Grill block cooling device
 

Has anyone made a grill block out of steel sheet with copper tubing brazed to it to act as an external cooling device? It may allow you to use a larger block. With a small pump it may be able to be used as a block heater.

Don

I don't think anyone has ever done it. There has definitely been talk of it though.

How would you use it as a block heater?

If used as a solar panel it could help get temps up. I'd just be worried about the legalities of having a bit of DIY steel sheet stuck on the front. Of course, there's millions of SUV's going around with bull bars on the front.....

ollie

When I park at work, my car faces west. When I leave work the sun is shining on the front of the car. This would heat up the coolant in the panel. If you had a very small pump, run off a secondary battery or a solar panel, to circulate the fluid back through the system it should help heat the block. Placement of the inlet & outlet for the panel would need to be thought over.

On the steel sheet note. The state has most people putting a steel sheet on the front of their car anyway. I pay about $55/car per year for the privilege. I wouldn't hold it on with velcro, mainly because my car's cooling system is on the line.

Don

I am not sure but I would speculate that running coolant through that would act more as a grill block cooler than an engine block heater. Interesting idea though.

Indeed, this would reduce the size of any air intakes needed for the radiator. One downside though, and this has been discussed in other threads, is that it may not be safe and/or legal to have anything on the outside of the car at coolant temperatures, just in case someone touches it. So, you'd need a grill to cover it, and then a grill block on that grill etc....

I don't see any safety/legality issues with it. It won't be anywhere near as hot as a tailpipe, and you can touch them easily enough... if you want.

However, I don't see the surface area of it being enough to do much. Might want to make an entire hood panel like that to get more area.

And having a pump- nothing is easier than adding complexity! Why not do thermo-siphon?

How useful is a block heater if its 80 degrees and sunny outside? (serious question)

I stuck a wood gasifier on my truck. I wouldn't worry about a bit of sheet steel.

Frank Lee
If thermo-siphoning still allows the system to work while hot that would be lovely. On the surface area note, would an undertray cool better, its in the shade? I would probably put the tubes away from the road, some of the pot holes around here get big & unavoidable.

LeanBurninating
If you can get the engine warmer than it normally would be, it would have benefit until operating temps are acheived. Especially if you don't have to use any electricity per Frank Lee's suggestion. On a hot day it still takes a few minutes for an engine to get up to temp. It was more of a possible benefit if done right thought.

Don