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Old 10-21-2012, 07:30 PM   #1
DennisT
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Is there a, "best," pink anti-freeze???

Silly me I picked up 3 gallons of antifreeze at RnR RV in Liberty Lake, WA. Sticker price: $8.99 per gallon. Camco brand.

Then every place I went had various pink stuff for $2.95. Is there a best brand of anti-freeze????

One other brand was, "Splash," and another I don't remember. I also think I saw the same Camco stuff at a much cheaper price.

The big dealers sure run big prices. We're new at this, so live and learn.

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Old 10-21-2012, 08:03 PM   #2
Festus2
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When I go shopping for RV antifreeze, I use these criteria:
1) good for temperatures to -50. Not that it ever gets that cold here but I know that, undiluted, it will be more than adequate for our lowest winter temp.
2) good for both plastic and metal pipes. I know that almost all of the RV lines are plastic but there are some metal components in the water pump, toilet, valves and a couple of other small items. Maybe not necessary but I buy this type.
3) Cost --- if the 2 criteria above are met, I get the cheapest I can find.

I've never seen any RV antifreeze ratings or testing of the pink stuff that would provide me with any factual and reliable data so I go with what has worked in the past for me.
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Old 10-21-2012, 09:02 PM   #3
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I worked at a RV dealership and we sold it for amount $10 a gallon. the office girl would say the stuff we sold was super to the cheap stuff. don't know if I believed her or not. this stuff was suppose to not discolor the toilet or any of the other stuff it touched. Me? I use the cheap stuff too.
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Old 10-22-2012, 05:02 AM   #4
SteveC7010
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I've never heard of any RV antifreeze comparisons. So just check the ratings as Festus suggested.

I usually shop for a bargain at some place like Wal-Mart, but this year, rather than drive 15 miles or further, I just picked up two gallons from the local hardware store for $5 each. They are just a couple blocks from my house. They buy it by the pallet full to take care of all the summer homes around the lake here so there is no travel time or cost for me to go back to get more if I need it.
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:30 AM   #5
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Hi and welcome from Spokane Valley there Dennis.
I go for the cheapest also but once a few years back I bought some from the General Store on Division that had a very powerful fragrance that was hard to rinse out in the spring.
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Old 10-22-2012, 06:35 AM   #6
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The cheapest RV antifreeze is propylene glycol based and also usually contains some pH buffers and trace amounts of other chemicals to minimize corrosion. Price is pretty much dependent on the concentration: 30% propylene glycol is good to 5 degrees F, 40% to -20, 50% to -35, 100% to -50. Remember that the label doesn't necessary state the freezing point, it usually states the "non-burst" point meaning that the solution will get slushy, but not hard enough to expand and split the pipe.

More expensive antifreeze may be a combination of propylene glycol and glycerol and/or denatured ethanol (ethyl alcohol). These are usually formulated for even lower temperatures, and probably have more of an advantage in food service equipment, boilers, etc. than for blowing out an RV water system.

Personally, I use the cheapest I can find - usually like $3 a gallon on sale.

Read the label!
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:05 AM   #7
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I've been using the Walmart stuff for the last 3 years, so far so good.
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Old 10-22-2012, 10:20 AM   #8
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Last year I bought 6 gallons of CAMCO Artic Ban anitfreeze on sale at ACE Hardware. The price was $3.99 a gallon with a $2 rebate per gallon, so it cost $1.99 a gallon after rebate. It's rated to -50F and is a mixture of Ethyl Alcohol, Glycol, Denaturants, Colorant and water.

While I am not certain of this, I'd say that most likely, all RV Antifreeze that's rated at -50F is probalby very close to the same mixture of ingredients. As with most products, manufacturers add their "special ingredient" to maintain a competetive edge. By that I mean some add fragrance, some add a chemical to help "freshen" the tank next spring, some add a lubricant to "protect pumps" and some may add other things to catch your "fancy" when comparing jugs on the shelf.

As Festus indicated and as others have said, as long as it protects to the temps you expect to see in your area, they're all pretty much the same.
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Old 10-23-2012, 07:48 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay D View Post
I've been using the Walmart stuff for the last 3 years, so far so good.
X2, been using the cheap stuff from Walmart for years and have never had any issues but only use it in the drains. I usually blow out all the water lines and only use the pink stuff in the p-traps and in the toilet.
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Old 10-23-2012, 09:58 AM   #10
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RV antifreeze seems to come in two "flavors"

1) Propylene glycol based with buffers etc. and NO alcohol.
2) Alchol based with other stuff as well

Personally I won't buy the stuff with Alcohol in it. Denatured alcohol often has methyl alcohol in it . Methyl alcohol is very toxic and must be completely flushed out of the system. propylene glycol is non toxic, in fact many food products have propylene glycol in them. Just my opinon and preference. (don't confuse propylene glycol with regular antifreeze with ethylene glycol which is very toxic). trace amounts of propylene glycol aren't likely to be any health risk if they aren't completely rinsed out.

The inexpensive propylene glycol stuff I've seen often will turn to a slush at something below 0F, don't recall the exact temp, and will remain as a slush to -40F or more. Some of the formulations of more expensive stuff seem to indicate they won't turn to a slush at low temps.

In 35 years I haven't seen temps below 10F in our area, I'm not conserned about very low temp performance. In other areas of the country low temp performance may be more of an issue.
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Old 10-24-2012, 12:19 PM   #11
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This is all way too much information than I need to know. I've always used the cheap brand at Wally World and have never had a problem.
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