46 replies to this topic

[Wessie28]

has anyone got one fitted to their mini, does anybody sell the kits to fit them? pro's con's ?

thanks

[Mini Man Dan]

has anyone got one fitted to their mini, does anybody sell the kits to fit them? pro's con's ?

thanks

Why do you need an electric water pump? I thought the water pump was attached to the top of the blockwhich in turn is connected up with the bottom pulley and the altenator and while ever the engine is running the water pump is turning?

Whats the difference with an electric water pump? sorry if I am being stupid!

Edited by Mini Man Dan, 24 January 2008 - 07:05 PM.

[Dan]

It may seem obvious, but it runs on electricity instead of a belt!

I think Mini Miglias tend to use them, they aren't so popular on road cars. Pros are a better working cooling system, the ability to run with no thermostat and still keep the coolant temperature stable and the ability to keep the coolant pumping after the engine is off. Cons are the complexity of building the pump into the car, it's more suseptable to failure (an electrical failure would cause cooling failure) and it's just one more thing that can go wrong.

[alexcrosse]

you get a bit more power too because there is less load on belt (like running without an alternator)

[Wessie28]

i was thinking of fitting one onto our 1380 grasstrack racecar, we run 2 batteries on it anyway so for the length of the race i recon we could get away with ditching the water pump and alternator, giving more power because of less pumping losses. i think i'll have a look at some of the miglia engine bays

[mini_kel]

you get a bit more power too because there is less load on belt (like running without an alternator)

But u still have to produce electricity to power the pump which in turn puts more load on the alternator,for a road car anyway!

[Wessie28]

you get a bit more power too because there is less load on belt (like running without an alternator)

my thoughts exactly ! and with a decent electric water pump i could ditch the thermostat and set the engine temperature in order to maximise performance
i know the belom are from demon thieves but its the sort of thing i was was thinking of using
http://www.demon-twe...p;pcode=DCP8005
http://www.demon-twe...p;pcode=DCP8010

[Wessie28]

you get a bit more power too because there is less load on belt (like running without an alternator)

But u still have to produce electricity to power the pump which in turn puts more load on the alternator,for a road car anyway!

yeh, i problably should of stated in my first post that i was for a race car, but give it a few years on the majority of modern (plastic C**p) cars willl be fitted with electric pumps for everything ! power steering, water pumps, oil pumps etc

[*DJH*]

i think i'll have a look at some of the miglia engine bays

you'll be surprised, literally only a couple have electric pumps

[Mini Man Dan]

It may seem obvious, but it runs on electricity instead of a belt!

I realised that! I meant what difference would it make to the colling of the engine which has now been answered

cheers

[alexcrosse]

your alternater produced (should produce) more than enough charge to keep the battery topped up. So you dont need to worry about it loosing charge while running the water pump. Its the power not being put into the pully that gives more at the wheels. But the power increase isnt huge which is why dan and DJH say two brilliant key points:

DAN: More things to go wrong
DJH: only a couple of people are running them

[ginigwunkle]

do they do conversion kits then? ive seen the pumps but no shorter belts or fitting bits...

[mini13]

My project will have a lectric waterpump, but only as a backup to the std one.

as my std one has an oversize pully, the electric one will be switched in by the fan switch in traffic.

Also, there will be a time switch to run the fan and pump after shut down to cool the engine an turbo down.

[Dan]

How are you going to be able to run two pumps in the same system? I suspect you'll find the mechanical pump will just cavitate if you try to force water past it from another pump while it is running and that will actually cause the engine to get hotter, not cooler. I think you're going to have to decide on one or the other.

[ginigwunkle]

no i dont get that either.

i could understand switching the leccy aux fan on but not an extra pump,

where would you connect it up?