Volvos require 50 ethyline glycol coolant.

ethylene glycol has about 4 x the latent heat of water: IE It can absorb or release 4 times more heat than the same quantity of water

at 50% solution, I'll guess and assume that the latent heat of coolant is about twice the latent heat of water.

the B230F holds abt 10L of coolant. if produces abt 78KW max. Internal compustion engines produce as much heat as they do useable power, and put the same again down their exhaust pipes as heat. They are not efficient fuel to power producers.

So this 10L has to dissipate upto 78KW of heat at max power.

Thats the equivalent of abt 28-30 electric fan eaters or some 50 kettles.

You begin to see if the glycol level falls much, the cooling system quickly becomes compromised, and unable to cope, even at modest energy inputs. if you use just water, you could reasonably expect to only be able to handle 36KW, a figure easily reached by the motor at quite modest RPM, not allowing for the lower water recirculation rate from the slower pump speed.. Someone else can do the maths, but I'd guesstimate that even 25KW might be enough to cause trouble, and allowing only for air resistance, that's prob abt 65 mph or less.

Since roads are rarely flat and we carry considerable cargoes, that power requirement is easily exceeded by most of us in normal use. Thus most of us would overheat our engines if we used just water to col them.

1bhp=743W
1kM-5/6Mi

The electrolyte ballacing capacity of coolant also reduces corrosion in the motor dramatically. Coolant does get old, the electrolytes get used up and the glycol slowly breaks down, thus it needs changing, often, unfortunately. Cheap coolant is usually bad maintenance, which only causes problems for someone later on, which can be very severe, and aggravating, let alone dangerous.
Proper prevetion is always cheaper than cure!!!!
Comments please.

I agree. Serious maintenance involves changing the coolant every year. Also, air trapped in the system can be bad. The system must remain pressurized to reduce the boiling point.

The fins of the radiator must be clean, spray with high pressure water from the inside out.

Agreed. After seeing the inside of a failed water pump I'm a believer. The impellers had been eaten away to almost nothing because of the hard water in my geographical area.

I change coolant 50/50 using genuine Volvo blue antifreeze and DISTILLED water every two years. I know, I know, genuine Volvo antifreeze is expensive and other brands are just as good. But I do it anyway.

A local Volvo service dept. put green Prestone, or something, in my engine a few years ago. I went back to their parts dept. and asked for a couple jugs of genuine blue Volvo antifreeze. The parts guy said they don't carry it. "Use Prestone or something," he said. I went to another dealer and they had the right stuff.

hey manxman, duuuuuuuuuuuude, you are super member. hey, all i know is if i use all water, i get faster hot water for my tea :grin: woooooohooooo, go brits. :banana: great info.