MTFCA Forum

Photo captioned "Australian Flying Corps, France, 1917"

Rich that is an old system called a "bucket", "pond", "well", etc. Thermo-syphon like an ole hit and miss engine. They work.., really until it gets too hot. Radiators would get shot up and it was an alternative!

Hank

Thanks for that, Henry. Here's a better photo of the rig. It looks like the frame was lengthened. I wonder what its purpose was in the flying squadron ?
(Thanks to the FB Model T group for the pix)

They may have used it to heat water for shaving, bathing, etc.

Rich P. Bingham wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 11, 2023 12:24 pm

Thanks for that, Henry. Here's a better photo of the rig. It looks like the frame was lengthened. I wonder what its purpose was in the flying squadron ?
(Thanks to the IMG_4732.jpegFB Model T group for the pix)

Its better to pull a plane into a hanger than to push it.
The above photos are in this earlier MTFCA Forum & very very large https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/5 ... 1449227796
Caption for both- "Members of 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, with a skeletal Ford Model T car, Bailleul, France, 1917"

and this additional photo

Some of the earliest water cooled automobiles had only a cooling tank to keep the engine from overheating. The cooling tank isn't very efficient, but the small single cylinder engine running a lightweight runabout short distances and low speeds didn't generate a lot of heat either.
A lot of stationary industrial engines used only an evaporative chamber surrounding the single cylinder to dissipate heat. They often ran enough that the water around the cylinder would boil, taking the heat away as steam. The operator had to keep a watch on the water level to maintain the cooling efficiency, such as it was. If the water level got too low, and left exposed part of the cylinder, or cold water too quickly added to a low water condition, serious damage could result.

Radiators were often the first casualties of battle. Only a few bullets or shrapnel from one nearby bomb hit could render a radiator practically beyond repair. Replacements could be weeks away. Two holes from a bullet (one in, one out) on a cooling tank could be easily and quickly patched. A single bullet traveling at an angle could sever maybe a dozen tubes! Most inside the core where they could not be easy to repair.

The life expectancy for an automobile used near the front lines was short. They were large enough to be seen from quite distance, and gunnery crews liked to try to hit them! Chassis were continuously being straightened and repurposed as transport vehicles for use near the battle zones. They could run in with supplies, meals ammunition as needed, just a very few miles in and back. Or they could carry messages between command and the front lines. Remember, practical radio was still a couple years away. Horses died or panicked if too close to a cannon shot. The old Ford might be patched up again and again.

From the movie Tobacco Road:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view ... tedIndex=1

Water in an open container boils at sea level at 212F. That's as hot as you can get it, unless you put it in closed container which can hold pressure, such as a boiler. At higher elevations, the boiling point, and thus the maximum water temperature obtainable, drops.
A hopper-cooled or tank-cooled engine cannot overheat as long as the hopper or tank is kept full of water. They can operate with fairly dirty water, having no radiator to clog, but mineralized water will leave deposits in the hopper and cylinder head, which can lead to problems. Some old engines used a sort of geyser system, with a separate tank and water jacket arrangement. Water would boil in the water jacket, which caused steam and hot water to be displaced into the tank, which gravity then replenished with cooler water from the bottom of the tank. These systems probably reduced mineral deposition and boiled off less water than a plain hopper type. The thermosyphon system can be used either with a tank or radiator. A thermosyphon system with a radiator can be made much lighter and more compact than than the other two, and can allow for more even cooling of the engine while needing little or no makeup water. The water jacket can be kept below the boiling point under all operating conditions, which can't be done with the hopper or geyser type system. The tank cooled thermosyphon system can keep the water jacket below the boiling point if the tank is large enough.

But honest, mister revenuer agent, sir, it's not a still, no sirre, it's my car's cooling system, honest injun, sir...

Good observation Susanne. The radiator coolant is alcohol based. Permanent antifreeze can be dangerous to the system.

Art Mirtes

I swear, ossfier, I ain't been cookin' no 'shine. Them dadgum 'shiners done stoled my reddyeter to cook off a bunch of jakeleg likker!