Just getting started

[Jedon]

I hacked together a cooling system and hooked the generator head up to my Metro 6/1.
I used to have to start it with one squirt of ether but it starts right up easy now.
The wooden base is much better than the pallet it was shipped on, seems pretty smooth.
My mounting of the ST-5 leaves much to be desired, I need to come up with a better scheme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG2H1p34Rgs
-Jedon

[Carlb]

You may want to move that radiator closer to the engine and reduce the length of those pipes.  They appear to be unsupported and will probably break the bolts off the flanges over time.

Carl

[Jedon]

The radiator is resting on that rolling work table right now, I am planning on hanging a frame off the rafters to hold it in place. Do you think the metal pipes alone are too heavy? I have some left over PEX from the house plumbing, can that handle the heat instead of the galvi pipe? I didn't want the radiator right over the ST-5 in case of water leaks.

[XYZER]

I would get some automotive heater hose in there to keep the vibrations out of the radiator. I'm sure you are getting some vibration transfered to the radiator and with time you will have a leak for sure! IMO..........
Dave

[Jedon]

So I should just use automotive heater hose for the hole thing and ditch the steel pipe altogether?

[WGB]

Hey same unit as mine!
How did you ever get the fuel line and filter to stop leaking?
I made a new banjo fitting and used a filter I had.
You can see if you want.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vbvzzYZfL8

[Sodbust]

Got to start somewhere,, and if its cooling ,, it works..

I will tell you this from my mistakes.. All 3 of my Lister's are mounted on heavy I-beam,, or channel iron frames with the radiator mounts welded to the main frame,, as an upright.  Well no matter how much iron,, there is a constant shaking going on that works on the old car radiators I'm using.

My plans are is to make a self supporting stand alone radiator stand,, and allow the rubber coolant hoses to cancel the engine vibes to add some life to the radiator cores..

Sure glad a few true Lister nuts went to the effort to get this all set up for us..

Sodbust

[Jedon]

I thought the radiator pipes would dampen enough vibration, not like the car it was from was pampered!
Hehe I'll put in a concrete base eventually, just didn't have the time to do it for this year.

[billswan]

The radiator is resting on that rolling work table right now, I am planning on hanging a frame off the rafters to hold it in place. Do you think the metal pipes alone are too heavy? I have some left over PEX from the house plumbing, can that handle the heat instead of the galvi pipe? I didn't want the radiator right over the ST-5 in case of water leaks.

Pex can take the heat, but do you have a large enough diameter?

billswan

[Magic Jack]

Having had some experience with 6-1s breaking things--

If the engine moves at all, take all the weight you can from all the mounting flanges and try to mount nothing but flexible tubing to the  head.  If the engine is mounted to ground and doesn't move, solid pipes can be fixed to the head and it won't hurt anything.  Think of the leverage applied to the mounting flanges and the brittle nature of cast iron and govern accordingly.
 The low pressure fuel line should always be flexible or have a flexible section in it.  I like remote fuel tanks and cooling units and let the engine work alone instead of having (breakable) things hanging off of it.

Cooling schemes fascinate me and I about wore out a high dollar IR gun testing several of them on several engines over three years.  I found that it takes large tubing or pipes and short, steep runs to best run the thermo-siphon.   More complicated runs and small tubes can work, but circulation seems to be in surges instead of a steady rate. A water hammer caused by a tripping thermostat shooting hot water in a small line can break a connection and let the engine go dry.
I've used two inch diameter pipe and hose for the upper (exit) fitting up to six feet long and thirty inches of rise with no problems.

Cool place to hang out, this is.  Thanks for the invite.

[rbodell]

I would get some automotive heater hose in there to keep the vibrations out of the radiator. I'm sure you are getting some vibration transfered to the radiator and with time you will have a leak for sure! IMO..........
Dave

I have tried a couple of variations but on long pieces of pipe I used a hose on either end to prevent vibration transfer and the leverage exerted from long pipes.

The reason I used pipes was that long pieces of hose had a tendency to bend and have a low spot that interfered with circulation. Later I tried using just hose and wire tied a piece of 1x2 wood on the underside of the hose to keep it straight. I have been using that for a couple of years now with no problems.

[rbodell]

Having had some experience with 6-1s breaking things--

If the engine moves at all, take all the weight you can from all the mounting flanges and try to mount nothing but flexible tubing to the  head.  If the engine is mounted to ground and doesn't move, solid pipes can be fixed to the head and it won't hurt anything.  Think of the leverage applied to the mounting flanges and the brittle nature of cast iron and govern accordingly.

I was really lucky in that my engine didn't try to crawl out the door running on the floor. In fact a glass of water didn't even splash or fall off the valve cover. Even so, there is still a lot of vibration. I could feel it inside the house.

I read about 1 ton concrete slabs and all that but I tried something unconventional. I buried 2 RR ties with the top level with the ground. Then I bolted the engine, st head and pony engine all to 2 4x4's and lagged the 4x4's to the RR ties. No vibration anywhere. Not even rite next to it. It's been there for three years now

[Jedon]

WGB: I haven't really run it enough to find leaks, I'll keep an eye on that, thanks!

I just got 8ft of 1" heater hose and will use that instead of most of the 1" steel pipe.

My Metro has a water pump so although that's one more thing to break it does make cooling easier.

I got a water temp gauge and will install that along with the heater hose soon. I still need that thermostat housing flange and an exhaust vibration isolator.

Where do people get hour meters so I know when to do maintenance?

[akghound]

Sodbust and Majic Jack...
Good to find you guys over here. I wondered what happened to ya.

I concur with the keeping the rad seperate from the engine using hoses. Just be sure that they are large enough to allow for proper flow.
Ken Gardner

[Jedon]

I got 8ft of 1" heater hose to replace most of the steel pipe.
I'll get the thermostat flange extender from George, do I need a bypass loop if I do it that way?
Hour Meter: http://cgi.ebay.com/Hour-Meter-operates-on-120-Volts-AC_W0QQitemZ180346335443QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29fd7ab0d3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14