German Anti-freeze substitute substitute - diesel

At temperatures running to 30 degrees below zero F. and lower, glycerine-water and glycol-water mixtures are useless as anti-freeze agents. Although two other agents, methanol and ethanol, have too low a boiling point and evaporate quickly, Axis forces reportedly used ethanolwater mixtures on the eastern front last winter. It has been reported that the German Army, as a result of satisfactory experiments, used diesel oil as a coolant last winter. Since this oil has a lower coefficient of heat conductivity than water, the operating temperature of the engine will be raised--an advantage in extreme cold weather. While the oil is destructive to natural rubber joints, synthetic rubber is immune. Troubles may arise from corrosion, particularly in the radiator, because of a growth of acidity in the oil. At first the oil may be commercially pure, but the addition of moisture and dirt, together with the churning of the water pump, may crack the oil until acids accumulate to a harmful extent. Rust from the cylinder jacket may be present and, together with the emulsified oil, cause trouble. Such acids may attack copper and aluminum. The rising viscosity of the oil may cause mechanical troubles such as pump-shaft shearing or vane breaking.