varied coolant systems

[mike90045]

Looking at the Utterpower  CD, they listed a couple ways to deal with cooling the listeroids. 
Blocking lower coolant port and using a condenser only on  upper port
Blocking lower coolant port and using as a boiling hopper
Pumped coolant thru rad or heatEx or large open top drum

I'm thinking for just starting, of the boiling hopper method, with a antifreeze mix. Maybe run in 15 min cycles, till I get it broken in, and a more elaborate cooling system rigged up. Antifreeze should also raise the boil point some too, any guess as to the limit of the cylinder O rings? (Looking at the book, Metro may not have a liner/O ring, or do they not count that as a part? book only lists cylinder)

[Ronmar]

Well if you are going to hopper cool, I think you should skip the antifreeze.  I wouldn't think pushing the temp above 212F with an "enhanced" boiling point would be that good of an idea...  As for breakin, I would reccomend longer than 15 minute runs.  You need to get it up to temp and keep it there huffing away under load...  

As long as you keep the pipe out of the head as large as possible, hopper cooling should work OK.  Just don't let it boil dry.  You need as little restriction as possible on the pipe on the head to allow cool water to replace that boiled in the head.

IMO, a proper cooling system isn't that much more difficult than a proper hopper would be to piece together.  A small junkyard radiator mounted so the passages are vertical, some hose, and bobs your uncle:)

[NoSpark]

I've seen a lot of people use a 5 gallon bucket hung from the ceiling, thermosyphon of course. But then it would be just as easy to start with a small radiator also.

[bschwartz]

5 gallons heats up pretty quickly if you put the engine under load.  And I agree, it must be longer that 15 minute runs or ring glazing is a possibility.  I wasn't happy with the upper port size for hopper cooling.  I immediately went to a 30 gallon (because I had it laying around) drum and two hoses about 2 feet long thermosiphon.

[WGB]

Sorry if I missed it elsewhere, but did you do a pull down and clean up yet Mike?
I like my barrel hook up, cheap and easy.

[mike90045]

Sorry if I missed it elsewhere, but did you do a pull down and clean up yet Mike?
I like my barrel hook up, cheap and easy.

Not yet, I've just gotten the spares (polished tappet set from Allmand, rings, bearing shells from Phil CMD, Lister t-shirt from Outlaw Books) and wont get to the engine till mid-Feb.  Will bring more oil, fuel lines, shaft collar, chinese pot metal wrench set and teflon tape and try to get it going - if I get it off the crate. Looks like a 1,000 lb hoist from horrible freight may work - unless the 6/1 is more than 1K ?

[mbryner]

If you take it apart it's not "that" heavy.   With the flywheels off, I was able to move mine around fairly easily with a come-along attached to a beam stretched across several of the roof trusses in the garage.  You can easily create a lifting point with piece of channel iron over the head bolts.

[Ronmar]

A 6/1 weighs about 750#.  Head, cylinder and piston/rod come off in a few minutes.  Flywheels take a bit more time to remove.  Once the wheels are off, the crank is only 6 nuts away from removal.  Once the engine is stripped, the flywheels are the single heaviest parts.  They roll easy enough, and I can lift/carry the remaining components.  If this is a new engine, pulling the wheels is a good idea to confirm proper key fit anyway.

When assembled, and on the generator frame, I move it egyptian style.  I use prybars to lift it up onto blocks and then pipe rollers.  Once on rollers, you can move several thousand pounds with the push of a hand, or even easier with a prybar.

[Fat Charlie]

I got a hoist from a guy on Craigslist.  I ran a tow strap down under the crankshaft, up and over the top of the hoist, then back down under the other side of the crankshaft and back to the hook.  I also tied a rope around the upper end of the engine to keep it from rotating around the crankshaft. 

It was ugly, but it worked and was fast.  The only problem with engine hoists is that their legs can be close together.  I had to dismount the wooden base in midair and then do some stretching to keep the engine oriented properly while slowly lowering it.