Cooler Fuel Temps

[LEADFOOT]

I have thought about this and was wondering, Has anybody wrapped their fuel lines around their A/C accumulator to get the effect of a cool can? It should drop fuel temps shouldn't it?

[beingblueeyes]

there was a member on here who made a fuel cooler out of a block of alm. and tec's and if memory serves he was trying to market it but that was a long time ago and nothing new has been posted about it so i think it didnt work out. cant recall the guys screen name

[molitor]

It worked! marketing stuff is slow though. I recently went to work for a R&D company, so things are moving forward again. I still need to get another unit ready to send to Nelson Performance for some testing.

With fuel at 80dg F, you'll see 13-15dg temp drops with version 1 but it takes a few minutes to reach peak efficiency.
Unit 2 was showing a 34dg drop after 2 minutes run time. The unfortunate thing is that with a fuel system with a return line at the fuel rails, you end up trying to cool all the fuel in the tank as is circulates. a returnless system would be ideal with the cooler hooked into the pressured supply to the rails. That way your not constantly recirculating fuel.

[J Industries]

With a returnless system what is the average fuel consumption? The reason I ask is if the fuel went out of the cooler how long till it makes it to the injector, and how much of the temp drop has been lost due to the time it takes to use the fuel?

Im not trying to say it wont work, I just wonder how well.

[Frenchy]

I'd like more details

[molitor]

Wrapping the fuel lines in insulation of some kind would solve all of that. I have some 1/4" thick Kaowool insulation that is used for doors on forges and other really really really hot things to insulate them. Something like that would work well with a mylar shield around it.

[60ratrod]

ok so how is it worse that you are trying to cool the fuel in the tank? and wouldn't you want the cooler to be on the feed side anyway? and with the fuel in the tank being a cooler than it would normally wouldn't that actually make the cooler even more effective? just tryin to understand why return style systems aren't as good as returnless when it comes to cooling

[Xlr8n]

ok so how is it worse that you are trying to cool the fuel in the tank? and wouldn't you want the cooler to be on the feed side anyway? and with the fuel in the tank being a cooler than it would normally wouldn't that actually make the cooler even more effective? just tryin to understand why return style systems aren't as good as returnless when it comes to cooling

I think he is saying you are returning cooled off fuel to the tank. Which you would need a hell of a cooler to cool off 20 gallons. Then it goes through the hot pump and what not.

I may be way off. Lol.

[LEADFOOT]

I don't see why it would matter if it is a returnless system or not. The only thing I see would be the distance between the cooling source and the injectors. The temp of the fuel going into the cooler shouldn't change whether it is a recirculating system or not. And if it does it, it should change for the better.

If you are using an ice filled cool can I can see where the cool can may get warmer faster with a recirculating system, but if your using your AC accumulater as the cooling source it shouldn't matter.

Am I way out there?

[molitor]

My device was designed to be mounted in the engine compartment with a short line running to the rails. With a vette style returnless rail system, the fuel begins to cool as it travels though the cooler and with proper insulation, the temperature should remain the same up to the point where it is injected. If you are recirculating the fuel like this:

tank>pump>supply>cooler>feed>rails>regulator>retur n>tank

you have too many components in series that are constantly dumping heat back into the fuel and the fuel spends less time in the cooler shedding that heat.

If you run this configuration(i.e. return-less):

tank>pump>supply>cooler>rails>injectors

you have few components in series, the fuel spends more time in the cooler since it is only moving as fast as it is consumed and not just free-flowing through the system, and you can locate the cooler as close to the injectors as you wish.

and gasoline is terribly inefficient as a thermal mass since it gives up heat and gains it so easily, so you want to get it cool and keep it that way until it comes out of the injector.