All the bolt on and tweaks which allegedly can make a standard production car more efficient than the manufacturer without having any downside to it have always been regarded with suspicion by myself.
However..... We have all noticed how much better a car runs (mainly petrol) on a cold wet night. This is obviously because combustion is helped by the air being denser, containing more oxygen and contributing to volumetric efficency.
Some large industrial boilers have incorporated this into design for efficiency purposes in the past.
Some years ago there were ads for a bolt on device which incorporated this system.
I also recall something on TVs Tomorrows World or something similar about this time.
Has anyone any experience of this device or if it worked.
If Chris's perpetual motion idea fails to materialise perhaps he could turn his inventive genius in this direction.
Alvin
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In the late 70s I fitted a water "injection" systen to my Sprite. Got it from Excange and Mart. Trouble was it was'nt "injection" but worked on suction from the inlet manifold. So if you were at idling it worked fine, but if you floored it (when it was most needed) it did not work at all....like the wipers on my 51 Zephir 6.
Of course planks were unheard of in those days.
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the only planks around seems to be some of the other people on this forum (no names given, and certainly not mine).
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This is the basis and purpose of an intercooler of course, which increases engine power by umpteen percent.
Mike
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I read about this gizmo years ago and the principle seemed sound. I recall that improved power came because of increased air density (cooler air) but also because flame propagation in the cylinder was supposed to be retarded by the water, which should ideally be finely atomised to have any effect.
The one I read about had some device for producing mist and also used an additive of some sort. It was probably an idea that was about 40 years ahead of engineering capability.
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Alvin
There was a thread on this some time ago. Using a fine water spray and thus the latent heat of evaporation to cool incoming air is used to improve the performance of gas turbines in hot climates. Also works for a car engine. I believe some WW2 piston engined aircraft used water injection for performance enhancement. Critical factor is to get the fine evaporating spray to pull the air temperature down and increase the air density, and thus improve the volumetric efficiency of the engine. An intercooler achieves the same effect, without the water useage, so is probably a more user friendly device.
Regards
John
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John Slaughter wrote:
>
> Alvin
>
> There was a thread on this some time ago. Using a fine water
> spray and thus the latent heat of evaporation to cool
> incoming air is used to improve the performance of gas
> turbines in hot climates. Also works for a car engine. I
> believe some WW2 piston engined aircraft used water injection
> for performance enhancement. Critical factor is to get the
> fine evaporating spray to pull the air temperature down and
> increase the air density, and thus improve the volumetric
> efficiency of the engine. An intercooler achieves the same
> effect, without the water useage, so is probably a more user
> friendly device.
Also used on Harrier's when in hover mode.
Just watch one at an air display and you'll notice water vapour
being ejected from the nozzles used for directional control whilst
in the hover.
/John
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I used to fly turboprops with old Rolls Royce Dart gas turbine engines. To gain additional power for take off on hot days, there was a water methanol injection system, the water being used to cool and therefore increase the density of the air, and the methanol to replace the lost combustible value of the fuel going in the intake by dilution with the water.
"Water Meth" is commonly available if you have an account with an aviation fuel supplier!
Colin
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Alvin
There were a couple of posts in June about this, search for "water spray".
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on yahoo auctions, there is a ford capri, with methanol injector, i think the current bid is about £180.
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Perhaps use a screenwash mix in the resevoir for the engine water injection system? The alcohol content of the screenwash has a marked cooling effect on ones hands if accidentally splashed onto them.
Water injection systems are only of any real benefit on turbocharged engines.
David
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thanks for telling me, i will try and get one for my lada turbo :-)
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The water injection gizmo was featured on successive weeks on Tomorrow's World. In the first one a test was done and it did, indeed, reduce fuel consumption. In between, the AA looked at the gizmo and found that in installing it, the mixture was made leaner. As a result, they simply switched off the water spray and found that the performance was the same as with water switched on, so if fuel consumption was what was required, you might just as well weaken the mixture on the car and forget the gizmo.
Of course, there is a trade off in terms of running temperature, etc, so they ended up recommending that you leave your car at the manufacturer's settings.
Vin
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