This might be a dumb question!!!!

jibcl500

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Why did it become the norm to use water to cool the engine when oil could have been used instead?

Technically I assume the oil would need very thin but why not instead of water?

jib
 

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Not sure but it could be due to cost of oil and the more frequent need to drain the "coolant" when carrying out repairs.
 

Alex M Grieve

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Why did it become the norm to use water to cool the engine when oil could have been used instead?

Technically I assume the oil would need very thin but why not instead of water?

jib

I am sure you have a point there. Cooling/lubricating fluids on lathes often contain either neat oils, semi synthetics, or fully synthetic oils. They may also contain detergents and emulsifiers. They probably do a much harsher job than engine lubricants too.

On the downside, they collect lots of dwarf and other detritus and become susceptible to bacterial contamination.

Maybe water as a coolant was cheaper, gave better cooling and posed less risk of fire?
 

antijam

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Why did it become the norm to use water to cool the engine when oil could have been used instead?

Technically I assume the oil would need very thin but why not instead of water?

jib

Cost .... and air was even cheaper! .
 

100%Bitch

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On the downside, they collect lots of dwarf and other detritus and become susceptible to bacterial contamination.

That's a bit discriminatory isn't it?

What's wrong with dwarfs and why are they susceptible to bacterial contamination?
 
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Alex M Grieve

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100%Bitch

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100%Bitch

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Or should I say "come on Doc, don't be Bashful" :lol:
 

Alex M Grieve

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grober

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Water has the greatest volumetric heat capacity of any commonly occuring liquid due to hydrogen bonding among other things. So its one of the best fluids to remove heat from the engine to any heat exchanger [radiator].
 

antijam

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Porsche have only recently gone over from air to water apparently.

Absolutely Lyn! All engines are ultimately air cooled even if they use a liquid medium as a heat exchanger. Cutting out the middle-man makes economic sense - assuming that you can get adequate airflow to the engine hotspots. Porsche could up to a certain level - finally having to resort to a liquid medium to get sufficient mass flow to take away the heat from the hottest points.
 

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littlebrooklyn

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I'm new to this forum but I've got to say the last thing I was expecting to read about was people's intimate experiences with dwarfs.

You will get used to the warped and depraved sense of humour some have on here ;)
 

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Some of the things mentioned so far have different qualities.

Cutting oil Soluble oil is a lubricant and known as suds.
The oil used in transformers is wood oil, its qualities are, good heat transfer, taking the heat from the core to the outer cooling channels, all oils retain their heat longer and not really suitable for car use, yhis is why it is used in radiators
 

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Water has the greatest volumetric heat capacity of any commonly occuring liquid due to hydrogen bonding among other things. So its one of the best fluids to remove heat from the engine to any heat exchanger [radiator].
What he said. We have a couple of Oil/Aircooled engines in the garage bolted inside the GSAs. The oil is also the engine oil and not used solely for cooling. Suzuki's were oil/air cooled for year until they couldn't dissipate enough heat and had to go down the water cooled route.
 


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