Remote Coolant Tank – 6BTA 330

[Patrick Mangum]

Saw some photos on the Seaboard site showing custom remote coolant tanks.  I’m interested in doing the same.  Currently have the “L” shaped coolant tank that sits over the heat exchanger on the right side of the engine.  

Thinking of moving the tanks to the front bulkhead (I have access up to the front via a hatch) and running all new coolant hoses.  I could move the overflow bottle if needed.

Engine room is tight.  My reasoning for wanting to move the coolant tanks is to make heat exchanger service easier, gain more room between my engines, and solve some of the height issues in my engine room.  I know those tanks aren’t cheap especially if I need to go custom but from a long term perspective I think it would be worth it.  

Thoughts? TIA.

Topic

[Tony Athens]

Remote X Tank and plumbing

The small  bleeder lines to the top of the tank need to be max ID of 3/16″ to the various spots on the engine. 1/8″ ID will work.   Bigger than that and the engine will /may overheat–WHY?  Because all bleed water by-passes the HX.. The make-up line on the bottom on the tank = 5/8″ minimum ID,   3/4″ ID preferred. 

[donald roth]

Tanks can be built fairly easily from tubing, round, square, rectangular.       You will need to weld on mounting brackets, ends and fittings.  If you do the fabrication carefully, the welding costs will be minimal.  It might even become a dual purpose item, like the exhaust tubes somewhere on here that serves also as deck supports.

 

[Francis Valerio]

Those lines that go from the remote tank to the turbo and manifold cap etc… are only for allowing air to not  get bound up in the system.  Like a vent.  They need to be small diameter hose and I believe that 3/16″ hose is a better alternative.

This will prevent any significant amount of coolant to recirculate in the system and by-pass where it needs to go.

 

[Patrick Mangum]

Coolant Line Size

Found the remote tanks on the Seaboard website.  All good there.

Can I use 5/16 size heater hose for the lines going from the tank to the various components (turbo, manifold cap..)?

 

[Patrick Mangum]

Sourcing a tank

Thanks Tony.  The file downloaded just fine.  

Any idea where I could buy one of those black tanks in the attached photo?  

For running the coolant lines, do you think I could run a “main line” from the tank to a small manifold mounted inside the engine room and have my connections there going to each respective component?  I guess the main line would need to be maybe 1″ or 3/4″ hose?  Just thinking of how I could keep the plumbing clean and simple…

[Tony Athens]

Remote X-Tanks

A few pics of what we have done. It’s a ZIP file …. I think it will down load.

[Patrick Mangum]

Looking for some help here…

Attached are some photos of the area I plan on placing the remote coolant tank.  Took measurements of my current tanks and they hold about 2.75 gallons.  I just need to find a suitable tank that will fit in the space.  Ideally I could mount both my expansion tank here and my plastic overflow bottle.  Some of the coolant tanks I’ve seen on Amazon have a sight glass on the side, nice feature but the tanks are all too small.  

If anyone has any source for a suitable tank that would be appreciated.

On the website I see a remote tank installation that has a small shut off valve located in the line going into the manifold cap.  What’s the reason for this valve?  

 

[Woo]

I was fortunate that I could use the factory front/top mounted tanks and recovery bottles supplied with my remans. Pictures tell the story. Engines under the floor obviously. <br />As for capacity, the 330 and 370 use the same tanks. <br />Mine would be lucky if they were 2 gallons, though in general terms, the larger the better. I’m certain you could find a suitable alternative, even an automotive type plastic remote tank which is quite commonly used in motor vehicles these days.

[Patrick Mangum]

@Woo – Thanks for your input and those photos.  Do you happen to have any photos of your actual tanks?  I think I would actually need to mount the tanks outside of the engine room and plumb it from there.  I have void spaces on each side of my helm deck area that are accessible via removeable hatches, I think I’ll have to use these areas to ensure the tank is above the engine.  I would need to create a hole through the deck and run the hoses through.  

I’m wondering if I fabricate a custom bracket, I may be able to use my current tanks.  I got a quote for a “semi-custom” tank and for 1 tank it was over $2k. 

Tank capacity should be around 5 gallons.  Does this sound correct?  

[Woo]

Can be done, however the tanks must remain higher than the engines.

I did exactly this for similar reasons, height and space constraints.

I extended all hoses matching factory specs, ensuring the hose runs allowed no low points to hinder easy filling and bleeding, and mounted my factory tanks out of the engine room, under the side deck behind salon couches on each side, with a hatch for each for simple access. The tanks are probably 20 inches higher than the engines.

The recovery tanks are mounted nearby, you can see one in the background of pic attached. And the second pic on left of picture you can see the hoses entering the engine room from the remote tanks. Sorry the pics are a bit rubbish.

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Tony Athens

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