Radiator overflow/reservoir prototype: Nalgene bottle (1 Viewer)

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HawkDriver said:
I hate nalgene bottles, they are the ultimate yupster, trendy, "I'm cool cuz I'm drinking water" bottles. I prefer the walmart knock offs myself. ;) Now that that's out there... :D

well, seeing as how I spent nearly 12 years or so selling and repping in the outdoor/mountainering industry, I certainly do not think I fall into "trendy".... though I do get your point as everyone has them - but no one has one under the hood like I do :) - but most people do not know what 'they' are all about, they just think they need one as everyone else has one.. now that being said..

HawkDriver said:
Cool idea, glad it's working out for ya. I like the mount.

thanks! the mount can be refind a bit, but it was very simple, cheap, effective and sturdy for a guy with no welding skills to make anything cooler. I do not really need that bungee as it is pretty snug fit, but I did not want to find out it was not as snug as I thought when I hit a big bump fast and the bottle comes flying out. I have had s*** in the engine bay loosen up that I never thought possible. so I added it for assurance.

HawkDriver said:
One question, can anyone explain to me just how exactly the liquid is supposed to manage to find it's way back past the 16 lb spring loaded oneway sealed plunger into the radiator when it's low again? I've never understood that. I see how it's an overflow res but why would there be a fill line on modern tanks. I don't get it. :confused:

hmmmm.... good question. in my minds eye, I had always thought that the neck for the overflow was well below the bottom of the cap plunger. never really paid attention. but in fact, now I see it is above the plunger bottom where you would think it gets sealed??? but somehow, fluid flows in and out past this as I have watched it fill my reservoir a bit and also seen it draw from the reservoir a bit.... I thought it was a joke question you raise... but now I wonder myself.
 
great idea - that's my next stolen project. now i can get rid of that fugly, cheesy thing pep boys calls an overflow. WOOT


and, since i work at a research facility, i'll see if i can get one of the lab techs to order me one...or some
 
from: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system7.htm

When the fluid in the cooling system heats up, it expands, causing the pressure to build up. The cap is the only place where this pressure can escape, so the setting of the spring on the cap determines the maximum pressure in the cooling system. When the pressure reaches 15 psi, the pressure pushes the valve open, allowing coolant to escape from the cooling system. This coolant flows through the overflow tube into the bottom of the overflow tank. This arrangement keeps air out of the system. When the radiator cools back down, a vacuum is created in the cooling system that pulls open another spring loaded valve, sucking water back in from the bottom of the overflow tank to replace the water that was expelled.
:beer:
 
gladly said:
from: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system7.htm

When the fluid in the cooling system heats up, it expands, causing the pressure to build up. The cap is the only place where this pressure can escape, so the setting of the spring on the cap determines the maximum pressure in the cooling system. When the pressure reaches 15 psi, the pressure pushes the valve open, allowing coolant to escape from the cooling system. This coolant flows through the overflow tube into the bottom of the overflow tank. This arrangement keeps air out of the system. When the radiator cools back down, a vacuum is created in the cooling system that pulls open another spring loaded valve, sucking water back in from the bottom of the overflow tank to replace the water that was expelled.
:beer:

Great explanation! I'm glad someone answered Hawkdriver's question because I never gave it much thought until he raised the point. Been wondering about it for a few days! Now I can impress the women with my amazing radiator coolant knowledge, lol. Thanks:)
 
awesome, i wanted to know myself after looking at mine the other day.
 
Ok I found this picture that makes it all clear now about that vacuum. Thanks guys.

Radiator cap operation

p35a.gif


Tricky little devil, who knew it was so high tech. :doh:
 
Hi All:

Dude, why are you wasting so much time and $$ on an coolant overflow bottle??

My FJ40 did not have one when I bought it in 1997. I purchased a "generic" overflow bottle kit from our local auto parts store "Shmucks," which leaked coolant everywhere after the resevoir cap was lost. I got so fustrated that I took a run-of-the-mill disposable water bottle I had sitting around, drilled a hole in the cap for the over-flow line, and rigged it up next to the radiator with a bent-up clothes hanger!

It is still there after several years of service. It cost only my time and labor; I would certainly not waste a quality Nalgene bottle on such a project! :grinpimp:

If you want a "quality look" buy OE Toyota! ;)

Regards,

Alan
 
I Liked your ideas, so I made one like the vI and made my own mounting bracket with some some 1/4 steel with a ring around it to hold the bottle in, the only thing that wories me is if the nylon washers are going to withstand the heat, so i got some stainless steel ones just in case, been running it since after this thread was posted, and havent had any probs yet.
 
UPDATE

so I have been running it for a few weeks now. And, I can report that it works as planned. This is proof of concept for any and all doubters. Here are a few picts of it mounted and in use.

nalgene7.jpg


nalgene8.jpg


nalgene9.jpg


That being said, the 1 and only 'concern' I do have is that contrary to my initial thought, 32oz is a bit small. 32oz is about what I had in the original overflow as backup, so it does not leave much for expansion. becuase of that, I really think that 64oz would be best and 32oz is too small. So, now that I have proven I can make it work (solid mount, no leak, stable, etc) - I am going to try to source out a bigger square Nalgene and make a V3. In using this, I also have the bonus of it taking up less space and mounting in a place that is much better than the original cheezy reservoir. (yes, the dark lexan plastic and photos make the liquid appear much greener and heavier in anti-freeze content than it really is - look at the hose for a better indicator.)

UPDATE: FWIW, I started doing reserch on the size of radi overflow containers and see that many places (like Jegs, Whitneys, etc) sell many that are, in-fact, only 1 quart (32 oz). So, it seems that this size I picked is actaully pretty common. So, I am going to keep running it as I have and stick with the 32oz one. Maybe it was the size of the one I took out (maybe 2 quarts) that made me think you must have a larger overflow container than 32 oz - though I never called upon that much space.

What happened to the pics?
 
That being said, the 1 and only 'concern' I do have is that contrary to my initial thought, 32oz is a bit small. 32oz is about what I had in the original overflow as backup, so it does not leave much for expansion. becuase of that, I really think that 64oz would be best and 32oz is too small.

Perhaps someone can give a reason why the radiator system doesn't just have and additional litre or two of air volume at the top of the tank to allow for expansion, preferably arranged so it's can't be overfilled.

I have a hunch it's so the pressure does build up to the 15psi sort of like a regulator so increasing the pressure of the coolant, increasing the boiling point and preventing boiling at hot spots around the block. If there were more free volume of air the pressure would take longer to build up?
 
UPDATE

so I have been running it for a few weeks now. And, I can report that it works as planned. This is proof of concept for any and all doubters. Here are a few picts of it mounted and in use.

nalgene7.jpg


nalgene8.jpg


nalgene9.jpg


That being said, the 1 and only 'concern' I do have is that contrary to my initial thought, 32oz is a bit small. 32oz is about what I had in the original overflow as backup, so it does not leave much for expansion. becuase of that, I really think that 64oz would be best and 32oz is too small. So, now that I have proven I can make it work (solid mount, no leak, stable, etc) - I am going to try to source out a bigger square Nalgene and make a V3. In using this, I also have the bonus of it taking up less space and mounting in a place that is much better than the original cheezy reservoir. (yes, the dark lexan plastic and photos make the liquid appear much greener and heavier in anti-freeze content than it really is - look at the hose for a better indicator.)

UPDATE: FWIW, I started doing reserch on the size of radi overflow containers and see that many places (like Jegs, Whitneys, etc) sell many that are, in-fact, only 1 quart (32 oz). So, it seems that this size I picked is actaully pretty common. So, I am going to keep running it as I have and stick with the 32oz one. Maybe it was the size of the one I took out (maybe 2 quarts) that made me think you must have a larger overflow container than 32 oz - though I never called upon that much space.

What happened to the pics?
 
hey - I am not totally MIA.. sometimes I lurk, but don't log in and post :) But I am around and still active with my FJ no doubt. As I told Hugh, been into building and shooting my ARs more and more so spend a lot of time with those and of course, as I have for 20 years and sometimes mentioned here, still traveling the world and USA racing multi-sport events. my #1 passion.

Anyway.. I use my own server to host the images. However, I am shocked to see they are not there. I have not been active much these days - still use my FJ nearly daily though - except for our recent epic rainfall in SoCal - but still expected the images to be there and can't explain, since I host them, where they went??

so, I now need to dig them up off an older drive and repost them on my server using the same names. Locally, I dont have them, so they must be on an older drive. I plan to source them out and repost them.
 
hey - I am not totally MIA.. sometimes I lurk, but don't log in and post :) But I am around and still active with my FJ no doubt. As I told Hugh, been into building and shooting my ARs more and more so spend a lot of time with those and of course, as I have for 20 years and sometimes mentioned here, still traveling the world and USA racing multi-sport events. my #1 passion.

Anyway.. I use my own server to host the images. However, I am shocked to see they are not there. I have not been active much these days - still use my FJ nearly daily though - except for our recent epic rainfall in SoCal - but still expected the images to be there and can't explain, since I host them, where they went??

so, I now need to dig them up off an older drive and repost them on my server using the same names. Locally, I dont have them, so they must be on an older drive. I plan to source them out and repost them.

What you need to dig up is that white star next to your name, wantatlc.
 

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