I have a Beta Marine 20hp. The last owner had the engine installed just before selling the boat.
In the last two years I have had a small water lose so have to fill up or the alarm comes on.
I have fitted a new cap as the last one broke into 3 bits. Have fitted the same pressure cap but still having the same problem.
I fill up till I can just touch the water with my finger to allow for expansion and have tried filling to the top but not much difference. Could the water be getting into the heat exchanger and loosing it that way. Open to suggestions
I think that you will be best served if you fit a coolant recovery tank. This way the coolant should stay full and you can see the level in the plastic recovery tank.
We have the correct pressure caps here with the double seal and valve for the coolant recovery.
I am going to fit a container to catch the water to see how much comes out and when. Good idea about the expansion tank and may get one in the near future. But it shouldn't leak out in the first place!
-- Edited by ver900 on Tuesday 14th of April 2015 03:00:56 PM
If the cooling system is full you will get coolant coming out of the overflow pipe once the engine has heated up. Water expands when it is heated!
The pressure cap should keep the system pressure to around 13PSI. Once this pressure has been reached the overflow tube will start to show coolant running out which is why a recovery tank helps.
Your engine has seen very little maintenance (the old pressure cap breaking into 3 pieces is a BIG indicator of this!) so is probably working at less than full efficiency.
The engine only had 1 hour on the clock when I got the boat. It has been serviced 3 times since then. New oil, filters and lmpeller. Can you tell me how far below the top the water should be filled too? Thanks
Something else is going on here and I am not getting the full information. I think that you will be better served contacting your nearest dealer or as you are in the UK, contact Adrian Tomkies at the Beta Marine factory. If you phone him he should be able to walk you through the test procedures and problem solving.
