Hi, everyone. I used RydLyme to de-scale my engine cooling system - I mean the part that has the antifreeze. Oddly enough, there were no instructions on the jug. The sales clerk told me that RydLyme likes to talk with customers directly about how to use the product, so I called them.
They said that it was perfectly fine to put it in the cooling system and run the engine - just keep the temp relatively low.
That turned out to be easier said than done. The RydLyme formed this gummy stew which clogged my thermostat and made my engine overheat (for just a minute till I heard the alarm and shut it off).
I had to drain it all and flush with pressurized water several times to rid my engine of the rydlyme - haha - what an irony: the stuff that's supposed to unclog my cooling system clogged it up :-)
Anyway, the trick is to remove the thermostat and then flush with fresh water and run the engine a few times with fresh water only and no thermostat. Otherwise, some of the rydlyme remains in the system and keeps gumming up the antifreeze.
The rydlyme got rid of all my scale, so it works fine in that respect. Just make sure you flush it all before adding the antifreeze. Also easier said than done. (See other recent post about flushing the antifreeze.)
Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263
Ben,
I used Rydlyme to flush the cooling system of my Yanmar (C400), and I think the stuff is GREAT! Everything I read said to circulate the Rydlyme throughout the cooling system, but I had not read or heard of running the engine. I'm almost surprised the company said to run the engine. I used a cheap bilge pump and a 5 gallon bucket. After removing the thermostat (very important to do!!), and attaching a few hoses to extend them into the bucket, the bilge pump easily pumped the Rydlyme out of the bucket, thru the cooling system, and back into the bucket. It was foaming for about 45 minutes (meaning that it was working), and I let it run for another 15 minutes after that. I did the same thing with the raw water side of the cooling system. I used 1 gallon for the coolant side, and 1 galon for the raw water side. It made a dramatic difference. At WOT the temp now stays rock steady at 175 (with a 180 thermostat), where before it was creeping up past 200. For me it was sooooo much easier than taking the H/X off and having it boiled somewhere.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT
Yes, I was a bit surprised she said I could run the engine, but she did say to run it for only short periods of time (5-10 min or so) and not to let it get too hot.
She should have also said to remove the thermostat. With the thermostat in place, it got hot very quickly...which took me by surprise.
In hindsight, it all makes sense, but I really didn't fully understand the role of the thermostat and why I would need to remove it at the time.
She also said to mix it 50/50 with water.
It still floors me that they don't print simple instructions for the product.
Ben Ethridge
Miami, FL
1984 MK1 Hull# 263