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View Full Version : Doing a temperature test the next few days.



bzubke1
12-16-2010, 09:04 PM
I bought a digital thermometer to put in the engine compartment to see how cold the engine compartment gets in relation to the outside temperature. I have the sensor sitting on top of the oil filter mount and the boat is covered. Other than that the boat is not protected at all, it's just sitting in the driveway.

It's supposed to get right around freezing the next couple days so we'll see how cold the engine gets.

Right now:
Outside temp- 47
Engine compartment- 57.7

dusty2221
12-16-2010, 09:08 PM
Nice! Be interested to see if it can maintain +10 in the coldest part.

rdlangston13
12-16-2010, 10:04 PM
yeah but inside that tent you had two people producing heat. the engine compartment has nothing producing heat

KG's Supra24
12-16-2010, 10:07 PM
Very interested in the results. Nice test!

rdlangston13
12-16-2010, 10:10 PM
well mr ed i apologize, i just reread your post and it said a two man tent, no necessarily that there were two people in it. but either way, one person is still a heat source. my guess is that the longer the temperature stays constant the closer the two will read

rdlangston13
12-16-2010, 10:22 PM
now that is something worth experimenting with!

JesseC
12-16-2010, 11:29 PM
When I stored my boat in an unheated 4 car detached garage. I made a "lamp" heat source and left it in the boat all winter. I just went to home depot and bought one of those porcelan light fixtures and put a 40 watt bulb in it. Then I took an old extension cord and cut off the plug and wired it to the light fixture and set it on one side of the engine compartment where the ballst bags were. When it would go below freezing I would just plug in the extension cord and look through the drain plug for light. The temp never went below 45 degrees.

zabooda
12-17-2010, 01:19 AM
I would expect the boat temperature to stay above ambient air, a few degrees warmer at the apex (approx 3AM) and then the air temperature will be above the engine temp as the ambient starts going up (6am). The rate to which the boat warms up in the morning will depend also on solar radiation and the color of the cover will need to be factored.

I use ambient at 28 degrees to which my boat will get down to 32 degrees overnight.

Any other guesses?

bzubke1
12-18-2010, 10:42 AM
Thursday night:
Air Temperature- 36
Engine Compartment- 43

bzubke1
12-18-2010, 12:44 PM
Friday night lows:
Air temperature- 29
Engine Compartment-35

you da man
12-18-2010, 01:09 PM
I want to try this with my storage unit. I'm curious to see what the inside temp of the unit is and inside the engine compartment. I definately have a much better than average storage unit. The entire facility is concrete including inside each unit with 2" raised floor (no rain water can enter) and it uses a rolling door with rubber seal and not the usual swinging barn type doors. I would think that it's good at keeping the wind out. Would it be safe to assume that maybe the inside temp of the unit would be 8-10 degrees warmer than outside plus inside the engine compartment could even be warmer?

bzubke1
12-18-2010, 01:32 PM
Go for it! The digital thermometer was only 12 bucks at lowe's, and its battery powered so you don't need power in your storage unit.

you da man
12-18-2010, 07:02 PM
Go for it! The digital thermometer was only 12 bucks at lowe's, and its battery powered so you don't need power in your storage unit.

What dept in Lowes is the digital thermometer?

bzubke1
12-18-2010, 07:08 PM
Not sure I just asked customer service.

DOCDRS
12-21-2010, 02:42 AM
Friday night lows:
Air temperature- 29
Engine Compartment-35

keep up the good work.......when do you start getting worried?

cachais
12-21-2010, 09:17 AM
I got mine at Lowes in the garden section (inside). It is fairly accurate as well matched to my hanging wall thermometer. I don't know who it is made by but it is branded with the Weather Channel if that helps.

bzubke1
12-21-2010, 09:27 PM
keep up the good work.......when do you start getting worried?

I winterize it after every use in the winter. It has been so warm lately, but I'll continue to post whenever temps get down close to freezing.

you da man
12-21-2010, 10:46 PM
I winterize it after every use in the winter. It has been so warm lately, but I'll continue to post whenever temps get down close to freezing.

What did it say today...80 outside and 90 inside :p. Sure was a warm one here...it hit 86 at my house.

bzubke1
12-26-2010, 07:30 PM
Christmas Night

Air Temperature Low- 24
Engine Compartment- 28.7

moombadaze
12-27-2010, 08:25 AM
Christmas Night

Air Temperature Low- 24
Engine Compartment- 28.7

WOW, that kinda goes against everones thinking that the engine compartment would stay a little warmer

BensonWdby
12-27-2010, 08:58 AM
... it uses a rolling door with rubber seal and not the usual swinging barn type doors....

Interesting regional observation.... In MN you rarely see swinging garage doors. Most doors are overhead doors, and most of them are on rollers...

mmandley
12-27-2010, 09:42 AM
WOW, that kinda goes against everones thinking that the engine compartment would stay a little warmer

Im kinda confused as to why everyone would be leaning on your engine compartment staying warmer then the ambiant air?

Theres is no heat souce in the engine area to make it stay warmer then ambiant air.

If your thinking on the means of your car, thats because when you drive the fluids in the engine get hot and it takes a lot longer for them to tool to colder temps.

The same is true the opposite direction, once the engine is very cold say 30s the ambiant air will warm up much faster to say 50 and the engine would still be much colder.

The oil and water in the engine are whats actualy causing the engine bay to change much slower.

A couple days just below freezing wouldnt cause the engine as much damage as a week because even when the temps go back up the engine will still be at a below freezing temp.

you da man
12-27-2010, 10:25 AM
Interesting regional observation.... In MN you rarely see swinging garage doors. Most doors are overhead doors, and most of them are on rollers...

Alot of the storage units in my area are near the lake on private property and the owners don't use concrete at all, just compacted road base so the rolling door with the seal serves no purpose and they use barn doors. However, the units in town are all concrete and use rolling doors BUT most boat owners don't use these because they think it's too expensive. I pay $85 a month for my 14x30 unit with power. The units with dirt floors are $50-$75. I hear in some cities people are paying $200-$250+ for a good storage unit.

you da man
12-27-2010, 10:29 AM
Im kinda confused as to why everyone would be leaning on your engine compartment staying warmer then the ambiant air?

Theres is no heat souce in the engine area to make it stay warmer then ambiant air.

If your thinking on the means of your car, thats because when you drive the fluids in the engine get hot and it takes a lot longer for them to tool to colder temps.

The same is true the opposite direction, once the engine is very cold say 30s the ambiant air will warm up much faster to say 50 and the engine would still be much colder.

The oil and water in the engine are whats actualy causing the engine bay to change much slower.

A couple days just below freezing wouldnt cause the engine as much damage as a week because even when the temps go back up the engine will still be at a below freezing temp.

In Texas we don't get consecutive days of all day freezing temps that often so the internal compartments will warm up some.

mmandley
12-27-2010, 12:08 PM
In Texas we don't get consecutive days of all day freezing temps that often so the internal compartments will warm up some.

Ambiently yes they will warm slightly but it sounds like people are thinking the engine bay meraculously warms up on its own. No it doesnt, cast iron, metal, and alluminum require a heat source to warm up.

you da man
12-27-2010, 01:01 PM
Ambiently yes they will warm slightly but it sounds like people are thinking the engine bay meraculously warms up on its own. No it doesnt, cast iron, metal, and alluminum require a heat source to warm up.

I get what you are saying. In order to warm up, you need a heat source. I believe in our situation in Central and South Texas, since we do not get 2+ days of below freezing temps and we usually have sunny cold days that during daylight hours the air and hull of the boat will warm due to air and sun light. After sunset the hull and internal compartments will slowly cool to try to meet the ambient air temp but doesn't quite match due to not being constantly cold that long.

moombadaze
12-27-2010, 08:29 PM
Im kinda confused as to why everyone would be leaning on your engine compartment staying warmer then the ambiant air?

.


My answer would be based on living where its warm in the days and gets to frezzing at night-thinking that the engine block would retain heat thru the night. But if its freezing at night and never wams then the engine would keep the engine compartment colder.

btw-pwi ;)

zabooda
12-27-2010, 10:20 PM
Bill Nye the Science guy type explanation.

Thermal mass is a concept in building design which describes how the mass of the building provides "inertia" against temperature fluctuations, sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect.[1] For example, when outside temperatures are fluctuating throughout the day, a large thermal mass within the insulated portion of a house can serve to "flatten out" the daily temperature fluctuations, since the thermal mass will absorb heat when the surroundings are hotter than the mass, and give heat back when the surroundings are cooler. This is distinct from a material's insulative value, which reduces a building's thermal conductivity, allowing it to be heated or cooled relatively separate from the outside, or even just retain the occupants' body heat longer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_mass

mmandley
12-28-2010, 09:25 AM
Ok i got your point now You Da Man and Moombadaze =)

I completly get your explaination also Zabooda LOL. Now your speaking the techy talk i understand LOL

DOCDRS
12-28-2010, 12:23 PM
WOW, that kinda goes against everones thinking that the engine compartment would stay a little warmer

Thursday night:
Air Temperature- 36
Engine Compartment- 43


Christmas Night

Air Temperature Low- 24
Engine Compartment- 28.7
__________________




Ok , i'm confused when did 28.7 degrees become colder than 24 degrees?

moombadaze
12-28-2010, 05:43 PM
Thursday night:
Air Temperature- 36
Engine Compartment- 43


Christmas Night

Air Temperature Low- 24
Engine Compartment- 28.7
__________________




Ok , i'm confused when did 28.7 degrees become colder than 24 degrees?


I read it as -28.7 as in negative 28.7

but now im looking at it it could be taken a dash


Im confused

moombadaze
12-28-2010, 07:41 PM
low low 20's here. cars were frozen over this morning, the frost made it look like we had a dusting of snow

I took zegm's advise and redid my pool pump timer to run the pump at night-comes on about 10pm and cuts off at 7 am. My banana tree and bamboo froze, what a mess it will be to clean up

DOCDRS
12-28-2010, 09:22 PM
I read it as -28.7 as in negative 28.7

but now im looking at it it could be taken a dash


Im confused

sometimes its more fun to be confused :)........always puts a smile on my face

skiyaker
12-30-2010, 06:28 PM
This thread it funny. I think the idea is that if you live in Texas your boat's exposure to freezing temps is going to be brief and infrequent and hopefully your engine won't ever reach thermal equilibrium with the freezing temps (I just made that up)

Isn't there an engineer on this board that can come up with some graphs and maybe calculate an area under the curve or something to help us know how long it will take for our engine to freeze based on our day and night temps LOL?

btw it's 50 today in Indiana- good thing the lake is frozen or I'd be trying to get my boat out of storage and telling my wife the engine will stay warm the rest of the winter as long as I wrap it in blankets!