Traffic has been relatively light on the internet Stationary
Engine mailing list this month, largely due to the big event in our
annual calendar, the Tri-State Gas Engine Show at Portland, Ind. As
one wit put it, within minutes of arriving at the showground, there
was a group of friends from five countries the USA, Australia,
England, Holland, and Pittsburgh! The range of engines and
availability of parts at this show is unsurpassed, and even this
year’s rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm for a week of
intense, engine related indulgence and socialising.
The Antique Tractor Internet Servicegroup (ATIS) was setup not
far from the OFES (Oil Field Engine Society), and there was much
visiting between the two, particularly as we had our first oilfield
engine there, with one week to learn from experts how to start and
run it before she is shipped to England. So this month’s
article is in recognition of the close friendships between ATIS and
the OFES, being an answer to a question one list member posed
concerning his Reid, although the information will equally apply to
any tank-cooled engine.
As ever, the following comments reflect a variety of opinions
that surfaced during this discussion.
I need some direction in setting up a cooling tank for a 15 HP
Reid. The tank I plan to use is 5-foot tall, about 2-feet in
diameter. What height in relation to the cylinder does the bottom
of the tank need to be placed? Is there a certain length that the
pipes exiting the cylinder need to be before they turn towards the
tank? Do the pipes need to be horizontal, or level with the
cylinder? At what level, or position, do the pipes need to enter
the tank? Any help will be appreciated.
My opinion is that the pipe coming from the top of the cylinder
to the tank should enter the tank below the water level in the
tank, the pipe from the bottom of the tank to the engine should be
near the bottom of the tank, and probably a drain valve at the
bottom of the tank would be a good idea.
By keeping all pipes below the water level the water will
thermosiphon, with hot water entering the tank at the top and cool
water returning to the engine from the bottom of the tank.
The Lister cooling tanks (for working engines) all show the base
of the tank a few inches below the bottom connection to the engine,
to allow rust and sludge to drop out, and the top connection a fair
bit down from the top to allow for hot water to evaporate without
uncovering the top connection to the engine.
Make sure that the top pipe angles upwards towards the tank. If
it is level, it may get an air lock and the thermosiphon may stop
working.
I have not long finished the plumbing on my Blackstone – I set
it up to work on thermosiphon. The three main concerns for me
were:
First: top pipe to enter tank under the water level the tank
would be filled to so thermosiphon would work properly.
Second: that the bottom pipe (coming from underneath the tank)
had a drain tap fitted to it to allow the emptying after a run.
Third: an in-line tap (gate valve) which allows me to restrict
the flow of water running through the engine to allow it to run
pretty warm. My engine is an oil engine and it works much better if
it is running pretty warm.
For interests sake, I had my top pipe curved and running up on a
slight angle more for cosmetic reasons than anything else. I wanted
it to look good. I also have a dummy tank inside the tank which
only holds about one-third the amount of water you would imagine
from the outside tank.
I know nothing about Reid engines, but a tank 5-foot by 2-foot
would hold a s*%T load of water!! Do you really need that much? If
you rally it, you want to make sure you can drag it out of the bog
that is caused by all that water once you pack up. Could be a good
project to make a dummy insert, as well.
If you’re not actually going to be working your engine you
have great latitude here. I noticed that oilfield engines in the 15
HP range at Portland tended to have cooling tanks of around 30
gallons, but my tank that size is a bit small for my hard-working 6
HP Listeroid Diesel. Lister originally recommended 50 Imperial
gallons for temperate climates, 70 for tropical, for the 5 HP 5/1
diesel.
Your ideal arrangement for a thermosiphon setup would be to have
the line from the tank to the engine inlet (bottom line) near
horizontal, with the tank bottom nearly even with the bottom of the
engine’s cooling jacket, and the outlet line from the engine to
the tank sloping all the way up from the jacket outlet to the tank
inlet at a substantially higher level, but with enough space over
it that the outlet will always be covered with water when the
engine is running.
If you let the water fall below this level, you now have a
hopper-cooled engine, which will not circulate and cools by
boiling. If the top pipe doesn’t slope continuously upward, it
can lock with air or steam bubbles. I use a manually controlled
gate valve in the bottom line to restrict coolant flow for warmup.
If I forget and leave it closed, the coolant will boil and keep the
engine from overheating. Steam can escape up the top line to the
tank and the jacket will stay full of water. If the top line were
obstructed, steam would push water out of the head and out through
the bottom line, then the dry head would overheat and warp or
crack. An automatic thermostat really isn’t necessary with such
slow temperature changes as these engines encounter. If you want to
use a centrifugal pump to circulate water (not necessary), you have
a lot of latitude in tank and pipe placement. You just have to make
sure the jacket can’t siphon dry when it’s shut off.
I notice from the thread that important steps as I understand
them have been covered, especially to make sure there is a slight
rise in the pipe from the cylinder to the tank for the thermosiphon
effect. The hot water wants to rise. It also may serve you well to
have a flex coupling on one end for expansion and vibration
dampening.
I may have missed a post, but in some, not all, kerosene burning
installations the tank is plumbed so as to furnish water and not
circulate water. This regulates the temp at 212F, which is a good
operating temp for kerosene engines. In those, a line is sometimes
plumbed above the water level and provides some condensation to
return to the top of the tank above the water level. I have a 10 HP
FM Z on a wood splitter plumbed in this manner. The engine stays
full, operates as hopper cooled.
There has recently been a thread discussing the setup of a
thermosiphon cooling system for larger engines. I’d like to
offer an effective alternative that Craig Prucha developed. When we
setup a half-breed recently, we briefly considered a thermosiphon
cooling system and rejected it because of the hassle of an elevated
cooling tank.
Craig’s highly effective approach simply uses a 55-gallon
drum sitting on the ground or trailer near the engine. The cooling
water inlet to the engine is -inch heater hose. At the tank end of
the hose is a Rule Model 24 submersible bilge pump. It’s
12-volt, draws about 2 amps, and pumps 360-gallon-per-hour. The
discharge from the engine is also -inch heater hose dumping back
into the open-top drum.
Craig had done a lot of ‘product testing’ before finding
a pump that ran reliably in hot water. Tillie’s cooling tank
was nicely steaming whenever she was running. We ran her from
Monday through Saturday at Portland without recharging the battery.
My friendly local supplier sells these pumps for $16.95. It’s a
good idea to pack a spare pump so you can swap it out if it dies at
the show.
Good advice from people who have tried and tested these methods
of tank-cooling their engines!
Portland was also a time of transition, as we met up with both
Judy Whiteside, former advertising manger of Gas Engine Magazine,
and Richard Backus, the new editor. The changes in the magazine
were a topic of much discussion on the showgrounds, and as a group,
we wish the best to the outgoing team who have taken such good care
of our interests over the years, and every success to the new
staff.
Engine enthusiast Helen French lives in Leicester, England.
Contact her via email at: Helen@insulate.co.uk. Join the ATIS
mailing list at: http://www.atis.net.