Misters and radiators

[luvrbus]

TomC, everyone does it their way but all the patio styles on buses I ever saw about 1/2 were working and I can see where with 15 heads you would need 130 gals of water I don't have any spray system on my bus and where I live a 100 degree day would be spring time and my bus never over heats here in the Mojave desert or any other place I go.FWIW I saw the law called on a RV with patio misters in a AZ rest area because they thought he was dumping a tank in the parking lot they were so making such a mess  true story no bs    good luck

[Sam 4106]

Hi TomC,
I'm comfused (happens a lot). Why is it that the small amount of water through your misters causes calcium buildup on your intercooler and radiator but the large amount of water that you use to rinse the CLR out doesn't. Are you using different water to fill your fresh water tank than you use to rinse from your hose?
Thanks, Sam 4106

[Airbag]

Hi TomC,
I'm comfused (happens a lot). Why is it that the small amount of water through your misters causes calcium buildup on your intercooler and radiator but the large amount of water that you use to rinse the CLR out doesn't. Are you using different water to fill your fresh water tank than you use to rinse from your hose?
Thanks, Sam 4106

It is because of the cooling principal called "evaprotive cooling" when the water hits the fins on the radiator it evaporates and lowers the temp. There is very little that will make it past the fins and you will get all the calcium in the tank of water left on the fins. The little water that is used for a rinse with CLR does not contain enough to write home about. It about the quantity of water that is evaporated on the fins. I hope I have explained this OK.

[BG6]

Hi TomC,
I'm comfused (happens a lot). Why is it that the small amount of water through your misters causes calcium buildup on your intercooler and radiator but the large amount of water that you use to rinse the CLR out doesn't.

The mist evaporates on the hot fins, leaving the calcium sticking to the fins -- it has nowhere else to go. The CLR breaks up and unsticks the calcium, and the hose water flow runs off the COLD fins, taking all of the calcium with it.

[luvrbus]

Sam, that is the problem with patio type misters a good unit with cool the air without spraying the radiators.My wife's son-in-law has a Hayden on his Allegro and you cannot tell by looking at the radiators that he even has a misting system and 2.5 gals last him 5 hrs   good luck

[JohnEd]

In a previous(old) thread about misters the originator was looking for how much water flow he should use.  He kept adding spray nozzles and running the bus up a hill. He only started getting a noticeable cooling affect when he got to 10 or 20 gal per hour.  It was an eye opening volume.  What hill takes an hour and you carry at least 100 gallons.  He was happy and didn't sound like he was off to buy a new rad.  I think the amt of water used would depend on how much heat you wanted to reject, at what ambient temp and at what relative humidity and that is not to put too fine a point on it.   Boggie's fix of get a rad that's "big enuf" is the only real solution but when rads will set you back a few grand you get inventive and creative.  Especially if you are getting cooked and risk cracking a head.

John

[TomC]

My AMGeneral transit bus had a none turbo in it that never overheated.  The combination of being a transit and from Portland, Or makes for not as large a radiator as on over the road buses.  I have as large a radiator as I could get in.  With the extra trans cooler, and vents in the rear door I installed, I can live with the performance with the misters.  On my truck, I could pull any hill in any weather with the air ram effect.  But a bus is just naturally harder to cool.  Good Luck, TomC