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Flax water bag for cooling an engine?

@Photon440, that is some great info right there. Unless someone else has $.02 to throw at this, that pretty well answers it for me. I still would like to hear from @1STMP, as he seems to be an eye witness man here. Or any others first hand experience. Good stuff!
 
Having grown up in arid climate NM,
and witnessing many old timers in
their rugged Willys Jeeps, this reserve
water supply was not for human
consumption. Most engines run in this
Era were flathead which ran at higher
temps. The practice was carried over
when OHV engines hit the scene, but
mostly for the hotter, drier climates
of the desert southwest. Nobody
drank the water in those bags, unless
it was a life or death situat

@1STMP, how was the water in the bag used to cool the engine?

Was it by adding the water in the bag to the cooling system as needed?

Some things I've read state that the evaporation effect of the bag would provide cool air through the grille of the vehicle, thus cooling the engine.

You being a first hand witness, can you further clarify how exactly the water in the bag provided the cooling to the engine?
They were hung off the grille/bumper
area as a matter of access
convenience. When the radiator
was blowing steam, a quick cooling
source was needed.
On my granddad's CJ, that bag never
left it's hanging location. He would
fill it up as needed with a pitcher.
They were water tight with no
capillary action. The water inside
was as warm as the ambient air
temps.
Though, as someone mentioned here,
they were advertised as a canteen,
most were not used for that purpose.
 
They were hung off the grille/bumper
area as a matter of access
convenience. When the radiator
was blowing steam, a quick cooling
source was needed.
On my granddad's CJ, that bag never
left it's hanging location. He would
fill it up as needed with a pitcher.
They were water tight with no
capillary action. The water inside
was as warm as the ambient air
temps.
Though, as someone mentioned here,
they were advertised as a canteen,
most were not used for that purpose.
It seems that if your granddad's bag was water tight and didn't cool the water, it wasn't the same as these flax bags. Every user, as well as the manufacturer mention that the bags will seep, which is how through evaporation the water cools down. This guy did an actual test on temperature and water loss:
(spoiler - the flax bag water was over 40 degrees cooler than the non-evaporating control bottle).
 
It seems that if your granddad's bag was water tight and didn't cool the water, it wasn't the same as these flax bags. Every user, as well as the manufacturer mention that the bags will seep, which is how through evaporation the water cools down. This guy did an actual test on temperature and water loss:
(spoiler - the flax bag water was over 40 degrees cooler than the non-evaporating control bottle).
Cool info. (no pun intended).
I loved riding in that old Jeep.
This post brings back a lot of
memories.
 
Let's just say that like most things on the old days, they were multi-purpose. My dad and grandfather had water bags that dripped in front of the radiators of their old Dodges as we crossed the deserts from California into New Mexico.
People mostly used water instead of any kind of coolant. Radiator caps were left loose and coolant was seldom used. Only "anti-freeze" in the winter months.
The swamp coolers were in the passenger window with a wind driven fan/turbine type blade. Just put some water in the bottom and drive down the hi-way...
 
I have one circa 1951 in the front of my 52 Pickup
 
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