Can anyone suggest an easily-available source for a plastic radiator overflow tank?

This is the type that catches water overflowing from the rad cap, which gets sucked back in when the engine cools down (as opposed to a header tank).

I'm looking for one that's not too big...
...otherwise I'll have to start looking for a bottle made out of heavy-gauge polythene, and adapt it (note that there's no pressure involved in these tanks).

cheers,

David

David,
I used the overflow tank that came with the £10 micra radiator and electric fan from the scarppy. I needed to make a new outlet fro the pipe at the top to clear the nose cone. There's a piccy in Phots>Cairb> "Under bonnet front view". The only problem I've had is with over filling it at first. Seems OK on 2.0l pinto.

Colin

Most Jap cars have some sort of overflow bottle arrangement and I think that either mazda or toyota have some of the smallest, just have a nose in a breakers yard.

I have used one off a 7 series Volvo.They are cylindrical in shape (but laid longways, if you get my drift) and comes with a handy brcket that allows you to fix it almost anywhere. For some reason, always seem to stay very clean too. Another one worth looking at is the 3 series Volvo too, flatish rectangular in shape and held in situ by one long bolt through the centre.

HTH Stu.

i think people have suggested using pushbike drinks bottles before - they come in nice looking alu ones as well.

Essentially, as all you need is a receptacle with a pipe pushed INTO the liquid at the bottom, and old plastic 500ml pepsi bottle would do the job too. Thats Locost!


atb

Steve

[Edited on 12/12/02 by stephen_gusterson]

Oops!
Or not, as the case maybe...
There was me listing good header tanks.....

But I must ask the question. Why dont you want to use a header tank and have a totally sealed system?

stu - perhaps I should have made the pepsi joke more obvious

My car has a sealed system using an Astra tank, but that wouldnt have answered the question.


The 'turned aluminium' style bike drinks bottle I mentioned would look quite good - its been mentioned by other locosters. Its not so easy to find a tank from a breakers that looks decent. The heat, age and rust / antifreeze stains makes the plastic yellow. The volvo one must be an exception.


http://www.gearlink.com/shop/enter.html?target=Accessories.html


Look at the above link - at the page bottom - there are alloy bottles on there with chrome brackets that would look really neat. Perhaps not such a whaky idea after all.



I dont see there is any big advantage of either water system.

All a modern 'closed' system does is to allow air space in the tank that is then compressed by water expansion, thereby preventing water itself coming out.

In older style cars, you filled up the rad, and the car blew out what it needed to in order to create the air space.

By using a pipe into a bottle, you simply draw that water back in.

All three systems work.


atb

steve

PS

from memory, I think Farnell do poly bottles - the type that are used in labs. These are 'natural' translucent white. Lots of different sizes, and some come with a spout which MAY fit your expansion tube. They are pretty cheap if I recall - less than a pound or so.



[Edited on 12/12/02 by stephen_gusterson]

I found a nice brass header tank with pressure cap and mounting bracket under the bonnet of a rover 2600, it also had a thermostat fitted to an inline housing with a teepiece. I removed the thermostat and used the tee setup in the bottom hose to connect the manifold return pipe and header tank to.
Paul.

quote:

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Originally posted by stephen_gusterson
stu - perhaps I should have made the pepsi joke more obvious

My car has a sealed system using an Astra tank, but that wouldnt have answered the question.


The 'turned aluminium' style bike drinks bottle I mentioned would actually look quite good - its been mentioned by other locosters. Its not so easy to find a tank from a breakers that looks decent. The heat and age makes the plastic yellow. The volvo one must be an exception.


I dont see there is any big advantage of either water system.

All a modern 'closed' system does is to allow air space in the tank that is then compressed by water expansion, thereby preventing water itself coming out.

In older style cars, you filled up the rad, and the car blew out what it needed to in order to create the air space.

By using a pipe into a bottle, you simply draw that water back in.

All three systems work.


atb

steve

[Edited on 12/12/02 by stephen_gusterson]

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Indeed, in the scrappy there were three Volvo 7 series, and all three had bottles that had tanks that looked like new. Sealed systems probably have a slight advantage in that they usually incorporate a de-gassing pipe, the small breather pipe(s) that go from the top of the rad/engine to the header, ridding the system of trapped air. When I first bought my Westy, it suffered terribly from water getting thrown out of the cooling system and subsequently overheating. I converted the system to a header tank type (with a copper header tank off a Sherpa van-nice!). I fitted a flat sealing cap to the rad, and the original overflow was plumbed into the small inlet on the header. The top hose was then 'T'd off to provide a 1/2 inch inlet from the header tank to allow filling. Problem solved, and not a drop of water used from that point.

my rad is off a Volvo - i didnt check what kind - possibly a 240? - and I took the header tank too.

It was flat and quite a nice solid colour white plastic. I didnt use it in the end as it was a bit of a difficult shape to mount. The Astra one isnt exactly 100% great, but its a kinda 'ball' shape, that fits small spaces better. There seems to be a 3 pipe and 2 pipe version.

The Volvo rad has a 'bleed' pipe from the header into the original tank. I didnt use this - I opted instead for a very slight tilt to the rad to make the air go up the top hose. You wont see the rad once its behind my morgan type grille (sometime in 2012 I guess!)

atb

steve

apparently soakin the bottles in water with clothes washin powder cleans em

mitsi's hyundais and i think protons have overflow bottles that are moulded to the shape of the side of the rad

quote:

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Originally posted by johnston
apparently soakin the bottles in water with clothes washin powder cleans em

mitsi's hyundais and i think protons have overflow bottles that are moulded to the shape of the side of the rad

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Got a nice bottle & bracket off a Suzuki Swift.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
(although people do seem confused between an overflow tank and a header tank)

Loads of ideas, still haven't made my mind up... although I like the idea of the pushbike water bottle.

cheers,

David

Yep - Think they (the alu ones) would look cool.

The iste I put up was american - i guess there would be something more local!


atb


Steve.

With an Astra HEADER tank