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Re: Chummy radiator

Bill - there must be something amiss with your radiator. David is correct, as the plain filler neck on the early models were 1 1/32" high, plus a threaded portion 13/32" high. This means the threaded bit pokes up out of the shell neck/tower (on top, approx 13/16"high) by about 3/16" and because the ID of the inner flanges on the shell tower are only 1 1/2", there's ample room for the bottom of the cap to screw well down into the threaded part. Suggest you check if you have the correct radiator - core should be around 13 3/4" high (they do vary up to 14 1/4", one I found even 14 1/2") by approx 12 1/2"wide and 2" thick. Hope this helps. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa Australia

Re: Chummy radiator

Hi Bill and David

Thanks for the advice re the filler neck . I checked my spare Chummy core and it has the extension so will now have it checked and refurbished. The short neck one came off a special so may have been modified.

Do you know a magic mix to clear out engine rust sediment from the core?
Diluted Caustic soda ? But what's an easy source of that?

Also I've used soda blasting on painted panels which certainly took paint off, but not rust. Would soda blasting be safe on a radcore and on the bottom and top tanks?

Or other ways for cleaning the inside and outside of original cores?

Kind regards

Bill G

Location: Scottish Border

Re: Chummy radiator

You should be able to get caustic soda granules at your local hardware shop. However, I'd think twice before using it as it attacks copper as well as aluminium though not quite as severely.

Location: Ripon

Re: Chummy radiator

Duncan,
Thinking back to my first year chemistry at uni I don't believe caustic soda reacts with copper. It does with copper oxide, obviously as a reducing agent, and thus may be used as one method to clean copper. In any case the length of time NaOH is used on the rad. is relatively short and will not be detrimental.

Location: Melton Mowbray

Re: Chummy radiator

I think you need a flow test, from experience I flushed my radiator many times and fitted it back only to find the car would boil after about 5 miles.
In the end I had it recored the original core was absolutely solid with rust,i am surprised that any water circulated.
It worked and now I have no overheating issues.
Martin

Re: Chummy radiator

Bill.

I seem to remember being told someone used a filler neck off a old rectangular 2 gallon petrol can on an early chummy. Complete with cap.

If you put oxalic axid powder in your coolant it will disolve any lime scale, same goes for the rust scale and turn it into green slugde.

It doesnt hurt the iron or ali bit if left too long will make copper brittle.

Basically its kill or cure