WTB A Radiator for Water Cooling a Zenoah G230

[Gyan]

Is there an RC rad out there somewhere??? Who makes it?

[PaulH]

If you use the marine version of the G230 then a water jacket is already installed on the head. All you need is a radiator and a water pump. Check some of the GoPed forums. People have used small (6" x 6") radiators on their scooters.

[Gyan]

I got a brainstorm & did a search for computer CPU water coolers & found one on sale for $19.00 !! a 6"x7" unit. Now I need a water pump & some kind of small temp sensor that puts an idiot light on. I'm sure there are water pumps for the Zenoah G23 any good reliable ones out there? I found a great looking water jacket that has fins on it as well for extra cooling. I think I'll go for that.

[PaulH]

Here's your pump:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDR42&P=0

You should have some kind of resivoir for the water/antifreeze. As the fluid heats up, it will expand. You need to have an overflow. Just a small 2 oz header tank would be enough.

[Gyan]

Thanks Paul. Ok now this is getting complicated!! :( Do you know how to plumb the reservoir into the cooling system? Do I need check valves, ect ? If I just "T" it it will just fill up & empty the pump & rad ...No?

[PaulH]

It shouldn't be that much different than a water cooled computer, or for that matter, a real car.

Your pump will draw coolant from the bottom of the reservoir and push it through the cooling jacket. The now hot coolant will come out of the head, into the radiator where it cools off, then back into the top of the reservoir. You will also need a fan behind the radiator to pull cool air through.

Xoxide site has a lot of water cooled computer components that would work for our application. They have a page of water cooling equipment here: http://www.xoxide.com/watcoolcas1.html Just off the top of my head, here are a few components that could be used:

This is only 5" square, but combines the radiator and fan into one unit: http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-12cm-big-radiator.html

The pump I referenced in my previous post is designed to work on muffler pressure. An electrically driven pump might be a better choice for this application: http://www.xoxide.com/swiftech-mcp355-pump.html

Here is a nice reservoir: http://www.xoxide.com/alphacool-cape-agb2-copper.html I would stay away from the plastic reservoirs. They would crack or break too easily in a helicopter.

Temperature sensor: http://www.xoxide.com/thermaltake-t-type-water-temperature-indicator.html

The fan and the pump need 12 volts. You could use three (11v) or four (14v) cheap lithium-ion cells from http://batteryspace.com/ to run the whole thing. The current draw won't be very high.