Thread: Radiator recovery tank

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Radiator Recovery Tank

What are the advantages of a closed vs. open system? I have a JEG's coolant recovery tank that can be configured either way.

any recovered cooling system is closed actully, the 1's with the vent/ overflow tube generally hold less ( hence the reason for the overflow tube ) and fit in smaller spaces, but ither recovery tank, open or closed will still fill the radiator back up as the engine cools with the correct radiator cap ( must have vacuum valve on the bottom ).. a catch can works diffrently, as there is no tube that leads to the bottom of the can, so it only catches fluid. you would have to continually drain the excess out and is not practical for street use

Lets put it this way. My T was originally built in the 1960. I have tried to keep it as it was as best I can, with considerations to safety overriding the originality aspect. I did put a recoverey system on it for these reasons. I got tired of it puking antifreeze on my driveway. I got tired of having to refill it every time I shut the motor off. It was overheating after a couple hard runs because the coolant was gone. The puked coolant was damaging the paint. The fan would pick up the dribble and spray it over the windshield an that stuff is hard to get off.
Now if your is an open bay, any kind of closed but vented container that suits your fancy can be used as a recovery tank but a recovery type cap must be used for all recovery systems. With a little effort, one can be found that looks like the old style caps if that is important. Myself, I used a WWII brass us gov raingauge as a tank because I felt that was the kind of thing that would have been used if recovery systems had beeen in use at that time. On my 1961 bonneville, I used a wiper tank out of a 60 Cadillac because the look fit the era.
For a closed bay car, the Jegs system will blend right in.
The things that could be a problem are the tank should be at least as high as the top of the radiator to prevent siphoning. Mine aren't and it is not a problem but it could be. The hose to the tank must be leak free or it will put the coolant in the tank and leave it there.
This system is simple, easy to install and normally trouble free. I can't think of a reason to not install it but a lot of reasons to do it.
Oh yeah, the tank has to be reasonably heat resistant.

All, thanks for the info. I decided to go with a closed system and installed a JEGS powered coated tank.