Volvo 2030 coolant header tank

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davidej

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Our boat doesn't have one but I have noticed that a number of boats with this engine do.

If I fill our heat exchange above the top of the tubes, it seems to throw any excess out.

Would fitting a header tank from a scrap-yard be a good idea?
 
I have the 2030B which had no plastic bottle. However I have the overflow tube taken to a plastic bottle. Occasionally overflows if I over fill it. a little bit over the top of the tubes seems to be sufficient for me. Perhaps your pressure cap has got weak and needs replacing.
 
There were a few references to these engines throwing out excess water in PBO over the past few years. The only guy who claimed a complete cure had a header tank, which he removed from its engine muont and fitted to the bulkhead, thus isolating it from vibration. It seems that the vibration can prevent the pressure cap from sealing all the time, so if you decide to try fitting a header bottle, it won't need a mounting bracket on the engine for best effect. If there is no header, expansion as the engine heats up will always blow out a certain amount of water, though. That is why header tanks are used to cope with the expansion.

Rob.
 
This is the header tank that can be fitted

11A is a level alarm sensor

15865.jpg
 
VicS said:
This is the header tank that can be fitted

11A is a level alarm sensor

15865.jpg
Click to expand...

Looks like the whole kit and caboodle would cost around £7-800 at their prices.

I thought the Bavvy I saw just had a simple tank connected to the overflow pipe, though I am not sure how the coolant would flow back to the engine without some modification of the cap on the heat exchange.
 
My Yanmar has the overflow pipe going to a plastic bottle above the level of the header tank. The pipe in ends a few mm above the bottom of the bottle. The level in this bottle goes up, when the engine is hot and it's sucked back again when the engine cools.
The last 3 diesel Peugeots I've had sported a similar layout.
 
davidej said:
Our boat doesn't have one but I have noticed that a number of boats with this engine do.

If I fill our heat exchange above the top of the tubes, it seems to throw any excess out.

Would fitting a header tank from a scrap-yard be a good idea?
Click to expand...
Mine is a 2020 and had a similar problem of blowing the . The cause was the exhaust elbow was restricted by carbon build up. Suggest you check yours first before fitting an expansion tank.
 
I have a 2020. I have previously checked the coolant level by removing the pressure cap on the heat exchanger and peering inside. If I can't see any water, I have added more until it stays visible. The next time I check I find a pool of coolant under the engine. Now I've come to the conclusion that I have been overfilling and have inserted the overflow tube into an old plastic bottle to catch the overflow. I have recently run on engine for 14 hours continuous, no problem and the engine has been run for maybe 50 hours since I adopted this practice. It works. I don't disagree with the suggestion that the exhaust elbow may be blocked, it may be, but you may simply be overfilling. Thanks Alan
 
Laundryman said:
I have a 2020. I have previously checked the coolant level by removing the pressure cap on the heat exchanger and peering inside. If I can't see any water, I have added more until it stays visible. The next time I check I find a pool of coolant under the engine. Now I've come to the conclusion that I have been overfilling and have inserted the overflow tube into an old plastic bottle to catch the overflow. I have recently run on engine for 14 hours continuous, no problem and the engine has been run for maybe 50 hours since I adopted this practice. It works. I don't disagree with the suggestion that the exhaust elbow may be blocked, it may be, but you may simply be overfilling. Thanks Alan
Click to expand...

The same applied for the Perkins Perama M30 I had on my previous boat and which is essentiallythe same engine: no header tank and any overflow via a small plastic pipe straight to the bilges. The coolant levelled out just covering the pipe stack in the heat exchanger.
 
There's a lip inside the heat exchanger housing which indicates the fill level.

If it's overfilled, it'll just push it out anyway. No big deal. To spend hundreds of pounds just to put the bit of coolant which escapes when hot back in again once cold would be unnecessary madness in my opinion.

What else does the header tank do besides making achieving the ideal fill level less of a precision affair?
 
youen said:
Please where do you find the lip inside the heat exchanger.Thanks
Click to expand...

If you can get your head directly above the coolant filler opening and shine a torch inside, you should see a protrusion in the casting presenting a horizontal surface facing up towards you. It has a rough cast finished surface. The coolant is at the correct level when it is at the level of that surface.

If you have the manual for the engine, I'm fairly certain that there is an illustration of the level indicator, and it's a lot easier to identify from this as there are a few other bumps and protrusions in there which might be confused with the correct one.

It also might be wise to verify that I'm definitely telling you to look for the correct lump as it's some time since I looked at the manual.

On a side note, beware of simply sticking your finger in the filler neck to feel the level. The casting is so rough and holds so much moisture that your finger can come out feeling wet enough to lead you to believe that you've dipped it into the coolant, when it's actually just picked up moisture from the rough surfaces. A couple of times, I've felt for the coolant level, thought it to be spot on, then doubted it and made a visual check only to find that the coolant was a little low there was no way I'd actually dipped my finger into it.
 
youen said:
Please where do you find the lip inside the heat exchanger.Thanks
Click to expand...

Simondjuk said:
If you can get your head directly above the coolant filler opening and shine a torch inside, you should see a protrusion in the casting presenting a horizontal surface facing up towards you. It has a rough cast finished surface. The coolant is at the correct level when it is at the level of that surface.

If you have the manual for the engine, I'm fairly certain that there is an illustration of the level indicator, and it's a lot easier to identify from this as there are a few other bumps and protrusions in there which might be confused with the correct one.

It also might be wise to verify that I'm definitely telling you to look for the correct lump as it's some time since I looked at the manual.

On a side note, beware of simply sticking your finger in the filler neck to feel the level. The casting is so rough and holds so much moisture that your finger can come out feeling wet enough to lead you to believe that you've dipped it into the coolant, when it's actually just picked up moisture from the rough surfaces. A couple of times, I've felt for the coolant level, thought it to be spot on, then doubted it and made a visual check only to find that the coolant was a little low there was no way I'd actually dipped my finger into it.
Click to expand...

coolantlevel.jpg
 
Some Perkins industrial units are fitted with an overflow recovery tank so any coolant overflow caused by pressure and expansion is taken back up into the engine as it cools perhaps this keeps air out of the system if the engine is continually being restarted such as an air compressor or generator.

For illustration see page 65 http://www.northernlights-generatoren.nl/documents/M843NW3/P843-3%20parts.pdf
 
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VicS said:
coolantlevel.jpg
Click to expand...


That's the one. Thanks Vic.

It means almost nothing when you look at the drawing alone but it's plain to see which part the spur is when you have a proper look inside the filler neck. On my particular engine, anything above the spur gets pushed out so that's the level I top up to.
 
Ruffles said:
The overflow pipe connects AFTER the pressure relief valve in the cap. So surely there's no way it will suck water back from a header bottle? You would need to modify the cap.
Click to expand...

A pressure cap has a double valve. The main one opens to relieve any excess pressure. A smaller one opens to allow air in/ break the vacuum when the system cools.

But it does need the cap to seal on the filler neck for the overflowed coolant to be drawn back in.
 
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