electric motor cooling

[Thomas Sottile]

Has any one tried an electric motor for cooling? I think for winter driving you could control the heating of the engine to maintain a constant temp.!

[Dick Weiss]

Hi Tom,

What temperature are you trying to reach--why do you need cooling during the winter? Owners complained for years for heat if they don't keep the revs up to produce heat--if driven during the cold winters. (excepting the Euro heat system)

Happy New Year,
Dick

[Thomas Sottile]

It would be nice to be able to keep the engine at a temperature to keep water from gathering in the motor Even if I push the car at 15 F I still cannot bring the temp up much. and we do not drive with the hammer down all the time ! I was just thinking of an option for winter driving in the north east.

[Jim Alton]

That's an interesting idea but it would probably take quite a bit of power.

Even a half horsepower would take 372 watts (at 100% efficiency) which is more than a 356 generator's rating. Then there's the question of where you mount the fan motor.

It might be simpler to put a "power pulley" on your engine for the winter.

[Vic Skirmants]

"It might be simpler to put a "power pulley" on your engine for the winter."
That would SLOW down the generator/fan.

[Jim Alton]

"It might be simpler to put a "power pulley" on your engine for the winter."
That would SLOW down the generator/fan.

Mr. Sottile's end goal is to decrease cooling in the winter to make the engine run hotter.

It's been a long, long time since I aced Electrical Machines but the generator should be ok (I think).

[Thomas Sottile]

Thanks for the reply.

[Vic Skirmants]

"It might be simpler to put a "power pulley" on your engine for the winter."
That would SLOW down the generator/fan.

Mr. Sottile's end goal is to decrease cooling in the winter to make the engine run hotter.

It's been a long, long time since I aced Electrical Machines but the generator should be ok (I think).

I would think if the engine ran hotter, you would need the fan to push that heat at the correct speed. No?

[Martin Benade]

As long as you watched the temp gauge you could partially cover the air intake on the fan shroud. This would help the engine get warmer, but make the fan blow less heat into the car. It depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

[Mark Reich]

Would the effort to increase heat be negated by the large rusted holes in the floors and the engine tin from Northeast road salt? Just wondering, as I am hunkering down in Massachusetts.

[Wes Bender]

Nope. Same desire out here in Arizona where the floors are solid and the engine tin too. I'm not so sure that the solution isn't a form of thermostatically operated shutter for the oil cooler. Of course, still allowing air to reach #3 and 4 cylinders. My money would be on Ron LaDow developing such a device.

[Craig Richter]

Didn't Porsche already try a thermostatic valve in 1958?

[David Jones]

With tongue firmly in cheek I would suggest an Eberspacher is the correct answer. I still remember my 62 VW 1200 in Germany in 64 when I started it 15 minutes before leaving for the base 10 miles away and I was still waiting for the heat to start flowing when I arrived. Unless I ran all the way in 3rd gear almost no heat was apparent and that had a thermostat to reduce airflow over the fan until it warmed up. It did not work worth a damn below freezing and all the linkages were set correctly as per the local VW garage that I consulted.
That was one area that water cooling excelled in as it did provide a source of heat even if it came from a fug stirrer heater with no fresh air.

[Jules Dielen]

last time i checked rust holes or an Ebersbacher do not get water out of the engine as the original poster is aiming for?

For cheap extra heat I would suggest an extra sweater. Ugly Christmas sweaters are currently on sale at wal mart for $8

[Mike Wilson]

I think Martin is on the right track. Think about diesel big rigs that block off a lot of the grill in winter. So, cutting off air flow might work. You just have to be careful that whatever you use to block doesn't get sucked into the fan shroud. If your car is an earlier model with the screen over the intake, that would be easy to partially block off. Another option would be to somehow reduce the surface area of the oil cooler itself or the air getting to it. You have to kind of think in reverse: why does an engine overheat?

Mike