Subject: Re: [TR] cool heater

From: "Randall" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 22:39:42 -0700

> I then went to the engine and also put hands on 
> the radiator
> hoses.....upper and lower without major pain.  Upper was some 
> warmer.  
> 
> My
> temperature guage is not accurate but in testing the radiator 
> with a meat
> thermometer I'm from 180 to 185.

This part puzzles me.  You're saying that the radiator is hot, but the hose leading to it is not?  How thick were your mittens?  I
can't hold my hand on 180F even with major pain.

However, if your thermostat is working properly, I would expect to find the bottom of the radiator significantly cooler in cooler
weather (assuming there is air flowing through it).  At 50F outdoors, the upper hose & tank should be hot though (about the same
temperature your thermostat opens at).  If not, your thermostat may be stuck open.

I've had similar problems (when I lived in a cooler climate) with lack of circulation through the heater.  The stock pipes & hoses
are small and long, and seem to present a lot of resistance to flow compared to the path through the head and bypass hose.
Something that might be worth fiddling with (but I never tried for that purpose) would be adding some restriction to the bypass, to
force more water through the heater.

I actually went as far as enlarging the holes in the head & water pump housing, and replumbing the system in larger pipes & hoses
(1/2" id copper pipe plus short couplers of 5/8" heater hose).  But then I moved to CA and never got to see how much improvement I
achieved.

Randall

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