[Alberg30] RE; cooling system

[George Dinwiddie]

First, some background:  There are two styles of Atomic 4 and they
differ considerably in the cooling system.  The old-style has a
thermostat mounted on the exhaust manifold outlet.  I believe that
it works by routing some heated water back through the engine to
regulate the temperature.

The new-style has the thermostat mounted on the head, with a domed
cover over it.  These thermostats look something like an auto
thermostat, but they work a little differently.  At the same 
time they're opening to let more water through the block, they're
closing off the bypass flow (the hose that runs from the 
starboard side of the engine to the thermostat housing).  The
dual flow is needed to provide cooling for the manifold and
exhaust no matter what the engine temperature.

It's pretty simple to convert the old-style to a thermostat-less
system.  In fact, I've now got an old-style head and manifold
on a new-style engine and I'm running without a thermostat.
I've plumbed the system so that all the cooling water runs
through the engine all the time.

The new-style requires that you block the bypass hose in some
manner.  Some people put in a gate valve so they can regulate
the temperature manually.  [On a side note, sometimes too 
much water takes the bypass route, anyway, and forces the
thermostat.  Universal offered a restrictor for that hose
at one time; I believe there's information on this on Moyer's
website, http://www.moyermarine.com/]

To finally answer your question, yes, the engine does run too
cold, especially in the Spring before the water warms up, and
the plugs tend to foul with carbon.  It's not a great solution,
but it does work.

I think the ultimate fix is to make the thermostat work correctly
and put in closed-loop freshwater cooling to prevent corrosion.
That's what I plan to do on the engine that will replace the one
currently in the boat.

 - George

> DickInVA said:
> 
> I have a question on the same problem.  Can I remove the thermostat
> completely, or will the engine never heat up to the proper operating
> temperature?
> 
> MiLady #302
> Dick & Diana

-- 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  George Dinwiddie                             gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
  The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span those hours spent in
  sailing.                                    http://www.Alberg30.org/
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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