Mailing List flyrotary@lancaironline.net Message #6317
From: Tracy Crook <lors01@msn.com>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Re: Cooling System Dynamics
Date: Sun, 7 Mar 2004 12:00:34 -0500
To: Rotary motors in aircraft <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
 I still haven't heard anyone describe an incident that actually happened where a coolant level indicator did or even could have detected a problem that actually happened that a pressure reading did not or could not detect at least as well.
 
Jim S
 
All this talk of coolant levels is misleading.   Ed Andersen hinted at the actual events going on inside the cooling system in an earlier message.  As he said, the coolant flow is like a fire hose, not like a placid pond with a leak at the bottom.  A coolant level detector would not have helped in my actual coolant loss event.  Proper attention to my pressure gauge would have.
 
 When the level drops and air or steam is entrained in the coolant, the water pump whips the coolant into a froth that gets increasingly "airy" until the pump will no longer function (the dynamics of which I will not expound on). 
 
The best advice I can give is to learn the behavior (not just the static reading) of your coolant pressure gauge and pay attention to any anomaly.  It tells the whole story IF you know how to interpret it.
 
Tracy Crook
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