Fuelly Forums - Electric water pump

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sludgy (Post 39059)

IMHO, any water pump is a terrible idea that wastes gas. Hot water rises. If you mount a radiator ABOVE the engine, it would create a thermosiphon that would move coolant due to density difference.

I never have quite figured out why almost all car manufacturers mount radiators in front of the engine where it creates drag and needs a water pump.

Perhaps the flow rate isn't high enough for sufficient cooling?

no pump, just convection

John Deere tractors from the 1950s and earlier did not have water pumps. They relied on convection to move the water. The problem was the water passages had to be much larger. The upper radiator hose eventually reached a diameter of somewhere around 4 inches(!) before John Deere threw in the towel and added a water pump.

Another proposal was to run on methanol. Methanol burns at a much lower temperature, so an engine specially designed for methanol would not need a typical water cooling setup. Air cooling is sufficient. Of course, there are old Beetles, with their air cooled engines in the rear. I recall vagulely that it worked, but shortened the engine's life.