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Water Pressure Gage?
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Ed McKinley
A brain is a terrible thing to be left on its own without supervision.
I've been thinking again and have a question for Hobert and others. What about installing a water pressure gage in the copper radiator pipes that will turn on a red light and, better yet, sound a buzzer at loss of water pressure that I assume would accompany a burst water hose? Are there gages sensitive to as low as 5lbs plus/minus? Would steam production from the overheating engine create enough pressure to defeat this system? I have thought about this through the years because I heard so many stories about vanagon engines destroyed by loss of water. Last few years, however, I stopped thinking about it because I have now driven my van over 100k miles (174k total) without any water problems and that includes repaired heads (pitted heads filled). Only recently has compression dropped below 100 in two cylinders. I replaced most my hoses at 110k and am replacing all the heater hoses this time (Thanks to Ken Wilford of Van-Again). So maybe this is, once again, redundant behavior. In my 1970 bus I spliced the oil pressure light into the door buzzer alarm. I was rewarded the day an oil pressure galley plug blew out and left a 2.5 quart trail of oil as my wife pulled over to the side of the road. I think the engine might have gotten cooked if the buzzer didn't sound. I'm not sure how quickly a driver would notice a red light on a sunny day. Too much thinking? |
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KEP
A simple pressure gage would show the engine had warmed up to the 15 PSI it
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should operate at. A differential pressure gage would show a pressure drop but that is no indication that the water is flowing. A flow meter would work but not worth the expense and effort. I recommend an aftermarket temperature gage connected near the outlet of the engine, and enough presence of mind to notice the red light, then read the gage and if necessary go to the nearest gas station or source of water. It can go a few gentle miles without damage when low on water. Subaru engines are cheap to replace compared to a Waserboxer. Hobert Kennedy Kennedy Engineered Products 38830 17th St. East Palmdale, CA 93550 (661) 272-1147 ----- Original Message -----
From: Ed McKinley <edmc@...> To: <subaruvanagon@...> Sent: Monday, May 22, 2000 2:14 PM Subject: [subaruvanagon] Water Pressure Gage? A brain is a terrible thing to be left on its own without supervision. |
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