Why no radiators in boats?
 

Since external water used in cooling engines causes a lot of problems, why
hasn't a car type radiator system with fan ever been used?
Paul

Why no radiators in boats?
 

Paul Schilter wrote:

Since external water used in cooling engines causes a lot of problems, why
hasn't a car type radiator system with fan ever been used?
Paul




Probably because it is difficult to get enough airflow to a radiator.
There's also the problem of the exhaust. Dry stacks are noisy, smelly,
and throw off a lot of heat in the boat's interior.

But there are closed cooling systems...look up "keel cooling."

Why no radiators in boats?
 

That's a good point about the exhaust ... never really appreciated that
before ... since the water's there to cool the exhaust, might as well pump
it into the engine cooling system (unless it's a closed system but that
still requires a heat exchanger). Yeah ... can you imagine the safety issues
with a dry exhaust system on a pleasure craft ... yikes. Although, for
cooking up that fish dinner ... nah, forget it.

Harry Krause wrote in message
...
Paul Schilter wrote:

Since external water used in cooling engines causes a lot of problems,
why
hasn't a car type radiator system with fan ever been used?
Paul




Probably because it is difficult to get enough airflow to a radiator.
There's also the problem of the exhaust. Dry stacks are noisy, smelly,
and throw off a lot of heat in the boat's interior.

But there are closed cooling systems...look up "keel cooling."

Why no radiators in boats?
 

an you imagine the safety issues
with a dry exhaust system on a pleasure craft ..

The first time I ever fished offshore in Hatteras (circa 1964?) we went out
with Cap'n Eif O'Neil in a 3x' boat with a centrally mounted V-8 and vertical
stacks like you see on a truck, with , dare I say it, asbestos sleeves on them.

40 years of debauchery later and I am still alive!

It was loud like a Harley but not oppressive.

Why no radiators in boats?
 

In layman's terms, an inboard engine in a planing hull works very hard

We have a winner!, add to that, we don't have 140+ MPH air going through the
radiator like you would have with a 454 Corvette at WOT and you start to see
the problem..
Water is such a good coolant, it would be silly to ignore it, if you are
sitting in it. That is why they like to build power plants by the river too.
The real trick is to heat exchange the "nasty" water without actually letting
it get into your engine (which runs glycol mix). In the case of an outboard
that is not worth the weight and money. They just try to harden the block with
aluminum and zincs.

Why no radiators in boats?
 

Greg wrote:

an you imagine the safety issues
with a dry exhaust system on a pleasure craft ..


The first time I ever fished offshore in Hatteras (circa 1964?) we went out
with Cap'n Eif O'Neil in a 3x' boat with a centrally mounted V-8 and vertical
stacks like you see on a truck, with , dare I say it, asbestos sleeves on them.

40 years of debauchery later and I am still alive!

It was loud like a Harley but not oppressive.


There are pleasure boats around with dry stack exhausts. The local
publisher of a cruising magazine had a 28-footer built with a dry stack,
but he dumped the boat after a season. Noise, soot, heat. But on larger
pleasure craft, the stack can be isolated and insulated. You still have
that stack, though, and sometimes some soot.

On a cruiser, a closed cooling system with keel cooler and a wet exhaust
presents interesting possibilities.

Why no radiators in boats?
 

Finally, where are you gonna mount that radiator? Take your yacht club
pennants on the front of the bow off, and line up three automotive radiators
across there, with fans . . . and black radiator hose running for and aft?
:-)

Why no radiators in boats?
 

works for air boats...

--
Capt. Matt Johnson
Naples, Fl
www.fl-ecotours.com




"Paul Schilter" paulschilter@comcast,dot,net wrote in message
...
Since external water used in cooling engines causes a lot of problems,
why
hasn't a car type radiator system with fan ever been used?
Paul

Why no radiators in boats?
 

Capt. Matt wrote:
works for air boats...

Noisy. Very noisy. On an airboat, no-one cares about the fan, it's
lost in the hurricane. On a boat, you don't want to start the engine
for a little assist at the dock and suddenly have to put up with
yelling over a cooling fan.

Many boaters crave tranquility on the water, not hi speed thrills.

Besides, a rad and fan weigh more than a piece of hose and a
waterpump you already need, especially since, if you don't want hot
exhaust pipes in the bedroom, you want additional cooling capacity
to cool the pipes.

It's cheaper and less hassle to use raw water or even a keel cooler.

With a rad, you also have a blast of hot air to contend with.

Why no radiators in boats? Most boats have radiators......
 

Actually,

It's a technical point but most boats of any size will have one, two, three, or
more
devices to transfer heat from the engine coolant to the air. My boat has two.

My Red Dot heaters are radiators and they do reduce the temperature of the
coolant when operating..........but nowhere nearly enough to function as the
sole cooling system without the heat exchanger doing
about 90% of the job.