ENGINE BLANKET MOD FOR INSIGHT ??????

[highwater]

Had been following and posting some over at the cardboard radiator block thread:

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/...pic.php?t=1970

and I got sorta off topic with some posts about an engine blanket, so I'll start a thread since I searched and only found one other mention here

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/...engine+blanket

about an engine blanket but no further mention of trying it.

here is the posts from the cardboard block threadmoved them here)

I received a quote back yesterday from one of two places that had a suitable material for an engine blanket. After I get (hopefully) the other one back I will decide which one to go with. I have spent lots of time looking under the hood at possible ways to seal up the (some of) air flow, and that appears to be a monster of a task, although there are a few things that could/can be done.
I will be running obd-2 but these extra temp probes would be nice for monitoring the whole compartment area and specific points under the blanket.
I plan on taking a old bed sheet or such to make a pattern, since it will be thin and easy to work with and may have to change my mind a time or two.
Was going to post this under the mods section, but since we're talking about warm "whatever" mods..............
Randall

Mike:
At this point it's looking like a product called PYROBLANKET,

http://www.adlinsulflex.com/fire-blanke ... ket-17-oz/

This is 17oz per sq yd, they make a 32oz. rated at 500 degrees F continious exposure and 2160 degrees F intermittent. Comes in 60in wide by whatever lengths up to 150 ft, silicone rubber coated fiberglass. Excellent abrasion resistance, imperviuos to water and oils, outstanding flexability.

Never heard back from the other prospect, but they probably are going to contact though a dealer, whereas the PYRO folks e-mail me direct. The MSDS on the other did'nt look as good as the PYRO MSDS anyway.

end of move

I think I'm going to give this thing a go, as I believe there is less involved than trying to seal up the engine compartment, although as I stated before there is some work that could be done in that area.

Randall

[Insightful Trekker]

Thanks Randall for your work in tidying up this tangled thread

[Mike Dabrowski 2000]

Hi Randal
That material looks good from a water absorbsion and temperature standpoint, but I don't see anything about it's insulating properties.
A temp probe in a cavity of the block where air flow will not directly cool it maybe with a cover, would give a before engine temp. You may want to start buy taking some refrence temperatures under different ambient temperature conditions, then repeat the test with the blanket. I am sure it will help to some extent.
I will be watching to see what your temp probes tell you.

[highwater]

Mike had asked in another thread how this mod is coming along. I am still working on it. Have been doing things that I wanted to get done in prep for the actual blanket. I have installed the engine block heater. Here in a minute I am going to upgrade the cardboard trick , if what I do works, I'll post in the cardboard mod thread. Some blockage of the air flow is likely to remain a factor, even after covering the engine, and I wanted something more durable than cardboard for the wet weather that is upon us, until we come up with a variable automatic mod of some kind. I also intend to upgrade my warm air intake this weekend, as OBD says my IAT is running about 32F in this weather at best. I am going to try to insulate the intake air route from the cat all the way around to the manifold. I also need to redo my version of the ground cable upgrade mod to a longer cable, which I now have on hand. This will put the cable back further in the area of the motor mount, as this will be one of the openings in the blanket ( around the motor mount, IMA cables, etc).
I have been looking for_poor-boy affordable_data acquisition software so I could record the test results both before and after, which will be easier than trying to watch and note/record temperatures in multiple places, and also make it easy for folks to peruse in a whatever file format. Then afterwards, I should be able to integrate these inputs into whatever automatic controls. I am closing in on this part (temp recording), so there will be sufficient prior data for comparison. I plan on using F and or J type thermocouples, and I have found an eight channel thermocouple module that comes with software, that is affordable for me. I will post all the particulars on the components at a later date.

I still have not heard back from the distributor of the second product that was mentioned earlier. I will probably go with the material I spoke of at the beginning of this thread. Have not ordered it yet because I want to make a flat pattern to see if I can get by with a lesser width material than 60 inches, as it comes in a 40 or 48 also IIRC.

I am sure there are more than a few out there shaking their heads (or scratching) on this. My thinkin’ is, if we get the engine_pretty much_insolated from the airflow, then the thermostat and radiator can do their jobs, if needed. I am seeing that this little engine needs to be kept at a_consistent_higher temp this time of year.

Still in the paper napkin stage, but getting close to glue, crayons, and scissors.

Randall

[Mike Dabrowski 2000]

Randall a few thermocouple tips.
If your thermocouples are not insulated on the ends, you could get bogus readings if they touch ground. If you stick the ends into a cavity, with a dab of thermal grease, then place insulation over it, to reflect only the block temperature, not the ambient.
Who makes the data logger?

[highwater]

The data logger that has my attention at the moment:

http://www.picotech.com/index.html

There is a distributor up in Kansas. I am probably going to build some or all of the thermocouples, so any pointers from anyone will be highly regarded.

For what it's worth........

Randall

[Calpod]

I like this one, the one I have only has 6 thermocouples, I used a rotary switch to move around and can only see one at a time, I have a single display, no data recording on mine, will have to look into this one.

[Mike Dabrowski 2000]

Randall
A few more places to look before selecting your datalogger.

http://electronickits.com/kit/complete/meas/ck110.htm
http://www.measurementcomputing.com/
http://www.onsetcomp.com/
http://www.omega.com/toc_asp/subsection ... 1&book=DAS
http://www.microdaq.com/

If you get some J typ thermocouple wire, you can just tightly twist the two wires together to make a thermocouple, although welding them is better. I make a small capacitor discharge spot welder to weld them. You will want to protect the bare ends, buy diping in hot melt or 5 minute epoxy. Yhis will slow down the thermal transfer rate, but the engine is not changing temp quickly so that will not be an issue.

Good luck with your experiment.

[Armin]

Originally Posted by Mike Dabrowski 2000

http://www.microdaq.com/

I use the MadgeTech MicroDAQ at work. They are great!

It's a tiny (matchbox-size) recorder that runs on an internal battery. It's easy to hide anywhere. Just set it up and it will record (I think 32k readings, but don't trust me on that). Then hook up to a serial port and download the data.

Only drawback: you need to buy the serial interface, which is about as much as the recorder... Wasn't a problem for me, since the company paid. And the data we got from using it in our product was worth much more than the price of the MicroDAQ!

[highwater]

Thanks for the input guys.

The picotech.com product is ~$450USD from the domestic distributor, comes with software, USB com. Data can be viewed in real time while logging. Add choice of thermocouples.

electronickits.com 4 channel, kit product(nice price-not enough time to build it), serial com(no serial port on my laptop, already have one RS232/USB converter for OBD-II.....

measurementcomputing.com Nice. Comparable to the PICOtech unit, and a bit cheaper at $299USD

onsetcomp.com Nice product line. To do what I have in mind, $299 for the base, $85ea for 3 modules ~$80ea for 8 sensors, $95 for software.

omega.com $1000 for the logger, add software and sensors/cables.

microdaq.com Basic logger is again ~$1000, then start adding. Stores data which must be downloaded.

So I think at this point I will narrow the search down to two possibilities. PICOtech and MC. Reading the manuals that go with the Measurement Computing (MC) unit, reveals there is a 30 minute warm-up time mentioned in the specs. This will be a problem for what I am wanting to do in the Insight. I have sent an e-mail to_both_products tech lines asking about warm-up time.


Mike:
Over in the ”M” thread, you mentioned something about an Engine bay micro subsystem

“block temp ,Air temp, coolant temp, intake manifold temp, and engine bay temp, radiator blocking louver control would controlled here.”

If going a certain direction with what I am doing here (temp monitoring) would do some ground/grunt work for that application, I would be more than happy to turn a corner here and there.

For what it’s worth……..

Randall