Up until now, I've just routed a rubber hose from my radiator down & out of the engine compartment. I've purchased an aluminum Be Cool catch can, with a brass nipple on the top and one on the bottom. How do I plumb this catch can? Is it intended to hold fluid and draw back into the radiator if needed? Thanks for your insight....

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Gregg Haskin
72 Chevelle SS
ZZ502 Crated RAT
Muncie M-20 4 speed
TEAM CHEVELLE #726 ACES #4486
"PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"
“What the heck are all these extra nuts & bolts for?”

My 72 Chevelle SS Restoration Website: www.wcvt.com/~ghaskin (http://www.wcvt.com/~ghaskin)

anyone?

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Gregg Haskin
72 Chevelle SS
ZZ502 Crated RAT
Muncie M-20 4 speed
TEAM CHEVELLE #726 ACES #4486
"PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!"
“What the heck are all these extra nuts & bolts for?”

My 72 Chevelle SS Restoration Website: www.wcvt.com/~ghaskin (http://www.wcvt.com/~ghaskin)

I wouldn't think it's designed to draw back into the engine. One, there wouldn't be the need for a second inlet/outlet and would require a different cap for the rad for coolant recovery.

My first guess would be the inlet (to catch overflow) would be at the top and the outlet (when canister gets full) would be at the bottom. A simple hose nipple would suffice for the top and either a petcock directly on the bottom or a hose leading to a petcock to drain it.

The idea of the catch can comes from racing to keep coolant off the track as much as possible in the case of overheating. W-a-y back when (early-mid 60's), we just used whatever aluminum can (soda or beer) we could find and it met the rules and stuck the stock hose in it. Kinda klutzy by today's standards though.

You might call Be Cool and ask them if it's for a coolant recovery system or a simple catch can. I talked to a rep about accurately measuring a radiator and he seemed knowledgable and very helpful.

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TC Gold #92/ACES #1709
67 SS & 67 Elky
Dale's Place (http://www.dalesplace.com)
Team 67 (http://www.team67.com)
Midwest Chevelle Regional Governing Council (http://www.midwestchevelles.com)
Integrity: If you have it, it doesn't matter - If you don't have it, it doesn't matter.

[This message has been edited by Dale McIntosh (edited 02-19-2002).]

The can allows more water to be loaded into the radiator. In times where the heat causes expansion the excess water heads to the can. When things cool back down and the coolant stram recondenses the water in the can is sucked back into the radiator.

The way it was before the can you if you filled the rad 100% as soon as the engine heated up you blew some water over board. With the can you catch the water and don't loose it.

oman: The action you describe is for a coolant recovery system however, I think there's something to be said for the procedure. Even in factory systems, you add coolant to the recovery tank, not the radiator. There is a different level for cool and hot. The radiator is filled to "normal", just covering the fins and not to overflowing. The recovery tank is also filled to the proper level. If coolant is required to be added back to the system, it's done at the recovery tank and not the radiator.

I believe the correct terminology of the "catch can" is to catch overflow without recycling or recovering it. If Be Cool is advertising this as a "catch can", then that's what it does and it's not for coolant recovery per se.

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TC Gold #92/ACES #1709
67 SS & 67 Elky
Dale's Place (http://www.dalesplace.com)
Team 67 (http://www.team67.com)
Midwest Chevelle Regional Governing Council (http://www.midwestchevelles.com)
Integrity: If you have it, it doesn't matter - If you don't have it, it doesn't matter.