Questions on OAT coolant change-over

[CountryFit]

I have acquired concentrated Final Charge OAT coolant and plan to do the change-over in a few days. A few questions arise while preparing the procedure, I am hereby seeking your advice/answers:

1) For a 2000 Intrigue, what is the total coolant volume? This is to determine how many gallons of full strength Final Charge are needed (50% of total volume).

2) Are special kind of hoses required? I searched on this forum, some people mentioned the silicon hoses. Isn't the OAT ELC compatible with the existing coolant hoses?

3) If non-compatible, I would replace all of the coolant hoses in one shot. What brand(s) of the hoses is preferred?

TIA

[SpringerPop]

Though I am no hose expert, I believe that most vehicle hoses are today made with EPDM, which is compatible with OAT coolants.

Pop

[Mr_D]

Cummins approved coolants

Fleet Charge by Old World
Detroit Diesel Power Cool
Fleetguard Fleetcool
Fleetguard ES Compleat EG
Fleetguard Fleetcool EX
Shell Diesel Ready

Needs to be ASTM D6210

NOT contain sodium 2-ethyl hexonate

Other coolants that you can safely use are:
Fleetguard Fleetcool EX
Fleetguard Fleetcool
Old World Fleet Charge
Caterpillar Diesel Engine Antifreeze Coolant (NOT their ELC)
Old World Final Charge, a nitrite-free organic acid coolant
Fleetguard ES Compleat OAT, a nitrite-free OAT coolant
Chevron Delo Nitrite-Free
Shell Ultra, nitrite-free
Shell Diesel Ready and some other Shell products whose names I do not recall at the moment.

Coolant you must NOT ever use:
DEXCOOL and all the knock-off similar products (it is LD gasoline only use)
An AMSOIL coolant marketed as for HD diesel composed of propylene glycol (testing I had done at the Fleetguard chem lab shows that it is grossly undercharged thus is more suitable for LD gasoling)
There are several propylene glycol coolants (PG) that are suitable.
For those reading this using a Caterpillar engine, the above list applies to you as well.

The sodium 2-ethyl hexonate is an acid that attacks the silicone in interior engine gaskets that are used in some ISL and other engines.

[Smitty77]

Good luck on your change over. I do not have all of my records with me, and cannot give you the amount we put into our 04 Allure with ISL, sorry. A call to Country Coach should tell you the answer, if no one else has the info!

I did not do my changeover, but coordinated the change after reading some write up's from a gent name Brett Wolfe (Yeah CAT guy, but still considered a great source on all things RV's!).

I bought several 2 1/2 gallon bottles of Distilled Water at the store, and took it into the shop. Agreed up front to pay them an hour extra shop rate, to accommodate the extra time for what I asked them to do the following, with a fully warmed up engine.

1) Drain
2) Fill with Distilled Water, run engine 5 minutes, with OTR Heater on.
3) Drain
4) Fill with Distilled Water, run engine 5 minutes, with OTR heater on.
5) Put 1 gallon of 100% concentrate Final Charge
6) Top off with 50/50 Final Charge

Even after running two flushes, and running the OTR Heater both times, old now diluted coolant remains in the system. I wanted bit more then 50/50 mix, though suspect straight 50/50 would have been fine. Thus the one gallon of pure Final Charge.

I travel with one gallon of 50/50 for top off's of both the Engine and Generator (Yeah, also running Final Charge.). And for emergency, we have another gallon of 100% Final Charge to mix with Distilled Water if I ever have more then just a top off need.

Best of luck to you, and don't forget to get the dummy (no SCA) water filter and change that over at the same time!

Smitty

[CountryFit]

thanks everyone for the info. good thing is it looks like no need to replace hoses.

i got the blank filter and 7 gallons of 100% final charge in hands. now am waiting for the volume info from cc.

as smitty suggested, i will first flush the system with garden hose running water and engine while drain is open for 5 minutes. then drain, replace the blank filter, close the drain and fill up with distilled water, run hurricane to bring up the temp, shut down the hurricane, start engine and open up the dash hot air to max for a few minutes; stop engine, drain, close, refill with distilled water. repeat the process for two or three more times. finally, drain; close, fill with concentrated final charge to the half of the volume, fill with distilled water to the neck. done.

i will take sample of used coolant before the process and send it to blackstone lab. just to make sure no strange stuffs in the coolant.

thank you again. happy trails!!

[Mr_D]

Here's the compatibility chart from Fleetguard
https://www.cumminsfiltration.com/pd...es/LT36262.pdf
I have ES Complete OAT in the rig now after the rebuild and I have several gallons of Detroit Diesel Power Cool Plus left from the Dutch Star changeover. According to the chart they are compatible. Wish I'd have found that chart a few weeks ago before I bought a gallon of the premix Fleetguard ES Compleat OAT.

Now I need to drain the gen set and refill with what I have so I only have to carry one coolant for both although I still need a different one for the AquaHot anyway. At least I won't need three different ones!

[CountryFit]

in my system, the hurricane is heating the engine coolant and makes it circulate, that is the reason i have the step to run hurricane. will check with powertech if the oat elc has any side effect on kubota engine. it would be nice to keep just one kind of coolant.

[dons2346]

Just curious. How are you catching all this coolant that is getting flushed out?

[CountryFit]

i checked with the waste management near here, they will take it with a fee. the same for truck/rv service providers, they don't process the waste themselves.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

in my system, the hurricane is heating the engine coolant and makes it circulate, that is the reason i have the step to run hurricane. will check with powertech if the oat elc has any side effect on kubota engine. it would be nice to keep just one kind of coolant.

I'd probably check with Kubota too. That's what our Onan has for an engine also.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

i checked with the waste management near here, they will take it with a fee. the same for truck/rv service providers, they don't process the waste themselves.

Our waste company takes the coolant as long as it's in clear one gallon screw on top containers so I save the milk cartons! Same with the oils, no extra charge either.

[SpringerPop]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

i will take sample of used coolant before the process and send it to blackstone lab. just to make sure no strange stuffs in the coolant.

Unless something's new, I don't remember Blackstone doing analysis on coolants.

I've used them for lubricants for the last decade, but I send my coolant off to Polaris.

Pop

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Our waste company takes the coolant as long as it's in clear one gallon screw on top containers so I save the milk cartons! Same with the oils, no extra charge either.

milk containers!! surely i can use it

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Our waste company takes the coolant as long as it's in clear one gallon screw on top containers so I save the milk cartons! Same with the oils, no extra charge either.

OOPS, should have said 1 gallon clear plastic milk jugs, not "cartons"!