Coolant Mix Freeze Protection Calculator

Enter the antifreeze concentration to see the lowest temperature your coolant mix protects against.

Result

-21.0
-5.8

How it is calculated

The input Antifreeze concentration is the share of ethylene glycol antifreeze in the mix, by volume, from 0 to 70. The tool does not use a formula; it looks the value up in a table of freezing points and interpolates in a straight line between neighbouring rows:

%: 0 → 0 °C, 10 → -4, 20 → -9, 30 → -16, 40 → -26, 50 → -37, 60 → -52, 70 → -64

Between two rows: T = T₀ + (T₁ − T₀) × (pct − pct₀) ÷ (pct₁ − pct₀). The Fahrenheit value is °C × 9 ÷ 5 + 32. Both are rounded to one decimal. Anything below 0 % or above 70 % gives no result. The figure is the point where the mix starts to freeze for a pure glycol-and-water blend; it is not a safe operating limit, and other glycol types differ.

Worked example

The coolant is 35 % antifreeze and 65 % water. 35 lies between the 30 % row (-16 °C) and the 40 % row (-26 °C). Half way between them: -16 + (-26 - (-16)) × (35 - 30) ÷ 10 = -16 - 5 = -21.0 °C. In Fahrenheit: -21 × 9 ÷ 5 + 32 = -5.8 °F.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the ratio as antifreeze to water (1:2) instead of the percentage of antifreeze in the total. A 1:2 mix is about 33 %, so type 33.
  • Mixing by weight and entering the value as if it were by volume. The table is by volume.
  • Entering the water share instead of the glycol share. 40 % water is 60 % antifreeze, which the tool rates at -52.0 °C, not -26.0 °C.
  • Assuming more antifreeze is always better. The tool accepts only up to 70 % and treats it as a lookup, so it cannot tell you where a stronger mix stops helping; a richer blend also costs more.
  • Treating the result as the lowest safe working temperature. It is the freezing point of the mix; leave a margin below it.

About this calculator

Ethylene glycol antifreeze mixed with water lowers the coolant's freezing point through freezing-point depression, but the relationship isn't linear — a 50/50 mix (by volume) typically protects down to around minus 37°C (minus 34°F), which is close to the maximum practical protection, while mixes much stronger than about 70% glycol are not advised because they reduce heat transfer efficiency and water is what the glycol needs to depress, so this calculator covers 0–70% glycol by volume and gives no result above that.

Mechanics and vehicle owners check this ratio before winter or when topping up a cooling system, because using plain water or too weak a mix in a cold climate risks the coolant freezing, expanding, and cracking the engine block or radiator — one of the most catastrophic and expensive failures a cooling system can suffer — while an overly concentrated mix wastes money on glycol and can actually reduce cooling performance in hot weather.

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