Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: RTshaker]
#621639
02/23/10 03:41 PM
02/23/10 03:41 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168 Vancouver, WA
MoparMarq
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168
Vancouver, WA
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Quote:
Why do black cars so much hotter than white cars on a hot day{parked } ?? Sittng on a black seat vs white certainly seems to be a difference. I always thought black absorbs and white reflects ?? Dunno
Both are true.
Heat is transmitted by 3 different methods. Conduction: traveling within the material of an object (why the wire you're soldering is getting hot further up the wire from the solder location) Convection: moving via air (or water) transfer to another object (hence, convection oven). Radiation: radiating the energy to the surrounding atmosphere or space. (Used commonly on spacecraft for supercooling components.)
Dark surfaces radiate better than light surfaces. But dark colors absorb light well also. They get hotter simply because they absorb light energy faster than they can radiate it. So even though light colored cars do absorb energy and radiate it to some degree, the main mechanism is reflecting the energy in the first place instead of absorbing it.
A black radiator will radiate better, but the main mechanisms for heat transfer in a vehicle radiator are conduction (transferring through the walls of the fins/tank of the rad) and convection (transferring it to the fluid [air, is this case] traveling through/around the radiator.)
HTH, Marq
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: MoparMarq]
#621640
02/23/10 04:47 PM
02/23/10 04:47 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345 Marysville, O-H-I-O
70Cuda383
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
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Quote:
Quote:
Why do black cars so much hotter than white cars on a hot day{parked } ?? Sittng on a black seat vs white certainly seems to be a difference. I always thought black absorbs and white reflects ?? Dunno
Both are true.
Heat is transmitted by 3 different methods. Conduction: traveling within the material of an object (why the wire you're soldering is getting hot further up the wire from the solder location) Convection: moving via air (or water) transfer to another object (hence, convection oven). Radiation: radiating the energy to the surrounding atmosphere or space. (Used commonly on spacecraft for supercooling components.)
Dark surfaces radiate better than light surfaces. But dark colors absorb light well also. They get hotter simply because they absorb light energy faster than they can radiate it. So even though light colored cars do absorb energy and radiate it to some degree, the main mechanism is reflecting the energy in the first place instead of absorbing it.
A black radiator will radiate better, but the main mechanisms for heat transfer in a vehicle radiator are conduction (transferring through the walls of the fins/tank of the rad) and convection (transferring it to the fluid [air, is this case] traveling through/around the radiator.)
HTH, Marq
right!
I fail to understand how putting paint on bare metal will make it transfer heat better? I could understand it if the material color options were white or black, but in a radiator, the metal is the color of whatever metal you have, and I would think that putting paint on top of it would only act as insulation.
I believe radiators were painted black because they felt a black radiator was cosmetically more appealing than seeing a bright orange core through the grill
if painting a bare core made it transfer heat better...then why do all new autos come with a bare aluminum radiator core?
**Photobucket sucks**
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: 70Cuda383]
#621641
02/23/10 04:50 PM
02/23/10 04:50 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 104,346 Garden Grove, CA
OzHemi
Penguin-hating Ginger
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Penguin-hating Ginger
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 104,346
Garden Grove, CA
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Quote:
if painting a bare core made it transfer heat better...then why do all new autos come with a bare aluminum radiator core?
To save money I would imagine...since the tanks are plastic, and the core is aluminum, there is nothing that will oxidize and look bad to consumers, so why not leave it ?
And a buddy of mine here worked at Alpine for quite a long time, he was in amplifier design for a while and they did a bunch of tests to see which was the best coating to help shed head from them...a matte black finish tested (and as said, should have basically) to be the best thing to help them shed heat.
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: Crizila]
#621644
02/23/10 07:29 PM
02/23/10 07:29 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345 Marysville, O-H-I-O
70Cuda383
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
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Quote:
Quote:
I was always taught and told that a black radiator would shed heat more efficiently. The only reason I can think of on the newer ones is because they design them with better capacity/tolerances, ie., more tubes, etc. or they don't need the transfer because of lower horsepower? Copper/brass is actually far more efficient than aluminum at dissapating heat. Aluminum is only good because they can put more tubes in the core. But you are WAY better off if you can use a copper brass bigger radiator than aluminum. Just the laws of physics.
Kinda off topic here, but aluminum rads are better than brass / copper at removing heat - not because aluminum is a better conductor, but because you can make the tubes bigger with aluminum than brass ( it's stronger ) so you don't need as many rows of tubes for the same flow. Heat transfer efficiency drops way off with the 3rd & 4th rows of tubes ( over 50% )on big brass radiators. Aluminum rads usually only have 2 rows of tubes, but the tubes are big - 1/2". Same flow as 3 -4 row brass rads, but better heat transfer on the 2nd row verses the 3rd and 4th rows of brass rads. Did I mention lighter
the stock aluminum radiator that was in my Dakota is only a 1 core radiator! but the core is 1" thick, the tubes are long and oval shaped, and it keeps my stroked, aluminum headed big block cool even when driving through traffic in 90+ heat
and the lack of paint might be a cost thing. I don't really know.
**Photobucket sucks**
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: OzHemi]
#621646
02/23/10 09:42 PM
02/23/10 09:42 PM
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 660
fury4speed
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 660
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Quote:
Quote:
if painting a bare core made it transfer heat better...then why do all new autos come with a bare aluminum radiator core?
All new cars are designed to run Hotter , maybe an emissions thing , so why bother to paint the Radiator to make it run cooler , that is my guess.
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: 69MOPE]
#621648
02/23/10 11:03 PM
02/23/10 11:03 PM
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 251 Lithonia, Ga
36PLYM
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 251
Lithonia, Ga
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This is an interesting thread. I would have to agree with 69MOPE. I can not see how a different pigment in the paint would affect heat dissipation from the inside. If you took two identical radiators in a controlled environment, temperature, humidity, ventilation and NO light, induced heat into each, it would be logical that the pigment in the black paint would not make the heat dissipate any faster. Now in the real world a black radiator may seem to dissipate heat more only because it would absorb more heat from the surrounding environment and have more to dissipate. Where a light colored radiator would not absorb energy from its surrounding environment and would not have to dissipate this extra heat to start with.
36 Plymouth Coupe 318 w/360 heads 518 trans 8 3/4 rear Ga. Tech BCE'78
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: Stanton]
#621651
02/24/10 09:08 AM
02/24/10 09:08 AM
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 251 Lithonia, Ga
36PLYM
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 251
Lithonia, Ga
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If it is a proven fact, what are the facts? Can we get some got hard scientific facts on this? I would love to believe that the earth is round!
36 Plymouth Coupe 318 w/360 heads 518 trans 8 3/4 rear Ga. Tech BCE'78
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Re: Black radiator cools better than silver
[Re: 36PLYM]
#621652
02/24/10 09:38 AM
02/24/10 09:38 AM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 283 N.E. England
Roppa440
super street
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super street
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 283
N.E. England
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Guys. It is very simple to demonstrate how painting something black makes it radiate heat faster. Get yourself one of those laser temp gauge things and try it. But one thing is a MUST. If you are going to paint a radiator black you must use correct radiator paint. I don't know why but it works much better. I tried it. In fact because I run a 1970 Challenger it was important to paint the front of my aluminium radiator so it could not be seen from the front through the 1970 grille. So I did. But I left the engine side of it natural aluminium so it looks trick along with the engine. Best of both worlds.
2002 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7 LS1
2011 Alpha Romeo Giulietta Veloce 1.6 JTD
Because running a Mopar in the UK is getting TOO expensive!!
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