What is the purpose for the Resevoir bottle on Hydraulic Steering,
I've noticed some boats with full hydraulic have them and others do not. Just wondering what the reasoning is for having the bottles.

On my boat, there wasn't enough capacity in the GM container. When the engine was running, it would suck it dry. When the engine was shut off, it would overflow. The reservior bottle adds just a little more capacity to the system.

Now, where is that spell check button?

it has A LOT to do with the geometry of the rams...as you trim up and down the the geomerty changes...some actuation ratios are more than others. there are some other issue involved as well but it's a no brainer to have one.

With some systems a single ram the resevior is an option, but on a dual ram it is required.

Does the bottle need to be mounted higher than the pump?

Yes. The line should also slope up to the bottle with out any dips. The low points will trap air in the line.

Thanks Cord.

Overflow bottle is not needed on IMCO systems.

I needed to add one to my dual ram IMCO system. IMCO said that I didn't need it, but I got tired of running the pump dry only to fill the bilge.

I also have a dual ram IMCO, full system. No problems (yet) 3 seasons, never know what a system will do ?