Engine warming!

[umblecumbuz]

Just been reading this through with interest. I didn't get all the way through so please forgive me if someone else has suggested this already. One of the guys in the office had a look over my shoulder (a former marine engineer and current biker) and he suggested protecting the thermostat casing from the airflow. That way it will only react to the temperature of the water and not the cooling effect of passing air on the casing which might transfer to the thermostat capsule.

Interesting thought, that.

But ... the cool (freezing?) air passing over the 'stat housing will - if anything - tend to keep it closed for longer, which is exactly what is needed to boost engine temperature.
Unfortunately, insulating the housing will have the opposite unwanted effect.

 

[mercedes13156]

Interesting thought, that.

But ... the cool (freezing?) air passing over the 'stat housing will - if anything - tend to keep it closed for longer, which is exactly what is needed to boost engine temperature.
Unfortunately, insulating the housing will have the opposite unwanted effect.

You're probably right about that now I think about it a bit more! Another thought..... How about replacing the radiator with a single pipe in a simple "W" shape for example. You'd need copper, aluminium or steel pipes similar in size to the bore of current system to get a good flow and without fins to aid cooling, only the first few millimetres of water inside the pipe will get cooled as it passes through. The "internal water" should pass through relatively uncooled, thereby maintaining some of the heat. Depending on how much heat you want to retain, the length of the "matrix" could be changed relatively easily by adding or subtracting lengths of pipe, or by changing the material to affect the conductivity and consequent heat loss.

 

[alexanderfoti]

To follow up on this, I fitted one of these:

and an oil "cooler" from a Fazer 600:

Which is basically a flat plate heat exchanger.











Haven't ridden it yet, but ran the engine at idle for 20 minutes and it got the oil temps to 60 degrees and much quicker than it did before, will be interesting to see what its like on the open road.

Its plumbed into the cooling system on the "closed" side of the thermostat so I do wonder if it will get the oil temp much past 72 (stat opening temp) as most of the coolant will bypass it and go through the rad with the stat open.

 

[Arudge]

Would you do us a short clip of the engine running? I just can't imagine what it sounds like.

 

[alexanderfoti]

 

[Arudge]

Five star

 

[alexanderfoti]

Five star

Heh I love it, a lot of people don't understand why though

 

[Arudge]

Heh I love it, a lot of people don't understand why though

I think it's great, I'd expect you get an enormous sense of achievement out if it, particularly with the problem solving part of it. I used to spend hours and hours just messing with stuff, well before scrap yard challange. Seriously better than watching the telly.

 

[Frontstep]

why ?
people who are content with the status quo should be left in the caves that people who aren't content with the status quo got them out of.