Heat bars valve

[couch]

No snow yet. Plumbed a set of bars for coolant but wondering about flow control ....
Folks with a valve inline - do you have it set up as a bypass or simply a way of reducing the flow volume?

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[GKR]

I have ran them both ways and both work with no noticeable difference. Most if not all thermostats have a bleed hole in the body so you can't completely shut off flow anyway so as a result you can simply put the shut off valve on your bar circuit and if you don't need heat close it completely or find a suitable middle position (flow control) Even with the valve completely closed a small amount of coolant will pass into the rad circuit and obviously if the engine heats up to the thermostat temp it will open as required.

 

[Specialkman2day]

I run the flow from the bypass through the bars just like gkr said. No tee, just straight from bypass through bars and back to the engine. I do have a valve in line to control flow also. I usually just leave it wide open.

Last year I ran them without the tube in the middle of the bars to force coolant to the ends, just slosh effect and they worked ok, got warm at best... This year I had to try with the tube in the bars and I must say they work so much better. They get good and hot. I can see how I'll prolly be using that valve to slow down flow this year.

 

[cbc76am]

It's so hard to get the epoxy in the middle to force the flow to the edges though! Here's my latest build.

 

[GKR]

cbc76am, did you run a tube inside to allow the coolant to transfer out to the ends? You will likely need that or similar other wise the coolant just short circuits from the inlet to the outlet and the bar only gets hot right in the middle. I ran a length of soft copper tubing through the bar from end to end leaving about an inch or so at each end. I then drilled and tapped a third hole in the dead center of the bar where I injected my sealant, in my case I used silicone rather than epoxy. It was hard to find a way to inject the sealant and ensure it went around the copper tube and sealed it off vs just squeezing down the length of the bar. That was the hardest part of the build, I ended up using a felt rope and worked it in there but it was only moderately successful in containing the sealant. Once I figured that out and I injected the silicone, I closed the hole off with a pipe plug and let it all cure. Works perfect and bars get smoking hot right out to the ends.

 

[cbc76am]

Yup I have 3/8 pex end to end inside. I did the 3rd hole last time. This one I stuffed with steel wool in the valve fitting hole and pushed it towards the center and then used a rubber hose attached a syringe to force it full of jb weld in the middle. 3 rounds of that... Its sealed and fluid goes out to about the perches...

 

[cbc76am]

The center tube and glue

 

[couch]

Thanks for the quick response ....
New to the bike rodeo. Made my own bars ... tapped the outer ends to accept 3/8 pipe plugs, fished a length of 1/4 pipe to 2" from each end, tapped two 1/4" holes between bar clamps and used a two part epoxy to plug the space between ....
Fired up and bars get plenty hot in the shop ....looking forward to trying it out.

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[NEWDUCK]

Now I would agree the tapping of the center of the bars and using a sealer in the center is a great way to do this and its a clean look but.....its not necessary. You can just tap a hole out by your grips and run the lines out to them. And yes Ive heard it all. Youll rip the lines out, itll weaken the bars blah blah blah. It works. If people are looking for a more simple way to do it without sealant.

 

[hillclimber147]

It looks like you're using 1/4" od push to connect fittings, like C3 uses. What did you use for tubing? PTFE?

It's so hard to get the epoxy in the middle to force the flow to the edges though! Here's my latest build.

 

[cbc76am]

Yup.. Holding up fine thus far.

I made a 3rd pair yesterday. Stuffed toliet paper into the holes and built damns around the center hole then used a plastic bag to pipe the jb weld in. Best yet by far. Only took 2 hours to fully build out the bars and perfectly blocked the center for flow.