Farm Power And Machinery (1+1)

Care and maintenance of cooling system

•  Clean and fresh water should be filled in the radiator.
• Salt free water should be used in the radiator as far as possible for prevention of scale formation.
• In some cold countries, the water in the radiator gets converted into ice and creates problems in initial starting of the engine. Hence ethyl alcohol is mixed with water to avoid ice formation.
• Rotten or soft hose pipe should not be used in the system.
• The tension of the fan belt should be checked very frequently. A loose belt will cause overheating, reduce charging current and high wear of the belt. If the belt is very tight, it will cause wear on the pulley of pump and dynamo. The maximum permissible V-belt sag when applying average finger pressure is 15 mm. If it is more than this limit, the belt should be adjusted.
• Oil and grease should always be kept away from the belt. Greasy belts should be wiped clean.
• The bearing of the water pump should be lubricated regularly.
• Very hot engines should never be filled with cold water, to avoid fracture in the cylinder wall and the cylinder head.
• Radiator and water jackets should be flushed out with special air pressure guns. Radiator can be cleaned by blowing air with compressor. This process will remove bugs, leaves and dirt from the radiator.
• The cooling system should be cleaned at periodically to remove rust and scale.
• The radiator cap should not be opened when the engine is hot.

The following suitable procedure may be followed to remove scale from the system.
One kg of washing soda and 0.5 kg of kerosene oil should be filled with fresh water and allowed to remain in the radiator for 8 to 10 hours. After this, the engine should be started and run on medium speed. When the engine has run for 15 to 20 minutes, the solution should be drained out and radiator should be flushed with clean water.