Editing Bulletproof cooling system (section)
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==Water pumps: electric vs. mechanical== Electric water pumps are constant flow pumps that push ‘X’ amount of gallons of water per minute, no matter what the rpm of the engine is. Mechanical water pumps are variable speed pumps which have decreased flow at idle and increased flow at higher speeds within their limitations. The limitations are mainly RPM induced cavitation. Mechanical pumps will only operate while the engine is running, but with electric pumps, operation is user-selectable. On a SBC for instance, the coolant flow of the OEM mechanical water pump is around 10-12 gall./min. per 1000 RPM. The "usual" drive ratio of a SBC mechanical water pump is between 1:1 and 1.3:1, over-driven. The location of the pump is important. Some vehicles have been built with high mounted water pumps which have been a disaster. In the case of a vehicle which has its engine mounted north-south, the water pump will often become the highest component in the cooling circuit when the vehicle is ascending a steep hill. Engine designers ought to study “steam trapping” and “air venting” as it is a very important topic even for things that do not run on steam. With a transverse engine vehicle it is possible to have the water pump behind the engine block. With this arrangement steep hills will not starve the pump of water. [[file:Falcon_eng02.jpg|border|350px|Example of electric motor drive on OEM water pump]]<br style="clear:both"/>
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