<VV> CHT Re: valve seats and "Ping"

[FrankCB at aol.com]

1.  I guess I'll have to explain it in simpler terms.  Once the  needle on 
the CHT gauge begins going above the normal (for those Corvairs) 350,  you 
begin watching it closely while driving the car.  When you have  driven a 
distance far enough that the needle exceeds 450 and keeps moving  higher, you 
pull over, shut off the engine and raise the engine compartment  lid so the 
engine can cool off.  Once it has cooled sufficiently, you  restart and 
resume the rest of your driving.
2.  In one of my situations, the engine needed a rebuilt/new  carburetor.  
In the other, it needed a new harmonic balancer.  Do you  carry those items 
with you??  I don't.
3.  I'll have to agree with you on this one.<GGGG>
4.  You could have installed a larger water tank, but I'm glad to  learn 
that you acknowledge that the water injection DID work.  If you  want to keep 
your air-cooled Corvair engine in a strictly stock condition,  then by all 
means don't use water injection.  But that would also keep you  from adding 
intercoolers as well.  And some intercoolers actually use WATER  cooling to 
remove heat from the intercooler   
5.   I've used water injection on NON-boosted engines where an  intercooler 
would have been useless.  Intercoolers are used by auto makers  because 
they are virtually idiot proof.  And if "everybody" is using  intercoolers, 
then why are there a number of companies making and selling water  injection 
systems????
6.  Those of us that try to extract additional power from out  air-cooled 
engines are willing to try whatever works.  Just ask Tom  K.
 
Frank "stock Corvair is a good beginning" Burkhard  
 
 
In a message dated 5/17/2012 8:06:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
jvhroberts at aol.com writes:
 
1. A CHT gauge won't tell you how far to drive. 
2. I carry spare  belts and tools, and don't worry about this. 
3. We don't drive fighter  aircraft. 
4. I had water injection. To be effective, I filled the tank  twice for 
every fill up. Obviously, it worked but was the view worth the  climb? And what 
the hell was I doing adding water for cooling to an AIR COOLED  ENGINE??? 
5. Everyone is smart enough to use intercoolers NOW. And that's  been the 
case for a very long time. 

So, what was your point  again?



John Roberts




-----Original  Message-----
From: FrankCB <FrankCB at aol.com>
To: jvhroberts  <jvhroberts at aol.com>; patiomatt <patiomatt at aol.com>; 
virtualvairs  <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Thu, May 17, 2012 4:40  pm
Subject: Re: <VV> CHT Re: valve seats and "Ping"


John,
     Of course I didn't NEED the CHT gauge to  tell me there was a 
problem!!  But I did NEED the gauge to tell me how  far I could drive before I had 
to cool off the engine by shutting down and  lifting the engine compartment 
lid.  How far would YOU have driven a  Corvair one time on 3 cylinders and 
another time with NO functioning  fan????   The CHT "told" me how far I could 
drive each time before I  had to pull over and cool off so the engine was 
not damaged.
     Since the average driver will simply not bother  to add water to a 
water injection system, the mfrs. all use intercoolers which  are virtually 
idiot proof.  Oldsmobile found that out the hard way when  they installed water 
injection briefly on their turbocharged Jetfire engines  in 1962-63.  It's 
hard enough for the average driver to remember to add  engine OIL when 
needed.  I remember seeing a woman at a  gas station once with NO oil showing on 
her dipstick and the attendant had to  add 3 quarts of oil to replenish the 
level.  And yes, he DID push the  stick down all the way into the tubing.
     If water injection was good enough for 20,000 of  our fighter planes 
during WW 2, it's good enough for me.
But maybe "they" weren't "smart enough" then to use  intercoolers????
     
     Frank Burkhard
     Boonton, NJ