Radiator Plugging

[swall]

Are cross flow radiators more prone to being plugged by sediment than down flow radiators? It seems to me that with a down flow, the sediment in the top tank (when the engine is off) would tend to settle into all of the tubes somewhat uniformly, whereas in a cross flow type, the sediment would settle to the bottoms of the both tanks and thus plug the bottom tubes.So with a down flow, all off the tubes would plug a little, but in a cross flow, the bottom tubes could completely plug with the top tubes remaining open.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Somewhere around here I've got a downflow radiator with the row of tubes that's easily visible from the cap open, and the other row plugged completely. Took a while to figure that one out.

At least for this one radiator, I'm postulating that tube temperature may have had a bigger influence than other factors like gravity on which tubes clogged.

I suggest that the 'all ... tubes would clog a little ...' hypothesis may be inoperative.






Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[franzh]

Taking a quick look at one industrial radiator I had access to shows a cross flow. One reason is that it is easy to repair, just unbolt the header tanks, hammer in a brass plug in a leaking tube (both ends) and its back in service. This particular radiator is sized for 150% of engine rated BTU, allowing for some reduction in cooling efficiency with age.
BTW, modern radiators in industrial engins and gen-sets use a coolant conditioner which negates a substantial amount of corrosion and sediment buildup. The conditioner package comes in a small spin-on device which resembles a spin on oil filter. It does have recommended service intervals. Also, almost all over the road semi transports have this same setup. It is not uncommon for these trucks to go 1/2 million miles on one coolant change.
When disassembling these engines, we tell the technicians to look for pitting or corrosion points on the wet-sleeves.
Franz

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