Heat Tape Discussion
- Thread starter Grinder34
- Start date
Alter3go
New member
Did you ever go to Home Depot? Interested to see how stuff from there holds up
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Fuck... I forgot again!!! Someone pm me tomorrow morning and remind me.... I apologize!
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Ill set a reminder on my phone for 10 am
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Theres alowes and home depot by my house. Ill go in the morn
I would go now but you dont understand how lazy i am right now lmfao
That is the most inconclusive "test" you can perform. If you want to get some credible results stick a temperature probe downstream of the IC and compare results. If I were to make an educated guess. I would say the temp out go up if you taped up your IC versus decreasing.
all those examples you used are used for a variety of reasons that arent even related. the only things that MIGHT relate are shrouds (wtf?!) bigger ic's and spacers.
blankets, ceramic coats, and wraps are meant to be used to keep heat in. reflective tape is not but guess what? I can probably bet it does and the intercooler is the last place i would put it.
You are right if its heat generated from a light source i.e. the sun. Which is why roofs here in AZ are painted white instead of black. When it comes to heat generated under the hood where there is no light then you are in an entire different world. The tape now becomes a mediator between the source of heat and the IC. depending on the material of the tape it will soak up X amount of heat. Now if you put that tape on an intercooler that tape now acts like an insulator to that intercooler and it will start retaining heat instead of transferring it like it was designed to do which potentially = higher IAT's. The reason why the intercooler feels hotter than tape is because the material that the IC is made out of is more efficient at transferring heat energy which is the whole point why its made out of aluminum and not out of tape or come wrapped from the factory. so what i am trying to say is that you are doing more harm than good wrapping it with tape by both wasting money and increasing IAT's that combines with all the other improper tactics people do that ultimately leads to engine failure. If you want a cooler intercooler dont keep it ABOVE a hot engine where heat RISES and heat soaks it.
Spamby
Meat Product Toy
Forgive me for using a mirror as an example. Bad choice on my part.
That's why they make plywood roof decking with foil coating to reflect radiant heat. This decking is under shingles so no light. They also make foil sided foam board for the first layer of wall insulation in houses, again radiant barrier and no light. HAve you ever spent time insulating duct work? No? Ever wonder why the duct wrap is foil sided on the outside? Considering the placement of the duct work, I.E. hot attic or ceiling space, the foil RADIATES the heat away from the cooler air inside of the duct.
Heat is heat. Light emission has nothing to do with heat. Heat waves or infrared waves travel in a different spectrum as light, actually between light and radar. Heat is transferred by mode of radiation, convection or conduction. Radiation or infrared is the most primary mode of movement. All materials transfer heat, period. Solids transfer heat at different rates based upon the density, weight, structure, shape and it's permeability. All aluminum is not the same and thus transfers heat at different rates (absorbs or radiates).
Aluminum is not an insulator, per se. So in the case of foil tape, which is what we are discussing, it does not insulate. Foil tape would soak up no more heat than the intercooler is. Probably less because its density is much lower than the intercooler. Foil or aluminum reflects the radiant heat but it does not act as an insulator. You're confusing things. Wrap it in duct tape or in fiberglass tape and then we can discuss insulating.
Aluminum is actually very good at absorbing heat. It absorbs heat at a faster rate than say, steel or iron. However, it dissipates it much faster than steel or iron.
In the instance that your intercooler worked by dissipating heat by the end tanks, then yes. However, the endtanks are not the primary mode of heat transfer. The tube and fins are what actually causes the heated air charge to be cooled by the ambient air passing over the cooling fins. Your endtanks are isolated under the hood and basking in a few hundred degrees worth of heat. At any rate, the temp of the compressed air, pre cooled and in the upper tank, will likely be equal to or less than that of the ambient under hood air.
The WRX intercooler endtanks are made of plastic and not aluminum, care to discuss that? Most automobiles radiator endtanks are made of plastic now, discussion?
The intercooler is in a bad spot, I'll give you that. But if the endtanks were there to actually cool and purposely do so, then why didn't they design the endtanks themselves with heat sinking fins and expose them to airflow by way of the hood scoop?
But saying why didn't Subaru do this or that if it's so good doesn't get anyone anywhere. There are many examples of things that can be further improved upon within this car, any other car or any other product. In the end it's because it's not needed. The design does it's intended purpose, within the criteria set forth and at a cost that is acceptable. I could be wrong but it makes the most sense when considering manufacturing processes, engineering and simply, the cost of doing business.
I'm also not saying foil tape is the end all of it and that it's the miracle worker from Home Depot. In fact, I would say that if anything, money and time is better spent in keeping the heat away by means of isolating it on things ilk the turbo or exhaust line.
And until I see some real data suggesting that foil tape does not work or in fact does work, we are all speculating.
That's why they make plywood roof decking with foil coating to reflect radiant heat. This decking is under shingles so no light. They also make foil sided foam board for the first layer of wall insulation in houses, again radiant barrier and no light. HAve you ever spent time insulating duct work? No? Ever wonder why the duct wrap is foil sided on the outside? Considering the placement of the duct work, I.E. hot attic or ceiling space, the foil RADIATES the heat away from the cooler air inside of the duct.
Heat is heat. Light emission has nothing to do with heat. Heat waves or infrared waves travel in a different spectrum as light, actually between light and radar. Heat is transferred by mode of radiation, convection or conduction. Radiation or infrared is the most primary mode of movement. All materials transfer heat, period. Solids transfer heat at different rates based upon the density, weight, structure, shape and it's permeability. All aluminum is not the same and thus transfers heat at different rates (absorbs or radiates).
Aluminum is not an insulator, per se. So in the case of foil tape, which is what we are discussing, it does not insulate. Foil tape would soak up no more heat than the intercooler is. Probably less because its density is much lower than the intercooler. Foil or aluminum reflects the radiant heat but it does not act as an insulator. You're confusing things. Wrap it in duct tape or in fiberglass tape and then we can discuss insulating.
Aluminum is actually very good at absorbing heat. It absorbs heat at a faster rate than say, steel or iron. However, it dissipates it much faster than steel or iron.
In the instance that your intercooler worked by dissipating heat by the end tanks, then yes. However, the endtanks are not the primary mode of heat transfer. The tube and fins are what actually causes the heated air charge to be cooled by the ambient air passing over the cooling fins. Your endtanks are isolated under the hood and basking in a few hundred degrees worth of heat. At any rate, the temp of the compressed air, pre cooled and in the upper tank, will likely be equal to or less than that of the ambient under hood air.
The WRX intercooler endtanks are made of plastic and not aluminum, care to discuss that? Most automobiles radiator endtanks are made of plastic now, discussion?
The intercooler is in a bad spot, I'll give you that. But if the endtanks were there to actually cool and purposely do so, then why didn't they design the endtanks themselves with heat sinking fins and expose them to airflow by way of the hood scoop?
But saying why didn't Subaru do this or that if it's so good doesn't get anyone anywhere. There are many examples of things that can be further improved upon within this car, any other car or any other product. In the end it's because it's not needed. The design does it's intended purpose, within the criteria set forth and at a cost that is acceptable. I could be wrong but it makes the most sense when considering manufacturing processes, engineering and simply, the cost of doing business.
I'm also not saying foil tape is the end all of it and that it's the miracle worker from Home Depot. In fact, I would say that if anything, money and time is better spent in keeping the heat away by means of isolating it on things ilk the turbo or exhaust line.
And until I see some real data suggesting that foil tape does not work or in fact does work, we are all speculating.
Grinder34
Track Monkey
It's more conclusive than your "if i were to make an educated guess" statement.
As for your educated guess...why do you think the McLaren F1 coated lots of engine bay components with actual gold? I'll give you a hint, it's not because they wanted more bling. The answer is that it reflected heat. In a perfect world i'd coat lots of things with gold foil, but i'm not rich, so thermally reflective tape will have to do.
bonus engine bay pic:
Grinder34
Track Monkey
whoops, i missed that there was a new page of responses when i posted that.
But right on Spamby. We're not talking about coating the FINS of the IC, just the end-tanks. Those are parts that arent designed to radiate heat, and can be exposed to lots of IR radiation from other hot components.
Same with the intake snorkel. I'd coat that with heat tape, to prevent it from getting hot, and in turn transferring that thermal energy to the intake air.
But right on Spamby. We're not talking about coating the FINS of the IC, just the end-tanks. Those are parts that arent designed to radiate heat, and can be exposed to lots of IR radiation from other hot components.
Same with the intake snorkel. I'd coat that with heat tape, to prevent it from getting hot, and in turn transferring that thermal energy to the intake air.
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