coolant recovery on vintage tractors

[docmirror]

Has anyone rigged up a plastic coolant recovery tank and plumbed to the overflow of the radiator?

I always leave 2-3" below the top of the rad cap for expansion. My cap on my TO-30 is 5PSI, and it looks like it could do recovery back through the cap if I had a short hose, and small tank.

I'm thinking of this after having two radiators rodded out due to corrosion. I don't like buying cheap new radiators, they seem to split easy and they also don't transfer heat as well as the originals.

 

[MSD]

I took an overflow tank from an older pickup and run a hose to it for the expansion tank on my pulling G. Works good. When it gets warm there is about 2-3 inches
in the tank and when it cools down there is about 1 inch in it. I've seen guys take a plastic water bottle and run a hose to it and it seemed to work also.

 

[redforlife]

I always just fill brim full, let it
overflow due to heat, and let it find its
own level after cool down. I usually don't
add any if just checking level and it's
only an inch or two low. I always fill back
to completely full if I notice the level is
below the top of radiator tubes.

If cool down creates a draw from the
overflow tube, a reservoir would work.
Without a draw, it won't work. It'll just
capture the overflow, and it will just sit
there, even upon cool down.

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley RIP]

You shouldn't be overflowing the radiator. RAD is plugged if it is. Overfilling is not advised. Overheating? Get radiator to a shop and have them flush and clean out
debris. Rad shops are hard to find nowadays but they are out there.

Tim Daley (MI)

 

[MarkB_MI]

You can buy aftermarket coolant recovery kits, although I don't know why you would bother. As long as there's coolant over the radiator tubes when cold, there's no need to add more coolant. I believe manufacturers started using coolant recovery when lower hood lines caused them to go to side tank radiators, making it desirable to keep the radiator full of coolant. I don't think coolant recovery will reduce corrosion, if that's what you're thinking.

Note that the stock radiator cap probably can't do recovery, and you probably can't find a recovery cap that fits your radiator and is also low pressure. Recovery caps have a second gasket that seals between the cap and the top of the filler neck; without this gasket there's no suction to pull coolant back into the radiator.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

If an old tractor is pushing coolant out the overflow you have some other issue,or over filling.Don't fill to the top just cover the core fins.

 

[John T]

While you can buy any sort of plastic recovery tank, you would need a correct top
fill cap with the small tube for connecting to the overflow hose. I cant prove if it
worked or not (maybe yes maybe no) to reduce/prevent corrosion, I changed coolant as
needed and added snake oils such as anti rust, water pump lube, etc etc etc......

John T NOT any radiator expert, consult mechanics and/or Google it.....

 

[Duner Wi]

What you propose works fine. Find a low pressure cap in 4 to 7 lb range with recovery feature is a little more difficult.As far as tanks that are not grotesque, aftermarket or I found one from very old Volvo that looks decent.

 

[moresmoke]

The gunk in the radiator comes from past years of bad
water and poor quality coolant. Use good fully formulated
coolant and distilled water and your cooling system will
stay clean.

 

[Tgrasher]

It is normal for coolant to expand and if
over filled to spew out until a certain
level is reached. On my tractors I place a
half gallon plastic jug with a hole drilled
in the plastic cap to match the hose coming
from the over flow tube. The jug sits in
front of radiator behind the grill and
works just fine.

 

[Janicholson]

Yes the cap needs to be one that seals to the rim of the neck with a neoprene gasket, not just a bronze springy surface. If no neck rim seal, the radiator will suck in air instead of replacement coolant. The cap must also be the correct poundage for controlling the internal pressure or the radiator can be ruined. Jim

 

[sotxbill]

The COOOOOL thing now... is to use a whiskey bottle for a coolant reservoir.

 

[Bruce(OR)]

Lowest NEW rad cap your likely to find is 7 psi. You might find an old one that has both rubber seals on it in
working condition. Get it checked to ensure it pops off at the rated value on old caps.
Recovery bottle is good to keep air out of the rad to reduce oxygenation of the coolant and extend it's life.
The head gasket has been working how long with either zero or maybe 4 psi? Now you stuff it to 7 psi, after 60
years? Nah, no problem with mission creep. N' Joy!