

To prevent that, car manufacturers invented the radiator overflow tank. If there is no room to expand, the hoses and probably the radiator itself will explode. When things like coolant get hot, they tend to expand. When the coolant absorbs the heat from the engine, it gets hot. If I had to explain the radiator overflow tank to a child, I would say that it is a room where angry people go to cool off before they come back and do their job. By storing the hot coolant and cooling it down, the radiator overflow tank actually prevents the cooling system from exploding from high pressure. The purpose of a radiator overflow tank is to store and cool down the coolant that overflows from the radiator as it gets hotter while circulating around the engine. What Is The Purpose of a Radiator Overflow Tank? There will always be a certain amount of coolant in the overflow tank. But also, it is designed when the coolant cools down and gets sucked back into the radiator, no air is getting in the system. Even so, it can still take more hot coolant coming from the radiator. It is designed to be filled up to a certain point.

The overflow tank should be filled up with coolant up to the ”full” marking on the side of the tank. When the coolant in the overflow tank cools down, atmospheric pressure from the overflow tank will push the cold coolant back into the radiator because the pressure in the overflow tank is actually higher than the one in the radiator. In the overflow tank, the coolant will cool down.

The way that the coolant overflow tank works is when the coolant gets hot and expands, the newly created pressure pushes a spring in the radiator cap that opens a seal and allows the hot coolant to get into the overflow tank. This is where the coolant overflow tank comes into play. Since the cooling system is pressurized, creating more pressure can lead to damage to the cooling system. However, by absorbing the heat, the coolant expands and the pressure builds up. This is when the coolant starts flowing around the combustion chamber and other engine parts and takes the heat away. The radiator cap has a vital purpose to keep the pressure in the cooling system at optimal levels and prevent dangerous boiling from occurring.Īs combustion occurs, the engine temperature increases.

The traditional cooling system in many cars has a radiator with a radiator cap that is connected to a coolant overflow tank by a hose. When the coolant cools down, it contracts and the atmospheric pressure allows the coolant to return to the radiator.The coolant overflow tanks are not pressurized and work only by atmospheric pressure.There should always be coolant in the overflow tank and there are markings on the side that suggest how much coolant you should put in.Only then the coolant can be sent back to the radiator. The hot coolant sits in the overflow tank until it is cooled down.It releases the extra pressure through the cap and into the atmosphere and prevents any damage to the hoses. The coolant overflow tank allows hot coolant from the engine to cool off before performing another cooling cycle.The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
