Going Back to a Copper Radiator

[Paul F]

I've had a copper radiator in the Cobra for 12 years. No problems. I wanted to re-route the hoses with a new custom radiator and when I did so, I used aluminum.

3 years later and the bugger is leaking. Clearly it is electrolysis. Sure enough, I have about 150mv between the radiator water and ground. I've tried everything to get the voltage reduced. Checked all ground connections, added temporary ground connections. I have not yet isolated which circuit is the offender and I will try to do that. If I find it, I'm really questioning if I will stick with aluminum or go back to copper. I see no advantage in my case to stick with aluminum as copper did the job.

Check your radiator voltage before it's too late!

[Double Venom]

I am amazed the grounds failed to neutralize the electrolyses! I for one will be very interested in the results!

Drop a Marine "Zinc Anode" in the tank!?

[Paul F]

Yes, I know many people use the zinc. It's good insurance, but the source needs to be fixed, otherwise I'm just plating my engine/radiator with zinc (I guess that's not a bad thing) and the radiator will fail eventually.

Yes, I'm surprised as well. I have thoroughly grounded with additional grounds with no change. But the meter doesn't lie, so I've got something wrong somewhere.

This isn't on my priority list right now. So you won't see anything results from me for some time. But I just wanted to remind people that it is real and to get theirs fixed now. I read plenty of posts here on the topic and never bothered to check the voltage in my radiator. Now I'm paying the price.

[Excaliber]

The more I hear about aluminum parts here on CC the less impressed I become. Like alloy heads, well OK, great weight savings and few other options for a new build. I'll take a new iron block over alloy everytime. And,,, I won't be giving up my iron heads or copper radiator anytime soon. I think any potential weight saving is far over rated in any case considering the risk factor(s) go up significantly with alloy parts.

[SoTxButler]

After reading this...my copper radiator is looking very pretty to me. And to think that I have been lusting after an aluminum one. Thanks for the post.

[Paul F]

Exactly Russ,

So many items are put on cars to be cool (ignore the pun) that end up being the wrong thing to do. This is the case here. When I wanted to re-locate the hoses, I needed a new radiator. I could have stayed with copper, but I thought aluminum was nicer looking and more in fashion. Screw that. Lesson learned.

[mdross1]

My copper radiator was custom built back in 93 and works great with 460.Motor stays at 190 all the time.

[strictlypersonl]

ERA has been using custom Griffin radiators for more than 10 years with very few failures. They cool better than our old 3" core copper radiators, especially at low speeds. I'm perfectly happy with our choice.

Ground the radiator, use a quality anti-freeze and distilled water, and you shouldn't have a problem.

[Drake]

At my shop we had problems with certain coolants causing more electrolysis than others. It might pay to try some different types of long life coolants. Everybody seems to have a little different recipe. We had a lot of trouble with Toyota Tundras and 4-Runners until we switched over to factory Toyota coolant. One customer was getting pinholes in his radiator inside of 3 months using the Sierra brand of coolant. We had been using that brand for years without problems. It's one of the recommended brands for VW because of the type of aluminum alloys they use. We had checked the grounds which were ok.We had to replace 2 radiators before a friend at a radiator shop suggested using a different coolant.

[legenmetals]

Interesting thread. I have been thinking about swpping out my copper-brass radiator in the Contemporary cammer car as part of my weight reduction (on the car) effort.
My car has always run cool with the copper-brass radiator and the Contemporary radiator placement gives me more room in the engine bay. Most every new car made today has an aluminum radiator and they seem to hold up just fine. Could the frequency of engine start ups and heat cycles and recirculating of the fluid reduce corrosion in the al. radiator? How many owners have experienced corrosion problems with aluminum parts?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Paul F

This isn't on my priority list right now. So you won't see anything results from me for some time. But I just wanted to remind people that it is real and to get theirs fixed now. I read plenty of posts here on the topic and never bothered to check the voltage in my radiator. Now I'm paying the price.

Paul, you might want to put a quick disconnect switch on the negative battery post. Not a fancy firewall mount unit, just a simple one that takes two minutes to install. This will ensure that you have no current leaking through your coolant/radiator regardless of how good or bad your electrical system is. Here's a shot of mine:

[Paul F]

Patrick, I have one and I always disconnect the battery when not in use. It just shows you how quickly the electrolysis happens. I run my car almost every weekend Spring through Fall, but run time is probably an hour or two per weekend. So 1 or 2 hours x 40 weeks x 3 years is only 120-240 hours on the radiator.

[tkb289]

Patrick,

What is the brown looking stuff under the cutoff switch ? Looks like you are due for a new felt washer ?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Patrick,

What is the brown looking stuff under the cutoff switch?

That appears to be caramel; no doubt left over from some dried oyster sauce.

[Excaliber]

,,, oh yeah, the old oyster thing, I get it.

Anyway, since I'm running Evan's Waterless Coolant these days, in my copper radiator, I'm wondering what impact, good or bad, that might have on an alloy radiator?

As it was mentioned here that part of the problem might be related to a specific type coolant.

My SLK comes with "warnings" about vibration occurances that may cause a separation of the PLASTIC components incorporated into the radiator structure. Seem's you can't win with these new fangled radiators,,, old school copper rules!

[tkb289]

Originally Posted by patrickt

That appears to be caramel; no doubt left over from some dried oyster sauce.

Too much time at the oyster bar most likely ...

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by strictlypersonl

ERA has been using custom Griffin radiators for more than 10 years with very few failures. They cool better than our old 3" core copper radiators, especially at low speeds. I'm perfectly happy with our choice.

Ground the radiator, use a quality anti-freeze and distilled water, and you shouldn't have a problem.

X2. I converted my early brass 10 years ago with Bob's parts. Ran cooler and took 15 pounds off the nose. No such problems today following his last sentence. Also, using the block drains (install petcocks) at coolant change times helps keep the system cleaner.

[Sal Gerace]

I think we should see if we can get the original radiator company, Serck ,to starting taking deposits to see if we can get them to build us original radiators off of the original patterns........

My aluminum radiator failed after two years of use. ...

[cobra12]

The Brassworks makes custom copper radiators. They have a section on their site about electrolytic action and aluminum radiators. http://thebrassworks.net/faq.aspx#5