Radiator Leak?

Brent, what is the relief valve in this system? I would be concerned about an engine getting hot enough to generate steam.
 
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nkaminar said:
Brent, what is the relieve valve in this system? I would be concerned about an engine getting hot enough to generate steam.
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He doesn't mention hose clamps on the short rubber hose, so I assume that's the "relief valve".
 
What Brent said. BTW, if it is aluminum and you can not get by with Aluma-seal the radiator is scrap. It sounds like no more than you drive it, and no more water than it takes I have two thoughts: 1 might snug that head gasket up a bit, 2 what Brent said.

Wonder if there was ever an anode added to the bottom or top tank. I had a streetrod with a aluminum radiator once, and I'd change that little plug each year (Prestone even) and was always amazed at the condition of the thing.
 
You could create a water seal. If the radiator exceeds ~5 psi it will blow the water seal.

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Water column is 0.44 psi per foot. So 5 psi would be 11.25 feet. Fresh water weighs about 64 pounds per cubic foot. There are 144 square inches per square foot, so 1 square inch by 1 foot high is 64/144 or 0.44 pound or 0.44 psi.

The mass is the same but the weight on the moon is a lot less so the column of water would have to be a lot higher. I think the water may boil off on the moon anyway because of the low atmospheric pressure there. If it gets cold enough because of the evaporation it will turn to ice but probably sublime anyway, like dry ice here on earth.
 
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nkaminar said:
Water column is 0.44 psi per foot. So 5 psi would be 11.25 feet. Fresh water weighs about 64 pounds per cubic foot. There are 144 square inches per square foot, so 1 square inch by 1 foot high is 64/144 or 0.44 pound or 0.44 psi.

The mass is the same but the weight on the moon is a lot less so the column of water would have to be a lot higher. I think the water may boil off on the moon anyway because of the low atmospheric pressure there. If it gets cold enough because of the evaporation it will turn to ice but probably sublime anyway, like dry ice here on earth.
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I thibnk it will be a while until we need to worry about overheating a Model A on the moon.
 
nkaminar said:
Water column is 0.44 psi per foot. So 5 psi would be 11.25 feet. Fresh water weighs about 64 pounds per cubic foot. There are 144 square inches per square foot, so 1 square inch by 1 foot high is 64/144 or 0.44 pound or 0.44 psi.

The mass is the same but the weight on the moon is a lot less so the column of water would have to be a lot higher. I think the water may boil off on the moon anyway because of the low atmospheric pressure there. If it gets cold enough because of the evaporation it will turn to ice but probably sublime anyway, like dry ice here on earth.
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Well that's not going to work, I must have doted an i and carried a decimal when I shouldn't have.

It still may work with a longer hose.

This is where I got my info.

568105
 

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Blockhead, The 14.7 psi air column is pressing down on both sides of the water column so it cancels out. The added pressure inside the radiator is what pushes on the water column and pops the pressure relief valve.

Back in the dark ages, we engineers used manometers to measure pressure. A whole rack of manometers were used for any significant experiment. The manometers were nothing more that a set of U shaped tubes with colored water in them. Mercury was used for higher pressures.

My grandpa made a vacuum pump that was a tube with mercury pumped in at the top so to trap air. I forget how high the tube was but it was high enough so that the air pressure at the bottom would not support the column of mercury. The trapped air would spit out at the bottom and a vacuum would be formed at the top where there was a tee fitting. 100 year old technology that is not used anymore.
 
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nkaminar said:
Back in the dark ages, we engineers used manometers to measure pressure. A whole rack of manometers were used for any significant experiment. The manometers were nothing more that a set of U shaped tubes with colored water in them. Mercury was used for higher pressures.
Click to expand...

We used to use mercury manometers to synchronize the carburetors on multiple cylinder motorcycle engines. One to each carb. They probably have something more sophisticated these days. Been years since I worked on a bike.
 
I had a head gasket that would seep after the engine cooled down, I tried Brent's method (post #19) and it cured the problem.
 
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