Anyone use a fuel cooler???

[Canadian1968]

I've got addicted to watching some of the Engine Masters, episodes on MotorTrend. Although most of the episodes leave a lot of "grey area" to their testing, I think they still give some pretty interesting information.

I just watched the episode on how cooler air/ water temp/ fuel effect power ratings. What they noticed was that keeping the FUEL cool actually produced some pretty good results. They recreated the old scenario of guys packing ice around their intakes between runs to help cool things down. What they found was that benifit was not actually from cooling the actual intake but instead cooling the carburetor and fuel inside. The example they did was to leave the ice on the intake and then heated the fuel bowls of the carburetor with heat guns and do another dyno pull . The power they made on the previous pull was immediatley erased when they heated the fuel but still maintained the lower intake temps.

Curious does anyone run a fuel a cooler on their carbureted engine? I have seen a lot of people doing it on EFI/ TBI setups. Just curious .......

 

[LemonWedge]

“Cool cans” used to be the norm on carbureted hot rods. Nobody uses them anymore, and to be honest, I have no idea why.

 

[Cranky]

“Cool cans” used to be the norm on carbureted hot rods. Nobody uses them anymore, and to be honest, I have no idea why.

It's because they are a pita dealing with draining and repacking it lol. I ran one in 1970 but my car wasn't very consistent to know if it was helping or not. Also having a supply of ice for the duration of the day wasn't all that easy either....so, I quit using it.

 

[Frank Mopar]

It's because they are a pita dealing with draining and repacking it lol. I ran one in 1970 but my car wasn't very consistent to know if it was helping or not. Also having a supply of ice for the duration of the day wasn't all that easy either....so, I quit using it.

Gotta have cold beer for after so thats got to be kept cold anyways.

 

[Cranky]

Gotta have cold beer for after so thats got to be kept cold anyways.

Gotta add ice to the cool can for every round.....plus you need to drain it early so there's time for any water that might me hiding somewhere to dry. Even the drain hose can have some left in it and if the starter notices any drip, you get waved off. Imo, it's a pita....and my beer stays at home so it's always cold when I get there after a day at the track.

 

[beanhead]

In addition to what Cranky said I'd suppose they aren't so popular because you'd really need to set the tune according to that cooler 'cooling' the same every time you drive the car. At the track okay I can see it but on a street car it seems kinda pointless. Nothing more frustrating than a tune that changes from the beginning of a ride to the end, when the ice is gone. My stuff always gets tuned for the engine and intake being hot; so vaporization suffers a bit and the A/F doesn't stabilize while things are cold..That's life with a chokeless carburetor though (and I love it!)
Now, if there was some device that automatically cooled the fuel to the same temperature all the time, that might be worth it..

I *think* Ron uses one, or did at one time...maybe he can give some info.
@383man

 

[64fury74charger]

“Cool cans” were always fun to play with and sometimes they really made a difference. To me it seemed like a lot of guys had one just for looks and didn’t really know the purpose of the can.

Mine was a simple coffee can with coiled copper tubing and plumbed into the fuel line. Placement was always a gamble.
Some had them mounted in the trunk but those didn’t seem to work that well which would seem obvious given the distance to the carb.

 

[diesel_lv]

I use an automatic transmission cooler to cool my fuel but for an entirely different reason. I use it on the return line from the fuel injection to keep the fuel in the tank cool n not boil. Yes, it will boil n cavitate an in tank pump where I live.

 

[RemCharger]

They help the most with people that run mechanical pumps..aka "fuel heaters". But cold fuel in the cell in the trunk with an electric pump works just fine. Make sure you open the four barrels in the burnout box to "freshen it up"

 

[Dibbons]

I used an aftermarket "cool can" on my bracket racer back in the '70's. It was an aluminum round canister with coiled metal fuel line inside (and a twist open/close drain at the bottom.

The first time I used it with dry ice, but I found the dry ice not only expensive (compared to regular ice), but it evaporated so fast it was just not practical.
Dry ice is extremely cold. It maintains a temperature of about -109.3°F (-78.5 degrees C) as it evaporates or sublimates and becomes carbon dioxide gas.

I noticed under normal conditions, my see-through fuel filters would always be half-filled with fuel and half-filled with vapor. No problems with vapor lock (was using a Holley electric fuel pump and a separate fuel pressure regulator.

Running ice in the cool can at the drag strip, I noticed the see-through filters no longer contained any space/vapor but were entirely filled solid with liquid gasoline.

In the photo (at the lower left corner), if you look carefully to the immediate left of the radiator, one can see the partial round lid/top of the cool can which is painted blue. The fuel pressure regulator can be seen laying atop the middle of the passenger side valve cover.

 

[440 Charger]

“Cool cans” used to be the norm on carbureted hot rods. Nobody uses them anymore, and to be honest, I have no idea why.

Suprised you know them.

 

[440 Charger]

I used an aftermarket "cool can" on my bracket racer back in the '70's. It was an aluminum round canister with coiled metal fuel line inside (and a twist open/close drain at the bottom.

The first time I used it with dry ice, but I found the dry ice not only expensive (compared to regular ice), but it evaporated so fast it was just not practical.
Dry ice is extremely cold. It maintains a temperature of about -109.3°F (-78.5 degrees C) as it evaporates or sublimates and becomes carbon dioxide gas.

I noticed under normal conditions, my see-through fuel filters would always be half-filled with fuel and half-filled with vapor. No problems with vapor lock (was using a Holley electric fuel pump and a separate fuel pressure regulator.

Running ice in the cool can at the drag strip, I noticed the see-through filters no longer contained any space/vapor but were entirely filled solid with liquid gasoline.

In the photo (at the lower left corner), if you look carefully to the immediate left of the radiator, one can see the partial round lid/top of the cool can which is painted blue. The fuel pressure regulator can be seen laying atop the middle of the passenger side valve cover.

View attachment 1130486

You did learn just plain ice for a cool can congrats.

 

[Nevada dan]

the dodge demon runs the fuel line through a chiller off the ac, and you thought it was a lost art

 

[440 Charger]

In addition to what Cranky said I'd suppose they aren't so popular because you'd really need to set the tune according to that cooler 'cooling' the same every time you drive the car. At the track okay I can see it but on a street car it seems kinda pointless. Nothing more frustrating than a tune that changes from the beginning of a ride to the end, when the ice is gone. My stuff always gets tuned for the engine and intake being hot; so vaporization suffers a bit and the A/F doesn't stabilize while things are cold..That's life with a chokeless carburetor though (and I love it!)
Now, if there was some device that automatically cooled the fuel to the same temperature all the time, that might be worth it..

I *think* Ron uses one, or did at one time...maybe he can give some info.
@383man

That is the way.

 

[LemonWedge]

“Cool cans” used to be the norm on carbureted hot rods. Nobody uses them anymore, and to be honest, I have no idea why.

Suprised you know them.

????

 

[440 Charger]

the dodge demon runs the fuel line through a chiller off the ac, and you thought it was a lost art

Kinda very much it is a lost art just the way it should be.

 

[440 Charger]

“Cool cans” used to be the norm on carbureted hot rods. Nobody uses them anymore, and to be honest, I have no idea why.



????

I am going to play with mine a bit old school have seen tons on the cold fuel and jetting and well lots more wish me luck its about to fire up.

 

[383man]

Back in the 70's when I bracket raced everyone used a cool can. You would fill it with ice between rounds to keep the fuel cooler for more power. But they seemed to have pretty much gone by the wayside over the years. I used one for a while because this pump gas of today boils so easy but pretty much no one uses them anymore. Ron

 

[440 Charger]

Back in the 70's when I bracket raced everyone used a cool can. You would fill it with ice between rounds to keep the fuel cooler for more power. But they seemed to have pretty much gone by the wayside over the years. I used one for a while because this pump gas of today boils so easy but pretty much no one uses them anymore. Ron

The gas now boils way too easy.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Don't forget to crumple aluminum foil over fuel lines after kool can.