Thermo Quail

Conaway2

Conaway2

Well-known member
Question for those who have one of these - does the thermometer work well enough to be useful ? Can you see it while driving ??

Thanks - JIm
 
I have one. Seals to radiator well which is a must. Its not easy to see the thermometer, my car runs quite cool though. Looks great flying out there in front of you. Some have complained about the quality, mine seems very well made. Got it from Mac's maybe 8 or more years ago.
 
Mine is an original that was rebuilt. It is in my opinion primarily an ornament which is functional to a point. Is it accurate, I am sure not. It is an indication at best!
 
Jim,
I have this quail too. The bird looks good. The thermometer is hardly recognizable even in broad daylight. It indicates boiling over just before it happens. (As a precaution, I installed a remote thermometer inside.)
 

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I have had one on my roadster pickup for close to 10 years and like it real well. When I climb some steep mountains here in the Ozarks it tells me when I need to ease up a little. I have always been able to see the red fluid when it starts to rise up in the glass and can tell its getting close to getting hot. Wish I had one on my tudor also.
 
It isn't the easiest to read and even harder to read at night. You can test it with water and a cooking thermometer in your kitchen.
 
I have one on my Tudor and think it is about as useful as flyscreens on a submarine. I used to have a motor meter on my Phaeton and to get any reading out of it, I cut a piece of copper tube so it just fit over the bottom of the thermometer,. it pointed down with a bend at the bottom pointed towards the radiator inlet so it kind of scooped in the hot water coming from the engine. There was a hole just under the thermometer to let the water out again. The idea was to have water from the engine constantly circulating past the sensitive pert of it so I could get a reading on the water, not on the air above the water. It worked very well but I can't do it to the quail because I wouldn't be able to open the cap. Apart from the looks of the thing, it is useless. I'm sorry I bought a quail with the thermometer.
 
The problem with these "hood ornaments" is that the temperature stem is never in the water, it is always above.

This means you never get an accurate reading with just steam vapor.
 
A vintage trick was to attach a piece of linked-chain to the bottom of the thermometer stem so that the chain would dangle in the coolant below the top baffle in the radiator. The chains I have seen appear to be brass sash cord.
 

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the motormeter type temperature gauge is not intended to be sensing the coolant, the intention is to sense the air over the coolant--and to react to the first beginnings of steam before full boil is reached----
 
In my opinion the thermo Quail is mostly a decoration . An inside temperature gauge is my choice because it is easier to read .
 
Did Ford offer thermo-quails as an authorized accessory? I thought the originals were non-thermo and thermos are a reproduction adaptation.
 
I agree that the non thermo quail was the real authorized accessory . The thermos quail is an aftermarket accessory .
 
Kurt in NJ said:
the motormeter type temperature gauge is not intended to be sensing the coolant, the intention is to sense the air over the coolant--and to react to the first beginnings of steam before full boil is reached----
Click to expand...

I wondered why the probe wasn't in the coolant.
 
DBrer said:
I wondered why the probe wasn't in the coolant.
Click to expand...

What Purdy says and if the probe was long enough to reach the water, you wouldn't be able to open the cap. It would hit the side of the neck well before the quail was swung back far enough to even see in there.
 
I have had one for 14 years now, and it works for me. It’s true it does not give you a temperature, but I can tell by how far it has risen how close I am to overheating. My car does not hardly ever get hot....mostly while hill climbing in the summer. I like the looks of it and I have reasonable expectations.....
 
Hallo und guten Abend.


I have a note about the quail thermometer insert. After about a year of sunshine, the original red display line has faded more and more and is now barely visible. Obviously, the coloring of the liquid advertising line is not lightfast.

Too bad, the display works, but it is not recognizable.
 

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Werner said:
Hallo und guten Abend.


I have a note about the quail thermometer insert. After about a year of sunshine, the original red display line has faded more and more and is now barely visible. Obviously, the coloring of the liquid advertising line is not lightfast.

Too bad, the display works, but it is not recognizable.
Click to expand...


I wondered why these were offered for sale. It makes more sense now. Apparently, they “wear out” from a color perspective.


https://www.brattons.com/quail-thermometer-repair-kit.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I agree with what McMimmcs said above. I had a moto-meter lolypop I got years ago from Snyders. I could see mine well. Bought the o-ring from Brattons and that sealed it nicely.
I HAD TO REMOVE IT. Somone tried to steal it one day when I went to the hardware store, and broke the neck off of my $585 radiator!
 
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