady-constant temperature in an open container.. or if the vapors are harmful. I'd investigate that before using constant heat. That method is reported to work very well though. I would suppose that the closer you can get the engine parts to operating-temperature; the easier it will be to unstick the baked-together parts. Just be mindful of any plastic parts and how they may be affected.

rsv1cox Tue May 19, 2015 11:51 am

Thanks roddie, It was a stupid question to begin with, how long a soak?.....well, as long as it takes. Smile

Being an impatient person I gave up on the warm AF after an hour or so and popped the disassembled parts in my garage only toaster oven which loosened them up after only a couple of minutes. I thought, well lets just douse them in the warm AF solution. Not a great idea as that adventure locked them right up again.

Back to the toaster oven. This time I used my standard, remove from oven and lightly spray with RemOil while working the parts. That did the job. Works great now but did little for the external appearance. At this point, I don't care how it looks. I just want to fly this old Fledging, my first R/C plane and the only one I could ever figure out, it's just such an easy flyer. Then, I will retire it, clean the engine and hang it up.

Yes, Antifreeze is bad stuff anywhere other than in a cooling system. Lot's of horror stories regarding it. I remember that coffee warmer, most every household had one and ours is probably boxed up in the basement. I just put the AF in a plastic container and heated it in the microwave for a minute.

Mark Boesen Tue May 19, 2015 12:00 pm

The crock pot method works great, especially if you're cleaning a a lot or often. You can swing by a Salvation Army or Good will and likely find a small crock pot for a couple bucks, use the low setting and let it cook overnight, or high for couple hours. You can reuse the antifreeze several times.

crankbndr Tue May 19, 2015 12:24 pm

I've had good results using Hoppe's 9, it only takes a few minutes, no heating, not toxic, reusable for many cleanings.
Wheres that SuperDave when you need em?

Mark Boesen Tue May 19, 2015 12:36 pm

yep, and there's also Dawn "Power Dissolver" spray cleaner, its a personal preference.

rsv1cox Tue May 19, 2015 2:56 pm

Mark Boesen wrote:The crock pot method works great, especially if you're cleaning a a lot or often. You can swing by a Salvation Army or Good will and likely find a small crock pot for a couple bucks, use the low setting and let it cook overnight, or high for couple hours. You can reuse the antifreeze several times.

I used to plunder the Salvation Army and Good will centers in Florida all the time, found everything from Leo Stans prints to model railroads. Not so many here in Va/WVa. We do have a rather nice crock pot though, but I know the kind your talking about, gotta find one of those.

Bob

I have a lot of Hoppe's #9, I just hate to waste it on model engines.....Oops, did I say that on this forum.. drunken

Oldenginerod Tue May 19, 2015 5:17 pm

rsv1cox wrote:After a few minutes an easy brushing seemed to loosen the burned on caster quite well but I have forgotten how long a soak is required?? I didn’t soak the gaskets, but I think it would be ok to do so as antifreeze doesn’t harm them in automobile cooling systems.

Check out my previous post.
https://www.coxengineforum.com/t8193-some-new-engines?highlight=new+engines
Sounds like you have a toaster oven so no need for the crock pot. Stick the engine in a metal pot or tin can and leave it in the oven overnight at around 100°C. Antifreeze is undiluted and not the ready to use stuff.

Rod.

rsv1cox Tue May 19, 2015 6:18 pm

Thanks Rod, I used the 50/50 stuff.

Bob

NEW222 Tue May 19, 2015 7:33 pm

I use this technique frequently. I bought a new small crock pot from Walmart here in Canada for $10-15. Also, I find full strength standard green works the best. I like to leave for a minimum of 12 hours, although 24 hours works best, and i find the longer you leave it, the less scrubbing you have to do. And please, DO NOT ever use that crock pot ever again for anything other than cooking your parts. Never ever use for food again. I was thinking it wss not worth it, but now use it very frequently. And just a couple other things. Don't put plastic in there, if you do, only a very short time. Lastly after doing a few things in it I find it a p.i.t.a. to get all the parts out, especially the small ones. So I just use a piece of wire to string them all together for easy removal.

dinsdale Tue May 19, 2015 7:55 pm

I'm not sure we get anti-freeze here. Is anti-boil the same stuff? Next time I'm in town I'll check at one of those stores that sell that sort of stuff. Whichever way, it's an ethylene-glycol based stuff we need is it?

NEW222 Tue May 19, 2015 8:27 pm

Sorry as I am not 100% sure, but it does sound good though.

Oldenginerod Wed May 20, 2015 5:41 am

dinsdale wrote:I'm not sure we get anti-freeze here. Is anti-boil the same stuff? Next time I'm in town I'll check at one of those stores that sell that sort of stuff. Whichever way, it's an ethylene-glycol based stuff we need is it?

Yeah, anti-freeze, anti-boil, as long as it's ethylene glycol the freeze temperature will be lower and the boil temp higher. Stuff I use is Valvoline and has something like 998 parts per 1000 glycol. Cheaper stuff should be fine as long as it's glycol & concentrated.

Dinsdale, just head to Repco or Supercheap and get their cheapest concentrated glycol. Should still work fine for this purpose.

Rod.

dinsdale Wed May 20, 2015 10:16 pm

Oldenginerod wrote:
dinsdale wrote:I'm not sure we get anti-freeze here. Is anti-boil the same stuff? Next time I'm in town I'll check at one of those stores that sell that sort of stuff. Whichever way, it's an ethylene-glycol based stuff we need is it?

Yeah, anti-freeze, anti-boil, as long as it's ethylene glycol the freeze temperature will be lower and the boil temp higher. Stuff I use is Valvoline and has something like 998 parts per 1000 glycol. Cheaper stuff should be fine as long as it's glycol & concentrated.

Dinsdale, just head to Repco or Supercheap and get their cheapest concentrated glycol. Should still work fine for this purpose.

Rod.

Threeriffic! I'm going to town today.

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