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 Post subject: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 29, 2015, 8:01 pm 
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Joined: December 7, 2012, 8:28 am
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Location: Sarasota
One of the local open wheel drivers has a swirl pot on his car which looks similar to this.
http://www.mellowyellow.westfield-world ... /cos16.jpg
I want to install one inline right before the radiator to allow the coolant to aerate and also allow the radiator to be completely full for more efficient cooling. Currently there is a few inch gap at the top of the radiator for expansion. I feel the radiator would work much better if it was full of coolant and a swirl pot took car of the expansion.

Anyone know where I can get one fairly cheap. i think they may be called something else int he US as most of the ones I see are on UK or Australian sites and they are either custom made or crazy expensive. It seems to me this should be a $50-$100 part. Let me know if anyone has a good cheap solution. If a production car has what I need that will work as I can go to the scrap yard for one.

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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 29, 2015, 8:37 pm 
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Joined: October 23, 2010, 2:40 am
Posts: 1450
wrightcomputing wrote:
One of the local open wheel drivers has a swirl pot on his car which looks similar to this.
http://www.mellowyellow.westfield-world ... /cos16.jpg
I want to install one inline right before the radiator to allow the coolant to aerate and also allow the radiator to be completely full for more efficient cooling. Currently there is a few inch gap at the top of the radiator for expansion. I feel the radiator would work much better if it was full of coolant and a swirl pot took car of the expansion.

Anyone know where I can get one fairly cheap. i think they may be called something else int he US as most of the ones I see are on UK or Australian sites and they are either custom made or crazy expensive. It seems to me this should be a $50-$100 part. Let me know if anyone has a good cheap solution. If a production car has what I need that will work as I can go to the scrap yard for one.
They are not hard to make if you have access to a Tig. Just a fat piece of aluminum tube, some end caps, a couple of weld-on nipples and a filler neck. Low cost and built to suit your car's cooling plumbing arrangement.

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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 29, 2015, 9:22 pm 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
Posts: 1615
Location: central Arkansas
I've used these: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway- ... ,1840.html

I spliced it into the heater lines so there was flow through it all the time. Mounted up on the firewall, it was almost a foot higher than the radiator. 20-pound cap on the radiator, 15-pound cap on the tank.

Filling the system, I'd fill and cap the radiator, the top off the tank. It took less than a gallon so it didn't take long.


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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 29, 2015, 9:52 pm 
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Joined: June 8, 2010, 8:02 pm
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Location: White Rock, BC, Canada
I used a new OE plastic tank for my reservoir. Came from a Chev Aveo (Daewoo), small, light, and cost all of $5 including 16psi cap.

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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 30, 2015, 9:03 am 
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Joined: February 8, 2014, 10:47 pm
Posts: 781
Location: Cornelius OR
These are only necessary when the radiator is not the highest point in the cooling system.

This creates a safe high point in the system, Usually in the heater loop with a bleed line to the top of the radiator to purge air from radiator.

You do not want any air in the cooling system, air = corrosion = loss of cooling.
this does not replace a coolant recovery bottle, which keeps the air out of the system by returning coolant that is naturally expelled by thermal expansion.

Some kind of sacrificial anode is also wise to give the galvanic current caused by dissimilar metals some place to go that is not expensive.

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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 30, 2015, 10:13 am 
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Joined: October 13, 2011, 9:19 am
Posts: 1343
Location: Denver Co
Look up surge tank.

I have one like this but it is more of an expansion/surge tank with a catch.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=16903&start=45

SURGE TANKS

Also known as expansion tanks, fill cans and header tanks

Using a surge tank as part of your racecar cooling system is a very good decision. Any proper racecar cooling system will incorporate a surge tank. When used properly, it is the ideal manner of filling your system, trapping air, and moving the radiator cap from vulnerable areas where pressure surges can unseat the cap momentarily.

On the return side of a cooling system, pressure can surge as high as 45-50 psi. This is due to sudden changes in pump speed (RPM related) and characteristics of the heat cycle as well as circulation in the system. When the radiator cap is on the radiator, particularly the return side, it is susceptible to this condition. A surge tank isolates the cap from these areas.

Surge tanks should be mounted as high as possible, at the highest point in the cooling system, to serve as an air trap and means for expansion. Plumb a –10 line to the water pump and a –6 line from the highest point of the radiator to the surge tank. This draws air to the tank where it is trapped. Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank should be air space to create an air “spring” allowing for temperature expansion. Purging all air from the system is the ultimate goal. To optimize the cooling system and insure that all air is purged, use a swirl pot in the return water line in combination with the surge tank.

Due to the unique nature of swirl pots, C & R recommends that each specific application and system be evaluated to determine optimum performance. Therefore, C & R Racing does not offer a “generic” swirl pot, but will tailor a custom swirl pot to your system.


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 Post subject: Re: Swirl pot
PostPosted: September 30, 2015, 2:49 pm 
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Location: Cornelius OR
I would not take that quoted text verbatim. It would seem that the sales department has quoted some theories out of context and has also offered some conflicting ideas.

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