People keep asking, “How much extra weight does the liquid cooling add?” I’m guessing between 20 and 30 pounds? That’s a terrible answer!
This page is for documenting the weight of components so we really know. I’ll keep updating as I go until we arrive just before the first start of my cooling system. That’s when I see if any water leaks out before starting the engine! The last piece of the weight puzzle will be when I put the nice green liquid coolant in.
Lets start with the two water pumps that live in the hellhole. Davis Craig EPW150 pumps. These weigh in at 2lbs 10.7oz each. One has the controller system which covers the pump and any fans. They are rated at 162liters per minute each.
5lbs 5.4 ozs Total so far… 5lbs 5.4ozs (I’ll keep a running total)
OK This is a really interesting one. I’m using a water to oil heat exchanger instead of an air cooled radiator. This weights in at 3lbs 15.8ozs. The radiator I WAS going to use weights in at 4lbs 3ozs. So would you agree that this is no change really from air cooled to liquid cooled for the oil? I am not going to count the nearly 4lbs in the extras from liquid cooling totals here.
This is the Left hand side (LHS) radiator with fittings and its duct so thats pretty close to the final weight. I am adding a couple of nutplates and the AN3 bolts. How pedantic do I need to be?
5lbs 2.3oz LHS Radiator raw This makes 10lbs 7.7ozs (running total)
The LHS (left hand side) radiator was finally ready last month (April 24) with the overflow tank.
I’m With the duct and tabs and brackets added we have:-
6lbs 0.9ozs (its slightly bigger than the RHS) So thats 16lbs 8.6ozs (running total)
Here’s the expansion tank and its pressure sensor.
1lb 12.5ozs So thats 18lbs 5.4ozs (running total)
Next up is this Y fitting and the hoses and that sensor.
1lb 9.8ozs So thats 19lbs 12.2ozs (running total)
Here’s the -12 hose from the outlet of the pumps to the Laminova heat exchanger.
8.7ozs That’s 20lbs 4.9ozs (running total)
The two radiators has SS supports. This one was 1.5ozs. I worked out that I have 6ozs total with 6 lengths of the stuff including two really stubby ones. Then I worked out the weight of the nuts and little bits of 90 degree brackets and came up with 2.4ozs.
8.4ozs That’s 20lbs 13.2ozs (running total)
This big -16 top hose came in at 11.2ozs and I have a second one on the other side almost the same weight. So thats 1lb 5.4ozs together.
That’s 22lbs 2.6ozs (running total)
Here’s the overflow bottle and bracket, 5.8ozs. There are a couple more things that go with this. The lower bracket and a bit of rubber hose. I’ll add them later as miscellaneous.
That’s now 22lbs 8.4ozs (running total)
This is the last pipe to weight. Its AN-16 so we have big fittings. 9.1 ozs
We are up to 23lbs 1.5ozs (running total)
Here are the final two items before the ‘water’. Yes, being a pusher configuration I am using two fans, one for each radiator. This is to add to my cooling if I’m stuck on the ground for protracted periods. The fan and fasteners and the brackets I’ve made come in at 1lb 0.8ozs Both fans would be 2lbs 1.6ozs.
We are up to 25lbs 3.1ozs (for our running total).
The last item will be the weight of the coolant water. Around 30lbs is looking about right.
With one radiator and bayonet fittings where is probably a good 5lb saving or more to be had. Another two pounds for the fans that might not even be necessary. I have the dual electric pumps, dual radiators and the best quality AN fittings I could get. I ditched all the stuff (that I paid a lot for) that came with the engine. They just didn’t feel right and I suspect they were very cheaply made. The threads just didn’t seem to do up easily on the fittings and when I needed more hose it was not compatible with what was available here in Australia. All my water system hoses and fittings are Speedflow. Quality was not cheap.