O Boy! The Coolant Thread is back!
At 11:23 PM 7/19/98 +0100, David Stevely wrote:
>Forgive me if I'm wrong but my understanding of the operation of the IC
>engine is that the hotter it can be made to operate the more efficiently it
>will burn the fuel.
Up to a point. The coolant shouldn't ever boil (even in "local" hot spots
inside the engine) because the heat transfer of the boiling water is poor
compared to regular flowing coolant. And if a localized area of the
combustion chamber becomes "overheated", then detonation and valve and
piston damage can result.
> Hence the study of things like ceramic engines which
>operate at very high temperatures and the presence of a thermostat in a car
>engine to regulate the temperature at the maximum possible with a water
>cooled system.
>
>If you however want a further drop in coolant temperature you could remove
>the thermostat and conect an electric fan with no switch which would lower
>the coolant temperature by at least a further 20%.
A cooler-running engine would allow you to run more ignition advance or a
higher compression ratio without detonation. But fuel economy would go
down too. It takes power to run that fan constantly, even if it is
electric. BTW a rich mixture minimizes detonation because the unburned fuel
"cools" the combustion chambers from the inside.
And DON"T ever run a modern engine without a thermostat! Because of the
bypass deflection function a thermostat is designed to provide, often an
engine will run HOTTER without a t-stat.
>
>Could someone confirm or deny my understanding of this.
This topic has generated many bytes of discussion on every List I have seen
it on. Guess it's as good a way as any to while away the summer. :)
================
Let's talk about Red Line's Water Wetter for a few minutes.
This product helps heat transfer BY WATER because it is a surfactant(sp?).
It makes more of the water molecules come in contact with the metal of the
engine, to transfer the heat from the engine's metal to the coolant.
[Picture in your mind a wet, waxed auto finish. Since the water is beading
up, only the "wet spots" can draw the heat away. But if the water can
"sheet", more of it can contact the surface and cool the metal. That's what
Water Wetter does.]
The theory behind Water Wetter is sound. Racers like it because it reduces
detonation and provides a cushion for maxed-out cooling systems in
high-revving engines. In old, less-efficient cooling systems (like in a
twenty or thirty year old Triumph) Water Wetter can make the difference
between a temp guage creeping towards meltdown and one that stays put in
its operational range.
Just remember, you are told to use more water and less anti-freeze with WW.
This could be an issue for cars stored in cold climates.
>Edward Hamilton wrote:
>
>>I can attest to the fact that my spit
>> now runs approximately 20% cooler after the addition of Water Wetter --
>> it works.
What Ed REALLY said was "My Spit's temp gauge stays at the midpoint 20%
more than before". He doesn't want it to run cooler, just wants the temp
to be more consistant. That is what the Water Wetter does for him.
Till Next Time,
Atwell Haines
'79 Spitfire (New Radiator, thermostat, hoses, pressure cap. Who needs WW?)
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