Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[I_want_an_Omega]

I'm thinking of fitting a Kenlowe Hotstart device to the car as I have one available (its a long story).

Hotstart is a mains powered heater/pump which you plum into the cooling circuit - ususlli in like with the heter matrix pipework. It will warm a V6 up from stone cold to about 80 degrees in about 45 mins and give you a lovely warm car from the word go. It has a plug in electrical connector which obviously has to be removed prior to driving off. In normal driving the heater just stays in the coolant circuit & dosn't cause any problems. These are frequently fitted to emergency services vehicles via an umbilical connector.

I previousy fitted it to my old MV6, which dodn't have the aux coolant pump fitted and used it for a couple of years quite happily.

My current 2.5 does have the aux pump fitted so my view was that removing the aux pump and replacing it with the Kenlowe would be the most straightforward way of installing as the hoses are in roughly the right place.

So, my question is this - in which direction does the aux pump send the water? Does it draw it in at the end and push it out of the side (right angled connection) or the other way around? I guess the easy way to tell would be to do a cold start and then hold both hoses whilst she warms up as telling which gets hot first will allow the current direction of flow to be determined.

Any ideas before I go and hold my hose(s)    :question

[Boatboy]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12-VOLT-IN-LINE-BOSCH-ELECTRIC-WATER-PUMP_W0QQitemZ350244908968QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item518c392fa8

If that link works it shows a picture of one for sale on ebay where the water exits at the side.

Steve

[Kevin Wood]

Hmm. The answer to your question is that the flow comes  from the heater bypass valve, throught he pump and into the heater matrix (through the bulkhead) so you should be able to see which hose goes to the bulkhead and work it out. I would imagine the pump is a centrifugal device and therefore the inlet is the bottom pipe and the outpet is at a tangent to the rotating impeller so on the side.

As to whether this will work depends which way round the heater bypass valve works. When the car is parked it will have no vacuum to actuate it. Can't remember if, in this position, it diverts flow through the heater matrix or not. If not, this part of the cooling system will be isolated and there will be no flow. :-/

I think I'm right in saying that no vacuum means heater working, so it's OK, but might be worth testing.

Kevin

[I_want_an_Omega]

Thanks for the replies chaps - much appreciated.

When I fitted the device to my '98 MV6 it didn't have the pump fitted, so I'm assuming that essentially removing it won't make much difference to the car as the mechanical water pump will still be doing the biz.

When I fitted it previously I did the 2 hands test to determine the flow direction - but as it was 8 years ago I've obviously forgotten!

Those are great pics and the flow direction is quite clearly visible.

I'll keep you posted as to progress.

Thanks

[Kevin Wood]

I removed the pump when I LPGd mine and have noticed no problems with heater performance. I think it just enables the residual heat to be used to heat the car when the engine is stopped. No big deal to lose that.

Actually, that means the HBV position must be OK when the engine is stopped too.

Kevin