Intercooler options

[gymcarm]

I have a few questions about intercoolers. I am interested in Pannhead's liquid intercooler setup. I would like more details regarding this installation. I know you use a radiator mounted under the driver's seat, but cannot find any more details about it.

How hot is the intake charge when it leaves the turbo?

How cool do we want the intake charge when it enters the engine?

Has anyone thought about a refrigerated intercooler using the air conditioning system?

How about the Peltier Junctions found in those 12V coolers that heat and cool like the ones from Coleman?

Just seeking knowledge and thinking "outside the box".

Thanks

[pannhead]

funny you mentioned the freon (134a) thing..last week it really hit me how super cold the suction line (low pressure)really is and what a waste of cold it is because it just gets sucked up by the compresser...this winter i'm going to make a system that incorporates the water being chilled by the "left over" freon..it will be a set of heat exchangers in in a sealed unit for the water to pass thru (the exchangers are already on the way) just have alot of welding and such,i also ordered a VOV (self adjusting orifice tube) etc etc...the idea is not totally "out of the box"..cool flow makes a freon intercooler but more importantly to note is that FORD will be offering an option i think is called "cold shot"? i think, that stores super cold liquid and the flow is activated when you WOT..people will say that it drags because the compressor is on which is true except i'm in CA and the compressor is on 6 months the year anyway (it was 90 degrees yesterday) so why not use the cool leftovers ?! i also found an accumulator that is like a heat exchanger that precools the hot high pressure line to improve efficiency of the a/c system,its the same concept of using the cool leftovers to do some good......well,cat is out of the bag now, i will report on it in the spring...ps, my computer did a DP and i lost all my stored stuff and my camara met with my toddler :( ..i'll have pics of my current system soon i hope...if there are any super duper a/c pros that have some technical advice that would be great !! smile.gif

[Peter J. Bierman]

last week I saw an article in an airco magazine on some very high preformance engines who use some sort of aico system as an intercooler after the rootsblower.
So the idea is not new at all.
I wonder however if this is working on a street machine, an airco system uses power, airstream through an normal intercooler is more or less free.
It should work I guess, but if it's worth hte trouble..?.....

Peter

[gymcarm]

It's kinda like Pannhead said...The AC is on 6 to 9 months a year in the south. If you are going to run the compressor anyway, might as well get a little horsepower out of it.

Everything has a trade-off. The turbo in our rigs robs some power by increasing the exhaust pressure. We get more power back than what is "stolen" in the process. This kind of gets back to the question "just how much do we need to cool the charge." I have read several times that any boost over 10psi with no intercooler is basically wasted. Where do we encounter that scenario with cooling the intake charge? There will undoubtedly be a point where getting the charge cooler results in very little power gain.

The biggest advantage with refrigerated intercoolers is that most of the hardware is already in place. There isn't much room for a traditional intercooler in these trucks. All we need to add is a little small diameter plumbing and an evaporator just big enough to cover the pipe from the turbo to the intake manifold.

[N7CX]

I have kicked around the refrigerated air concept also. However you won't get much bang for your buck running cold suction gas through a coil.
You will only be superheating the gas that is needed to keep the compresor cooled. You would need to tap into the liquid line that comes from the condenser { the coil in front of the radiator}
install a second meetering device then into your second evaporater { the new coil that is cooling your combustion air} then into the cold suction line. about 20 degrees cooling is all you can expect to get give or take some. it's kinda like a dual air setup on a suburban. another draw back
is that evaopator coils need to be in somewhat of a vertical posistion or at least tilted with the liquid entering the bottom and the gas leaving the top so you don't get any liquid into the suction line and into the compresor. liquid refrigerant will very quickly ruin a compresor.

[triggerman]

Pannhead;
That "accumulator" you mentioned sparked my interest ! Would you mind giveing the length/whith, inlet/outlet diams of the pipes an a PN while your at it??
Looks like you may have found one before I did.
Thanks
Walt

[GMCfourX4]

Somewhat off-topic, but I hope to soon be installing a Cummins intercooler that I bought. My plan is to install the dual-electric Flex-A-Lite fans and probably Evans coolant. This way I'll have more room behind the radiator (towards the motor) and I will fabricate new radiator mounting brakets so I can try to squeeze the intercooler in front of the radiator. Not sure if it'll work yet, but I'll take pictures. If I do manage to squeeze the intercooler in there, I have another idea for plumbing it. I was thinking about getting some aluminum plate machined in the shape of the upper half of the intake (just where it bolts to the lower half), and have some mandrel-bent tubing go into the plate. I would also be able to have the tube come in from the driver's side, so I wouldn't have all the intercooler tubes in the same space.

[pannhead]

triggerman.....i dont have the specifics (not that far along on this part of the project,figured i had all winter :D ) but go to coolflow.com and you'll see some wild stuff which also includes the accumulator

[triggerman]

Pannhead;
Thanks for the sight. Its like candy to a kid ! leakycar.com specs out a bunch of huge heater cors with 3/4 in an out ID's, with pics. Another fabmaster's paradice.
Thanks again smile.gif

[triggerman]

GMCfourX4;
One thing to keep in mind is the distance between the front of the fan blades and the back of the cooler. you will need to use that same air gap as the original set up. If you put the cooler closer to the fan, you will get less air draw ability from the fan. Even tho it looks like you can gain some space there, you realy can't.
Just thinking about your project gives me a head ache. None the less, Best of luck to ya .