Adding a water jacket or water-cooling a MEP-831A

[sassriverrat]

Has anyone ever considered adding a water jacket with copper tubing and solder(?) or found a head to water cool a MEP-831A. Always thought it would be a cool idea and now that I've bought one (and waiting for it to arrive, does anyone know if this has an aluminum block or a cast iron (presumably) block and head? Thanks

 

[CMPPhil]

Hi

Interesting idea, but from a practical consideration as a retro-fit, how about adding cooling fins and improving air flow. Might not just improving the heat sink to draw the heat away from generator body with air instead of tubing carring fluid accomplish your goal of getting the body of the generator down closer to ambient air temperature?

Cheers Phil

 

[sassriverrat]

Here was the idea- being mounted on the front of my camper, I figured I could then plumb the water to run through a hot water tank/heat exchanger and when the generator is hot/running, have virtually unlimited hot water.

 

[Chainbreaker]

On the other hand, diesels need to maintain a certain cylinder/head temperature to operate properly. That's why you see exhaust manifold blankets used on many diesels to retain heat. If you pull too much heat off the cylinder/head it might cool the combustion to the point it becomes problematic...inefficient combustion, wet stacking, etc.

 

[Coug]

Unless it's a properly designed system, you'd be creating temperature differences in the head/cylinder that it isn't designed to deal with. Might not cause problems, or it might destroy the engine from the new stresses from the temperature changes.

 

[Coug]

On the other hand, diesels need to maintain a certain cylinder/head temperature to operate properly. That's why you see exhaust manifold blankets used on many diesels to retain heat. If you pull too much heat off the cylinder/head it might cool the combustion to the point it becomes problematic...inefficient combustion, wet stacking, etc.

I thought the main reason for exhausts to be wrapped was to try to keep as much of the heat in the exhaust as possible so it exits through the exhaust pipe, rather than radiating into the enclosure.

 

[Chainbreaker]

I thought the main reason for exhausts to be wrapped was to try to keep as much of the heat in the exhaust as possible so it exits through the exhaust pipe, rather than radiating into the enclosure.

I always thought of it as both. I may be wrong...but I thought that having too cold a cast iron exhaust manifold (especially during winter operation) would tend to allow too much heat dissipation away from cylinder. Thermal imbalance? I know depending on design of engine & method of cooling some use an exhaust blanket some don't.

Edit: Also, maintaining a hot exhaust manifold (running under proper loading and blanketing of manifold) helps to alleviate heavy buildup of deposits forming within engine & exhaust manifold due to not allowing the engine and exhaust manifold to operate at lower temperatures.

 

[sassriverrat]

Hmmm....you both bring up very good points- and yes, remember Catepillar ran hot turbos for a long time and they were [supposed] to be wrapped. The ones that's weren't wrapped typically caused some disastrous fires.


Anyone have another idea to increase hot water capability and, ideally, cool this generator?

 

[Coug]

It m ight make a little back pressure, and no idea how efficient it would be, but maybe some type of air to liquid heat exchanger in the exhaust?

 

[Chainbreaker]

Since its a single cylinder and probably not going to be run 24/7, I doubt there is going to be that much excess heat that you can effectively capture to heat a tank of water in your camper.

Regardless of practicality, I was thinking of a PC water cooler thermocoupled pump might be adapted. However, from just looking at MEP-831a pictures, I don't see any hot flat surface area that you could mount it on that would give a solid heat transfer.

On the other hand, perhaps you could remove the muffler and tightly coil wrap some copper tubing around the engine exhaust outlet/inlet pipe to muffler and braze it in place to obtain some heat transfer. Whether its going to be enough to heat a tank of water via a heat exchanger in your camper's hot water tank is doubtful though.