Century Transfer Fluid

rmcarthur

I need to add Century Heat Transfer Fluid to my Alde tank. While traveling i stored the fluid container in the bed of my pickup. It was exposed to direct sunlight. It is no longer yellow in color, but clear. It is only one year old. No water was added. Has anyone experienced this, and is the transfer fluid still good?

MuttonChops

IMHO, a color change is not a good sign.

The MSDS (attached pdf file) includes references to:
   Conditions to Avoid .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Extreme temperatures
   Hazardous Decomposition .  .  .  . Thermal decomposition may yield CO2
   Storage & Handling  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  protect from extreme temperatures.

The MSDS also notes the pH-level as   8.8  so you could at least check your containers pH.

manyman297

It’s interesting because I have a bottle of Alde-branded Rhomar and it mentioned color shifts due to UV exposure but doesn’t mention anything about it degrading the quality.

MuttonChops

manyman297 said:
. . .  Alde-branded Rhomar and it mentioned color shifts due to UV exposure . . .

Is interesting, the Rhomar is the newer formula Green glycol, correct?

manyman297

Yeah. I guess it’s green if you buy it from Alde and blue if you get it direct from Rhomar. There are a few conspiracy theories floating around about why there’s a difference in color.

ScottG

Century comes in different colors, too, though both appear to have the exact same specifications.

Sharon_is_SAM

NuCamp flushed and filled our Alde with Rhomar in June.  We took home a gallon with an Alde label and it is more green than blue.  Go figure.

pthomas745

Aqua Hot is a manufacturer of heating systems that use glycol, and they are actually fairly straight forward about the glycols used in their trailer.  This link goes to their FAQ, where they pretty much say each color of the Century brands and the Camco brand are...all the same.  Each manufacturer chooses which "color" they fill their heaters with.

There are different concentrations of glycols as far as the water/glycol ratio goes. Century sells "non diluted" glycol that must be diluted before use.  But, as long as the ratio is the same, the only issue with the colors, according to Aqua Hot is...if you mix them, it might confuse a service person about the condition of the heater. The FAQ even has a quick explainer about how to test glycol with a refractometer.

https://www.aquahot.com/faqs.aspx

ScottG

Good info, @pthomas745. 

Just to clarify, Century sells both pre-diluted and non-diluted versions of their glycol. Owners swapping out with Century should check their product carefully and dilute (or not) as needed.

sequimite

Rhomar also sells various concentrations of RTU. RTU-50 (50%) is the recommended concentration for the Alde.