Originally Posted by
don ferrette
Actually that's not correct. It is both the amount of water AND the speed in which the water travels. All the water in the world may not properly cool if it does not spend enough time around the object you are trying to cool. This can be done by either restricting the outlet (typically done by the size of the hole on the outlet fitting) to slow the water down or restricting the inlet side to slow the water (the water slows once it passes the restriction) as well as reducing the amount. Controlling the rate of exit is very effective but you need to be careful with too much restriction at speeds over 90 as alot of pressure can build in the lines as a result. On my record trials boats I'll typically restrict both the inlet and outlet using both to achieve the desired temperatures. Using your car analogy going back to when I raced real cars, if you take out the thermostat completely the engine can and usually will actually overheat due to insufficient thermal transfer between the motor and the water. Companies like Moroso make restrictor plates with various size holes that fit in place of the thermostat to help regulate flow rates on race cars. The same goes for the water pumps, we used different sized pulleys to control the speed of water to improve thermal transfer. It is no different with our boats as it is possible to over cool as well as under cool. It doesn't matter if it's nitro, gas of FE powered, all have optimum operating temperature ranges and playing with the rates and speeds of the water will help you get there. :smile: