ENGINE TEMPERATURE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 211, 20 August 1927, Page 10

ENGINE TEMPERATURE.

Th© best kind of mascot for ©very motorist to have upon his radiator is th© motor-meter, an instrument [or recording the engine temperature, it gives a clear and definite warning before damage can happen to the engine from overheating. It also indicates when the temperature is too low. The engine should b© hot. and will not run at its best until it is nicely warmed up and the oil flowing easily to the various parts. But at the same time it must not be too ’’Ot. There is a point at which the oil loses its lubricating power because it becomes too thin ; when this point is exceeded there is always a loss of power and a danger of seizure. The motor-meter registers, not the temperature of the water in th© radiator, but the temperature of the vapour in the air space above f he water. It is therefor* independent of the level of the water in the radiator and may be relied upon to give a correct Indication of th© temperature of the engine. Until steam cooling i s adopted, which mav happen in the future, it is undesirable that the water in theTadiator should boil Boiling water means a hot engine and loss of water. The best temperature of the water in the radiator is from 180 degrees to 200 degrees F.; this varies a little in different engines. A water temoerature of 190 degrees F. is a good average. and this corresponds to a vapour temperature of about 160 degrees F When the radiator water boils rhe top of the radiator becomes filled with steam at a temperature of 212 degrees b. ; theref ore the rise in the thermometer is easily seen. Whereas, if the water temperature were indicated. the difference between 200 degrees and 212 degerees F. might well escape notice. Other advantages of tliis system are that when the level of the water drops, the indicated temperature also drops, whereas it is probable that the engine would necome hotter. Also, if anything went wrong with the water circulation the same thing would; happen, for ’.he water, no longer circulating through the water jackets of the engine, would become cooled in th© radiator