[pgfpro]

Originally Posted by ChazInMT

I'm with old Mech on the point of don't get too efficient at removing the heat from the tank, just let it naturally radiate heat all night, it will probably keep you above freezing just by being there. As for heating the water in the tank, you probably want to rig a way to send a portion of the coolant into the tank, you certainly don't want the tank to be in series with the coolant system in such a way that the engine doesn't warm up until the tank in back of your truck does......

Although, if we think this through, the thermostat won't open if the water is cold, so maybe this would sort of self regulate, route the water from the outlet of your thermostat, to the water tank, then to the radiator.

Would the tank be subjected to the pressure of the cooling system would be another thing to consider, or would you just run a loop of coolant hose through the tank which would be under pressure to heat the water/antifreeze in the tank which would always be at atmospheric pressure?

Which brings up another thing to bear in mind, if you leave the truck outside on a sub-zero/freezing night, you darn sure better have some sort of anti-freeze mixture in there, which could be quite expensive.

Interesting idea here, I just moved from Montana to Florida, so it is just a thought exercise for me at this point.

Good info, these are the the things I'm looking for. I will be running the tank at engine coolant pressure. My question also is would I need a extra pump?

I'm also going to be running antifreeze in the tank.