Cooling opinions- Air flow vs water flow

F

Fordman487

Member
Can anyone weigh in on what cools an engine better- increased air through the radiator or faster flow of coolant via the water pumps?

I've got a '35 Pick-up used in parades and other slow speed applications that used to run hot until I put a 6 blade fan in. (Radiator is new). I now need new water pumps and am considering having Skip Haney rebuild my pumps; but I'm not sure if it will be effective. Will the faster coolant flow be effective at slow speeds with low air flow at parade speed through the radiator, or do his pumps work best at higher speeds b/c of the faster air flow matching the fast coolant flow through the radiator. Any thoughts?
 
In my experiments All I know is that if the radiater is a bad design or blocked a high flow pump will make use of the tubes better by forcing more water through ,so you can get a improvement ,but more air will help as well In parades also .You just might need a pressure valve or tank with the HF pumps Ted
 
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Look at the heat transfer function air cooling is a function area and liquid is a direct funtion - therefore doubling air flow will provide up to 4 times more cooling, doudling water flow will only double cooling. Basic heat transfer- 36fordguy
 
FlatheadTed said:
In my experiments All I know is that if the radiater is a bad design or blocked a high flow pump will make use of the tubes better by forcing more water through ,so you can get a improvement ,but more air will help as well In parades also .You just might need a pressure valve or tank with the HF pumps Ted
Click to expand...

In my armchair research (eyes closed, hands folded across chest), it would seem that blocked tubes would cause the pumps to push water out the over flow, plus with the coolant pushed into the upper radiator tank, cavitation would result or lower hoses would collapse (if long enough and soft enough).
 
40 I like your style ,over here they call that a couch potato ,yes it will push the water out the over flow so you need a valve or a pressure tank on the end .A shroud is my vote to ,
 
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shroud is best for normal everyday driving. shroud will flow air through total area of radiator covered with shroud. for parades or slow driving i had an electric fan in front of radiator to supplement the stock fan on a 1941 pick up. with the 1935 i do not know how much room there is between radiator and grill shell, but there are some pretty thin electric fans out there. though most are for 12 volt applications.

and you kind of answered your own question when you indicated that the 6 blade fan helped cool it down. air flow is the biggest cooling advantage at low RPMs..
 
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