Stuart Turner cooling question

My Stuart R3 is tank cooled. The water circulation is not pumped.

At a recent rally some of us were having a conversation about the water level in the tank so I'm going to ask here. Should the water level in the tank be above or below the upper pipe?



Will there be any circulation if the water level is below the indicated top joint?

Above preferable on a non-pump cooled.

StuartTurnerSteve wrote:Above preferable on a non-pump cooled.

Thanks Steve.

Hi Garak, there was an article on setting up themo-syphon cooling system in the August 2020 issue, number 557, of the Stationary Engine Magazine, which you might find interesting. It specifically notes that the pipe from the top of the engine should actually be about 45 degrees up towards the tank top, not horizontal. However it does not mention what level the coolant should be at.

Neil.

Top hose should rise up from the head to the tank, 45degree is good but as long as it does rise it will work, if the pipe is too flat then it will work but will be slow in syphoning. If the engine is running on paraffin then the water level can be below the top pipe by about an inch, in fact Hamworthy actually state this in their handbook. I run my Petters this way and it helps to keep cylinder temperature up