Originally Posted by
.xXACEXx.
......HAS to have BAD STUFF rowing in it which is bad to be around ...so what can kill all the "baddies" and give us good coolant again??
sorry this post is soooo long winded BTW
You cannot kill all the "baddies" but you can limit their growth.
The baddies that make the foul smell are bacteria that live on the sulfur compounds in lube oil in the absence of oxygen; the smell is from sulfide compounds made by these bacteria. They cannot live in the presence of oxygen so the first thing is to make sure the coolant is thoroughly oxygenated. One way is have a tee in the coolant line so that some coolant can be bypassed straight back to the tank through a spray nozzle and run the coolant pump for an hour or so every day. Couple this with getting all the tramp oil out; which is easier said than done because for skimmers to work the coolant has to be very still for several hours and this is contradictory to the aeration using the pump.
My approach was to let the tank sit for several days so I could skim the oil off then periodically aerate it for several days.
However I have to admit that I broke down and bought the expensive solution; an external coolant filter/oil trap which I installed about a month ago. It seems to be working but when I say expensive I mean it; $3600.
An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.