Blanketed Radiators In Winter on diesel trucks

[fitterski]

I noticed these and I think the real purpose is to allow the engine-bay to warm up

I'm going to run a Cummins 12-valve on a snow blower and since it will be used between 0c and -30c I figure on just bolting a 12"x18" rad with an electric fan to something. Mentally eyeballing the idea it should suffice but I have neither the numbers nor the knowhow to churn them meaningfully. Anyone with any experience in this?

 

[Ron50]

They do help to keep the engine warmer at night when not running. They main purpose of winter fronts, I am sure some will disagree, is to keep the radiator from plugging up with snow and the engine from overheating. If your engine is running to cold in the winter you need a new thermostat not a winter front.
Most of the time diesels don't have enough waste heat in the radiator to melt all of the snow during heavy snow and they will pack up. My last CAT engine I could just about have put the fan away for the winter because it hardly ever came on.
It would be best to run an electric fan with a water temp thermostat to turn it off and on. It will probably still clear this way.

 

[LouNY]

I'm going to disagree with Ron50, I run the winter cover on my pickup as long as the high temps are under 45F it helps it warm up considerably.
Without the cover on cold days I could idle the truck for 10 minutes drive to town about12 miles let it idle while I was doing my business and drive home, the engine would be on the low side of normal, the oil and trans temps would be low and the fuel mileage would be terrible.
On all of our tractors we cover the majority of the radiator opens in cold weather and they seem to run much smoother and get better fuel usage, we keep an eye on the temps and very seldom have to open the covers (plastic trash bags or ag bagger plastic) may not be fancy but it works. The transmissions and hydraulics all work better with the air flow restricted.

 

[Ron50]

I should have added that the radiator fans in big rigs don't turn at all when the coolant is beow the set temperature. They have an air activated clutch pack that engages them.
A viscous clutch does blow some air back over the engine all the time. This could make a difference in cold weather. The trick on winter fronts is to find the amount to open them as conditions change. You are also blocking air flow to the intercooler if you have a turbo with an air to air intercooler. Just depends on how hard you are working the engine.

 

[RNeumann]

Convert HP to BTUs and then calculate the radiator needed to dissipate about 80% of that heat. I imagine industrial radiators will have a BTU spec or something similar.

If you don’t want to or can’t figure out scientifically bigger is always safer then smaller.

With regards to the “radiator cover” they really aren’t. They are grill covers. I covered my radiator once and found out very quickly that doesn’t work. Covering the grill allowed plenty of air to flow from around and below the grill. I say that to illustrate the fact it’s not as small as you would think.

Also remember radiators come with different amounts of rows and materials. Of course all of that will dictate overall dimensions.

 

[Bikeman111]

Maybe not relevant, but lots of heavy equipment has the capability to reverse the fans direction for winter summer use.I run a cat 938 loader all year and it's usually recommended to have the fan pulling away from the engine in gravel pits etc to keep dirt from clogging rad,coolers etc.This is also winter mode.Keep in mind this is rear mounted rad,with fan on back.

 

[fitterski]

Maybe not relevant, but lots of heavy equipment has the capability to reverse the fans direction for winter summer use.I run a cat 938 loader all year and it's usually recommended to have the fan pulling away from the engine in gravel pits etc to keep dirt from clogging rad,coolers etc.This is also winter mode.Keep in mind this is rear mounted rad,with fan on back.

Didn't know they had reversibles. So intstead of blowing dust from the grill into the engine bay you blow it from the engine bay toward the grill? I don't understand how dust is kept out, are there filters as well?

 

[fitterski]

One problem you "could" run into is that the little radiator will not have enough coolant flow capacity.

Example: Radiator can flow 100 litres per minute maximum, but the engine puts out 175 litres per minute at x RPM.

The engine pump is not positive displacement, it puts out a small amount of pressure but the flow capacity is certainly a factor one way or another. After having pondered all the names I've been called I'm keeping my options open as long as I can. I can pipe the 2 small rads in series or in parallel or I can install the stock rad on the front with a plastic fan and no clutch to save weight.

If I compare the small rads 7/8" to the stock 1-3/4" thermostat inlet then the relative series section comes out at a little tight @ 0.6/2.4 and parallel @ 1.2/2.4. This last one __could__ fly given the sub-zero ambient temperatures. Concurrently, I'm running into belt-pattern issues if I don't use the stock frontal fan pulley and if I have to use that then I might as well forget about the added weight of an electrical fan as well as the small rads that need it. The belting problem might even force me to use and alternator or an idler in-lieu of one :-((( but hat's another topic.

 

[fitterski]

Convert HP to BTUs and then calculate the radiator needed to dissipate about 80% of that heat.

Easier said than done. Around 32F will be the warmest ambient and the engine is regulated at 195F for a minimum differential at the rad fins will be 163F but that's when the variables like fluid and air flow just come into the mix... calculating with those taken into account is over my head.

 

[Bikeman111]

Didn't know they had reversibles. So intstead of blowing dust from the grill into the engine bay you blow it from the engine bay toward the grill? I don't understand how dust is kept out, are there filters as well?

correct the fan pulls engine heat out thru rear grill,very powerfully too.This setup doesn稚 really pull dust in as much as pull heat out.Worls well,so well I lost a water pump belt for several hours and didn稚 have heating issues,was only at days end refueling I discovered it.