> The skirt does nothing until the thermostat opens, and then it only
> improves
> cooling (if in fact it does anything at all).
The way I understand it, the manufacturer intended the skirt to
function as a diverter valve, i.e.:
1 prior to the thermostat opening, the coolant by-passes the
radiator such that it heats up quickly, but still provide sufficient
flow to prevent harmful hotspot heating up of the engine.
2 When the thermostat starts opening, more coolant is diverted to
the radiator until (nearly all) the coolant passes through the radiator.
My concern is, that merely permanently restricting the bypass flow is
likely to be more harmful in the long run during cold winters while
the thermostat is closed for longer periods and then still reduces the
flow through the radiator during our hot summers which so easily
causes overheating in those marginal radiators.
Hans.
On Nov 25, 2011, at 5:15 PM, Randall wrote:
>> This made me conclude that
>> skirts should not only be on the fairer sex and Scotsmen but also on
>> TR3 thermostats.
>
> The skirt does nothing until the thermostat opens, and then it only
> improves
> cooling (if in fact it does anything at all). So switching to a
> skirted
> thermostat will only help because your old thermostat is defective.
> A new
> $5 non-skirted thermostat will work just as well to solve your
> running cold
> problem.
>
> Someone, I think maybe it was XKs Unlimited, used to sell a
> thermostat which
> was a RobertShaw type thermostat (with an outer sleeve that moves)
> plus a
> skirt. So it should be doable yourself, if you really want to.
>
> -- Randall
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