| Author | Message | ||
     Bomber |
OK, I was left unsupervised a little too long over the winter, and am finishing up a project . . . I need some advice from someone who knows more than I do about oil coolers (or radiators, and like that , , , , heat transfer stuff) If one were to have an oil cooler, and one had a choice of leaving it natural aluminum, or mebbe polished, or finishing it in a dark color, like, oh, I dunno, black, which would be preferable from a heat exchange point of view? | ||
| Mikej |
uncoated and unoxidized first. polished is less desirable than unpolished. paint is an insulator, unless it's thermal paint. i worked with a thermal PhD engineer on a couple of projects and just did what I was told (can't talk about what it was for though). there is also the aspect of flow rates vs heat transfer rates as well. fluid dynamics and thermal dynamics are very conceptual fields at times more art than science, or rather the art of applied science. you'd never think a radiator was art until you worked on the design of one. okay, crawling back under my rock now. ps, some have said that our Buells do not really like overly cooled oils, so possibly painting the cooler a dark/black color would be cool from a thermal viewpoint. | ||
| Bads1 |
Bomber a paint coating is a insulator just as mike said.But anodizing ain't.  | ||
| Bomber |
gents -- thanks fo rthe input . . . .anodizing ain't an option at this point, at least til I find my directions on anodizing at home ;-} | ||
| Outrider |
Can you "Blue" it like a gun? Lots of nice finishes out there on aluminum framed .45's. Black, Blue, etc... edited by Outrider on April 20, 2004 | ||
| Bomber |
Outie -- I can color it (using Guncoat) but that stuff isn't thermal paint, I'm thinkin it would act as an insulator | ||
| Mikej |
Probably not enough to worry about, gun bluing stuff is more like food coloring than paint. Just give it all a light and thin coat of anything to keep the oxidizing down until you work the bugs out or until you get ready to tear it down again. You can really thin out black paint and lightly spray it on like on some auto radiator fins if the surface is clean. Should last a year easy. If you're talking track use in the summer time and keeping the oil cool then talk to the folks at HalsPA or to the RacerGuy in Uke's club for advice. I think they'll just say to spray it with a light coat of paint, but don't know for certain. As long as you don't goop on the paint as thick as housepaint you should be fine I'm thinkin'. | ||
| Outrider |
Mike...Wonder how long John is going to keep us in suspense? I wanna see his prototype so bad it's killing me. John...Make two and I will test one on the X1.  | ||
| Uwgriz |
you'd never think a radiator was art until you worked on the design of one Thank you Mike. (It's what I do for a living, well now I'm designing exhaust gas recirculation coolers, but that doesn't seem to get much respect either.) | ||
| Devdawg |
Bomber, Check out Eastwood...They specialize in auto restoration products. http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=997&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=706&iSu bCat=997 They have a paint made for radiators. I've used it on an oil cooler and have no complaints. | ||
| Steveford |
Gun Kote (made by KG Industries) will dissipate heat faster than an uncoated part and the black Gun Koted parts cool off the fastest. Use hot iron phosphate as a primer if possible. | ||
| Aesquire |
Gun Kote rocks. Stinks up the house if you use the kitchen oven. Ask my buddy. Slept on sofa. Heat exchanger design is art blended with science. The P-51 Mustang of WW2 fame recovered 200 hp. in thrust, with a well designed radiator/ducting system. Don't forget to use a thermostat in an oil cooling system. Buell's in particular want to warm up the oil to purr properly. | ||
| Crusty |
Who makes a good thermostat? I've heard bad things about Lockhart and Jagg, but I don't have any personal experience with them. I'll be putting a Jagg oil cooler on my M2 as soon as the weather warms up a little. | ||
| Bomber |
well -- Gun Kote it is . . . . . thanks for all the input, gents . . .. (I've got a toaster oven in the Entropy Lab for just these kinds of projects . . . .. . . ) Outie -- you already know what it looks like, I believe, you mentioned something similar in an email | ||
| Mikej |
Ah, Eastwood, the candy store for home mechanics. | ||
| Bomber |
yeah, between them and Griott's (turn your garage into something nicer than your living room) I spend thousands of mental dollar a month |
