Coolant Recovery Tanks

You can complete your cooling system upgrade with one of Be Cool's high-quality coolant recovery tanks. As always, they follow Be Cool's philosophy of hassle-free installation. They insure that your cooling system will remain free of trapped air. Thus a puddle on the ground is avoided should your vehicle want to heat soak after shutdown.

Always top off your cooling system upgrade with a genuine Be Cool radiator cap. In addition to being great looking, these caps are designed to allow the use of coolant recovery systems where needed. As your system cools, you can be sure that the coolant in the recovery system is returned to the radiator.

These versatile aluminum tanks feature vented fill caps, built in mounting tabs, and a clear tube sight gauge.   Bottom and side ports allow this tank to be used as a recovery or an overflow catch tank.  Includes two 5/16" barbed fittings (one straight, one 90 deg), one socket hex plug, and one petcock drain fitting.

The heater core is a smaller version of the radiator that is used to keep your toes warm when it's cold outside. You may have heard the advice that if you car is overheating, turn the heater on full blast with the fan on high. This will cool the engine because the heater system is actually a secondary cooling system that behaves in the same way the main cooling systems works.

The heater core is usually mounted under the dash on the passenger side and is usually incorporated with the air conditioning system. Hot coolant is routed through the heater core through the heater hoses. A blower fan is also mounted there to direct air through the heater core and inside the car. The heater core draws its hot coolant directly from the engine and it returns to the water pump.

Pressure (Radiator) Cap:

The radiator cap acts as more than just a "lid" for your radiator; it keeps your engine cool by sealing and pressurizing the coolant inside it. As the coolant in the cooling system heat up, it expands. As it expands it creates pressure in the cooling system. As the pressure increases, the boiling point of the coolant increases. The radiator cap is a pressure relief valve that controls the amount of pressure in the cooling system. What makes this important is that the higher the temperature of the coolant is, the greater the temperature gap between it and the air temperature is. So a cooling system under a predetermined amount of pressure takes heat away from the engine faster, which makes it more efficient.

This pressure increase can raise the boiling point of the coolant by about 50 degrees. The hotter the coolant is, the faster the heat in it moves to the radiator and the air passing by. When the cooling system pressure reaches about 15 psi, the valve in the radiator cap opens allowing the coolant to leave the cooling system. The coolant flows from the radiator to the bottom of the overflow tank through the overflow tube.

When the cooling system cools down, a vacuum is formed inside the system and another valve inside the radiator cap opens allowing coolant to flow in from the overflow tank. This keeps air that can cause corrosion inside the cooling system out and insures the cooling system is always filled to maximum capacity.

Expansion (Overflow) Tank:

Nearly all cooling systems have a coolant recovery tank, often called an expansion or overflow tank. There is an overflow tube that goes from the radiator filler neck to the bottom of this tank through which the coolant flows back and forth. As the coolant expands, it flows out of the radiator into the tank. When the cooling system cools down, coolant is drawn back into the cooling system by vacuum. This maintains the proper level and keeps air out of the cooling system.