GX CS4-i First time turning on

My pump arrived Monday the 14th a day earlier than tracking initially showed. After reading numerous threads about first start up I decided I wanted an hour meter on mine. Also wanted to feed it from a nitrogen tank. The hour meter arrived Wednesday and was installed that evening. The fittings for converting to a nitrogen feed arrived 8:30 PM yesterday and were installed this afternoon. I need a hose barb fitting for my nitrogen regulator and will pick that up tomorrow at HD hopefully.

Filled the water reservoir with Dexcool 50/50 because that is what I had on hand. Ran the pump to check for leaks and purge any air out of the cooling system. Hooked up the supplied hose with the deadhead installed. Opened the bleed valve and turned the pump on. Watching the pressure gauge with anticipation and nothing. Oh no, I hope I did not break something doing the mods. Then it dawns on me, close the bleed valve. Whew, was that close to ruining a Friday afternoon in the shop.

So far it looks real good. 32~34 seconds to fill the line to 400 bar with the deadhead installed.

I bought an analog hour meter rather than digital just because. The hour meter would not fit on the front panel but would fit in the top or back. I chose the back only so I would not have to unplug wires to remove the case. The air filter hooked up to the bulkhead barb fitting will be replaced with a nitrogen feed tube when I get the regulator fitting needed.

How much do you guys fill the water reservoir? With no expansion tank like a car has on its cooling system there should be some space left when filling? How will I know if the cooling system water pump fails?

Thinking I would like to add a digital thermometer with a settable alarm if such a device exists in a panel mount package. Suggestions?

Pump 2.jpg


Pump 1.jpg
 
Nice work, how did you wire the analog hour meter?

would love to see the nitrogen set up once complete

Did you rotate the cooling fan as discussed in previous threads? there was some talk about the factory changing that after seeing the thread on this forum , seemed to be more efficient and kept the water cooler?

Did you order on amazon or from GX?

thanks for posting.
 
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I fill mine to just above the recirculation outlet. That leaves a bit of air space at the fill cap. I can still see flow through the cap, no need for LEDs for me. These don't run that hot so I don't see a need for a lot of expansion room. Make sure you work the bubbles out of the system (tilt it while running). I did rotate my radiator.
 
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Nice work, how did you wire the analog hour meter?

would love to see the nitrogen set up once complete

Did you rotate the cooling fan as discussed in previous threads? there was some talk about the factory changing that after seeing the thread on this forum , seemed to be more efficient and kept the water cooler?

Did you order on amazon or from GX?

thanks for posting.
If you look at my side view picture you can see two yellow dots. Those are the female half of the bullet connectors the factory uses to connect to 12v power to the pump motor. The crimp ends of the bullet connectors were not big enough for my hour meter wire and the factory wire. So I split the male ends open and soldered my hour meter wires. Then covered all with heat shrink tube long enough to cover the bullets when reconnected. Wired as I did it the hour meter will run only when the pump is running.

I have missed the fan rotation thread. Did not know anything about that. What is it? Reversing the air flow?

I ordered direct from GX and saved about $100 over the Amazon price.
 
I fill mine to just above the recirculation outlet. That leaves a bit of air space at the fill cap. I can still see flow through the cap, no need for LEDs for me. These don't run that hot so I don't see a need for a lot of expansion room. Make sure you work the bubbles out of the system (tilt it while running). I did rotate my radiator.
That was how I guessed and filled mine. I also removed the aluminum cross under the water tank glass cap. I can now easily see the water moving. I believe I got mine bubble free but will go out and tilt it a bit to make sure.
 
Here is something else that my interest those doing an hour meter on the back panel.

To make the cutouts in the back panel I wanted to use my drill press to remove as much material as I could to minimize the hand file work. This required the pump be face down on the drill press table. I used a 2X piece of construction grade southern yellow pine. Laid out the outline of the pump front panel so the cutout was 1/2" less on all sides than the face of the pump panel. This allowed the pump to lay face down with nothing touching the cast iron drill press table. I also placed an old towel over the wood so I would not scratch the nice shiny paint job.

Of course all the pump internals were covered with shop rags to keep metal chips and shavings away.

Pump 3.jpg
 
If you look at my side view picture you can see two yellow dots. Those are the female half of the bullet connectors the factory uses to connect to 12v power to the pump motor. The crimp ends of the bullet connectors were not big enough for my hour meter wire and the factory wire. So I split the male ends open and soldered my hour meter wires. Then covered all with heat shrink tube long enough to cover the bullets when reconnected. Wired as I did it the hour meter will run only when the pump is running.

I have missed the fan rotation thread. Did not know anything about that. What is it? Reversing the air flow?

I ordered direct from GX and saved about $100 over the Amazon price.
did not reverse the air flow but the two water outlets are now on the side as opposed to the bottom
 
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