Antifreeze Tester

This is a rather basic question, but I've been away from the auto service industry for a LONG time!!

Back years ago, all the antifreeze was green. Today, there are several different colors. Do these different types of antifreeze require different testers? I'm concerned about the concentration of antifreeze to water. I don't want the coolant to freeze due to it not having enough antifreeze in the mix.

I have an 25+ year old Prestone dial type tester. It was the basic, cheap tester. Can I use it for all of the various types of antifreeze being sold today?

I still use the same cheap Matco tester I bought 30 years ago and it still works on everything I work on at the dealership.

Gus

The anti freeze that won't kill the dog is made from different stuff, so it takes a different tester, so I would guess that the other non toxic brands would also.

You can usually tell by the look compared to the correct mix. Most places sell only mixed antifreeze, If you want the non mixed stuff you have to look for it.

I haven't had a problem finding the concentrated stuff anywhere I have looked. It's on the shelf.

The premixed should have the protected temperature on the back of the jug. Also if you buy the non diluted and mix yourself do not use tap water but rather distilled. i likely have the same prestone tester (actually 2) as well as a few others. they all read about the same BUT I have not tried them on the environmentally friendly stuff

I've noticed with the one that I have that when Prestone switched to the yellowish antifreeze in their bottles the tester doesn't work as well as it does with the green stuff.

I don't think I've ever tried it with newer stuff.

I'm pretty sure any tester will be accurate enough to determine freeze points. If you're that worried grab a refractometer...that'll handle about anything ya need.

https://www.amazon.com/Antifreeze-C...&hvtargid=pla-568291110880&psc=1

another thing to consider, is adding an anode radiator cap or something similar.
an anode will keep dissimilar metals [such as an aluminum water pump and housing and an iron block] from reacting with each other, creating deposits in the cooling system that will, over time, affect the cooling ability of the entire system.

Short answer - your old Prestone float tester will work just fine. It measures specific gravity of the coolant, which still uses ethylene glycol regardless of which color it is.....so the testers still work fine. Someone mentioned the stuff that won't kill your dog (e.g. Sierra), which is made with propylene glycol, and he's correct, the tester would be off a little bit with Sierra antifreeze