Keeping Fuel Cool
Banned
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 6,661
From: LA (lower Alabama)
Re: Keeping Fuel Cool
Originally Posted by Kevin Blown 95 TA
I don't see how you could maintain your grapefruit skin readiness. Some guy wants to race you - you say, " Wait just a minute while I apply a fresh grapefruit to my fuel pump." or "You only won the race cause my grapefruit was too dried out and I vaporlocked!" 
Did you ever use clothes pins on the metal fuel line to get rid of vapor lock?
Did you ever use clothes pins on the metal fuel line to get rid of vapor lock?
Yea ya could say the same 'bout clothes pins.
When ya jump out with a hand full of pins your challenger scratches his head and wonders if ya going to hang up your shorts before the race.
Banned
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,935
From: Mobile, Ala..USA
Re: Keeping Fuel Cool
Ever seen those "log" type trans coolers with the heat sinks and they are long and cylindrical? I was thinking about installing one of those in the return line to help cool it down. Maybe on the pressure side if it would stand it.
David
David
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 520
From: MD
Re: Keeping Fuel Cool
Originally Posted by Injuneer
Let's get a grip people... some of these statements are not rational.
Density relationship of an API 56 gravity gasoline would indicate that increasing the temperature from 60degF to 90degF would change the density by about 1.8%. Obviously not enough to allow "3-4 gallons" of gasoline to expand to 5 (a 25-67% volume increase). You would put 4.9 gallons of fuel into the container at 60degF. It would occupy the 5 gallon container at 90degF.
Density relationship of an API 56 gravity gasoline would indicate that increasing the temperature from 60degF to 90degF would change the density by about 1.8%. Obviously not enough to allow "3-4 gallons" of gasoline to expand to 5 (a 25-67% volume increase). You would put 4.9 gallons of fuel into the container at 60degF. It would occupy the 5 gallon container at 90degF.
I'm not sure how the comment "physics says that higher pressure = higher temperature" applies to this discussion at all. Heating a material causes it to expand, but pressure will change only if it is constrained by a fixed volume. Compressing a gas will cause the temperature to increase, but we're not talking about compressing a gas, or dealing with the issue of adiabatic efficiency.
Icing of a carb is not tied to the fuel being at 32degF, and icing of a carb does not relate to "and you'll only ice up if you have water mixed with your gas and below 32*". Icing occurs when the metal parts reach 32degF and the moisture in the air freezes on the metal parts. Moisture from the air - not water in the gasoline. The major contributor to the cold temperatures required to actually freeze the moisture in the air is the fact that the gasoline is vaporizing, and the latent heat of vaporization is subcooling the air. Its not because the fuel itself has ben cooled to 32degF.
Keeping the fuel cool is important, but attempting to do that by some complicated process of reducing heat transfer to the rails is not cost effective. The recirculating fuel picks up heat from numerous sources, including the energy lost due to the efficiency of the pump in the pumping process, the use of fuel to col the pump, lines running near exhaust systems, lines running in the hot engine compartment, etc. A fuel cooler is simple and cost effective.
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