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Nanni 4 connection to calorifier


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I bought my second narrowboat last year and discovered that the engine heat exchanger isn't connected to the calorifier. The engine is a Nanni 4 diesel. I've looked and can't see any outlets to connect to aside from the two connected to the skin tank.

My question is is there something missing from my engine or do I just "T" off from the skin tank pipes?

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3 minutes ago, Flow said:

I bought my second narrowboat last year and discovered that the engine heat exchanger isn't connected to the calorifier. The engine is a Nanni 4 diesel. I've looked and can't see any outlets to connect to aside from the two connected to the skin tank.

My question is is there something missing from my engine or do I just "T" off from the skin tank pipes?

 

Its a Kubota engine so I would expect there to be a blanking plug on the cylinder head for the hot out and the return can go anywhere into the feed back to the water pump. Often T'd into the heat exchanger to water pump pipe. Beta use the same base engine so hopefully someone familiar with Betas will give more detailed info.

  • Greenie 1
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Ahh I see. Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look at that later. Should I be looking at Kubota engine diagrams in future then? There doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there for Nanny's.

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Kubota or Beta, Yours is blue and Beta's are green. Beta seem to use their own heat exchanger so it will look different but the base engines are the same.

 

If you can post a photo looking down onto the engine I may be able to identify a likely take off plug.

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Further thought. Narrowboats don't normally use heat exchangers as such apart from possibly the gearbox oil cooler but that has no place in this conversation. What looks like a heat exchanger is usually just a case with no "guts" that is being used as a header tank. Now Nanni being far more bumpy water orientated than Beta Greenline engines may well use a heat exchanger so for future reference it would be good to establish if you have skin tank cooled engine   or an indirect raw water cooled engine that may use the skin tank to cool the "raw water". So how many water pumps on your engine, one or two. If its just the one like a car water pump driven by an alternator belt then you don't have a heat exchanger.

3 minutes ago, Flow said:

Yes it is blue and there is a blanking plate on the front! I'll take some photos later when I get home. Thanks ? 

 

That blanking late may be to cover where a raw water pump is fitted on heat exchanger engines.

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6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

This may be a complete waste of time and me up the wrong tree but does  this photo help from https://forum.norfolkbroadsnetwork.com/topic/16606-possible-thermostat-issue/

 

image.png.d926f805a9417693992d725fe32f17ce.png

 

 

Thanks Brian, I think it may.

 

Look at the lower yellow square that is around the thermostat housing and then move in diagonally down along the front f the rocker cover. You first come to a black "pipe" that seem to be attached to a grey one with a hose clip around it and a blue elbow connecting it to the cylinder head. I think that is the calorifier take off pipe.

 

 

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Right, I've been through my photo album and found one photo! It's probably not much help but it's all I have until I get to the boat this evening.

Behind the top alternator is what I took to be the heat exchanger. It definitely has a skin tank and isn't connected to any raw water intake.

IMG_20210407_111132.jpg

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Not a lot of help I am afraid except to confirm the round blacking plate with the fur bolts is the blanking plate for the hole the raw water pump goes into.

 

Yes the thing behind the top alternator will look like a heat exchanger but it's not, it's only a header tank.

 

We need a clear view of the top of the cylinder head looking down onto the engine. Going by the image Brian posted I suspect that you may find a blanking plug behind the bracket the fuel filter is mounted on but we can't see that area in your photo.

 

You can T the return into the return pipe from the skin tank using an unequal T.

Edited by Tony Brooks
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Beta and Nanni both fit the caloririer in different ways. On the Nanni engine they just seem to cut the water pump bypass hose and use this as the flow and return to the calorifier. On the Beta they would normally take the hot water from the rear of the cylinder head and the return would tee into the engine return from the skin tank. This take off from the rear of the head would have a restrictor fitted so as not to still ensure good engine circulation. 

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6 minutes ago, Steve56 said:

Beta and Nanni both fit the caloririer in different ways. On the Nanni engine they just seem to cut the water pump bypass hose and use this as the flow and return to the calorifier. On the Beta they would normally take the hot water from the rear of the cylinder head and the return would tee into the engine return from the skin tank. This take off from the rear of the head would have a restrictor fitted so as not to still ensure good engine circulation. 

 

That wll explain the other grey pipe in Brian's photo that I can't see its termination. Should be a simple installation.

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1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

That wll explain the other grey pipe in Brian's photo that I can't see its termination. Should be a simple installation.

Thats the one. If you look carefully at the photo you can just see the other pipe. If you look you can just see the two 90 degree elbows, which are flow and return.

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1 hour ago, Steve56 said:

Thats the one. If you look carefully at the photo you can just see the other pipe. If you look you can just see the two 90 degree elbows, which are flow and return.

 

Can now I cut, pasted and blown it up. Thanks

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Ok I think I've got it. On my engine I can see a link pipe (see photo). So all I need to do is remove this and run pipes to the calorifier. 

IMG_20210407_163812.jpg

IMG_20210407_163727.jpg

Edited by Flow
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29 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Take the flow ( the right hand one in the pix ) to the lower connection on the calorifier. It will be more efficient and vent the air from the coil better.

Sorry to disagree but the flow out of the engine is the left hand side, and return to the left ( thermostat housing )

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13 minutes ago, Steve56 said:

Sorry to disagree but the flow out of the engine is the left hand side, and return to the left ( thermostat housing )

Me rushing again whilst eating dinner. The point of taking the flow in the bottom is that the heat transfer is greater, hottest water into the coolest part adds up to about 5% more transfer. The air will naturally rise to the top and it is easier to push it up rather than down.

 

Are you sure? It looks like the left one is into the pump, hence return? I may be wrong, often am.  Not a lot of space in there for 2 hoses.

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4 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Me rushing again whilst eating dinner. The point of taking the flow in the bottom is that the heat transfer is greater, hottest water into the coolest part adds up to about 5% more transfer. The air will naturally rise to the top and it is easier to push it up rather than down.

 

Are you sure? It looks like the left one is into the pump, hence return? I may be wrong, often am.  Not a lot of space in there for 2 hoses.

The pipe is the pump bypass. The water flows from the left hand side and then back into the thermostat housing on the right. This allows water circulation within the block before the thermostat opens. So the left hand side is the feed to the calorifier.

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1 minute ago, Flow said:

You read my mind! I was about to ask this very question. So it's left hand side to the bottom of the calorifier then return to the right?

 

Yes thats the way to go.

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 minute ago, Flow said:

Just an update, I've connected it all up and it's working fine although the the pipe from the right (thermostat) seems to get hot first?IMG_20210410_102649.jpg.bbcbbd36ef51bd34b30ec49d6580ad47.jpg

I did think that would be the case but everyone was adamant that I was wrong. The return goes into the pump.

As it is working, well done!

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