On 10/02/2021 15:54, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 10/02/2021 10:54, Tim Lamb wrote:
I take it the reason the rubber/plastic bulb/hose on my anti-freeze
tester disintegrates between Winters is the alcohol? in the coolant?

Might help if the manufacturers suggested rinsing with fresh water after
use!

My money would be on UV / ozone rather than alcohol or glycol as being
the culprit.

Alcohol certainly attacks some types of this sort of thing. Lot of reports
of it doing so (Ethanol in petrol) in the classic car press etc.

Although alcohol was around in some petrol in the 60s (Discol?) but maybe
not in the same concentration.

Alcohol and glycol are both OK on natural rubber (and the synthetic
equivalent). Nitriles don't like alcohol and they may be what you find
in classic cars. But that is in continous contact. With a tester, you
take a sample and squeeze it out. A glycol won't evaporate so it will
stay around all year, but alcohols will evaporate in a day or two,
assuming you don't leave the tester full of fluid.

Many petrols are E5 now, meaning they contain 5% alcohol.

So I still think it is likely to be UV. (May of course also be very
cheap rubber with a lot of filler).