My 1925 Depot Hack has a hot air pipe as pictured.
I presume it was meant for different outside temperatures weatherize.
I can’t see much inside of what is going on when you twist the screw fully in either direction. It appears that neither extreme shuts off any flow of air.
The hole in the side may indicate that there was another type of adjustment.
The insides (at the carb end) indicates putting a spin on the airflow entering the carb.
The one that is pictured in Langs doesn’t appear to have the adjusting screw.
Here in Virginia Beach I won’t be driving it in any weather extremes.
I am guessing that I should set it about midway.
Does anyone know the proper position of the adjusting screw?
Gene in Virginia Beach
It is an early gimmick that claimed to greatly increase horsepower. mileage, speed etcetera blah blah blah. Of course it didn't do any of the things it claimed to do, and installing it on your car will restrict airflow somewhat, thereby hurting performance.
It is a neat piece to hang on your wall. I have one just like it.
Royce, you mean to tell us that it was the first unsuccessful attempt to turbo charge a Model T.
Happy motoring, Warren
I have the same pipe on my car. You are missing a screw in that side hole. The engine will run better if you remove all the guts and close the holes with screws and nuts. The internal spring loaded valve acts like a choke, so after removing the guts you will have to adjust your carb to a richer setting. (open 1/4 turn) John.
Eugene & All:
I have the same hot air pipe on my '26 Runabout. I've adjusted the lower spring diaphragm to it's least amount of spring tension....... maybe that's what is helping my car get 26 mpg on an extended trip with the E-Timer ! ....... along with the synthetic engine oil,. 280 Stipe cam, nylon advanced timed cam gear, Watts clutch and "Z" Cylinder head.
I found that the pipe pictured works best if you remove all the stuff from the inside, including those spiral vanes, leaving just an open pipe. I like the looks of it when used with an aluminum intake manifold and brass carb, but all that stuff which restricts air flow keeps your engine from breathing.
Mike:
I will try your suggestion, removing the "innards", blocking the holes with aluminum duct tape, but I'll keep the vanes. The inside diameter is larger than the Ford sheet metal hot air pipe ..... later !
Certainly is different. Can't imagine the flapper doing any thing but restricting flow. Don't suppose the twist helps either. Wonder if J.C. Whitney sold it? LOL.
Buff it until it shines, looks great.
Not advertised in the 1922 Western Auto Ford owners parts supply & accessories book.
Bob
I tried mine with the valve removed but the spiral vanes intact. Car is noticeably slower with that thing installed.
Of course any heat pipe slows down the car because warm air contains less oxygen than cool air, and cool air can carry more fuel molecules. Bottom line anything that warms the inlet air is going to hurt performance in every way.
OK, couldn't resist,..Royce, here is that alum thingy installed on my faux '09. It looked good and was a hot air pipe.
And here is my little gray '09 lined up at the Winchester Speedway, stock class winner in the time trials...gosh I guess a hot air pipe slows a T down
Hey, Dan -- Since your car's performance was hurt "in every way", just think how fast it would have gone without the pipe!!!
A friend of mine has 27 Buick. It has a Carb Heat lever on the dash (far left lever). I think several manufacturers had this. Henry could have solved this debate by doing the same thing but then it would have cost a few dollars more and it wouldn't be a Model T.
I have tried it both ways, with the hot air pipe installed and without it. In this area we have a very low humidity year round so what I found was with the pipe off, I seemed to have a little more power. Any pilot can tell you that when you pull the carb heat on in a plane that you will notice a drop in rpm, hence a small drop in hp. I think the same might apply to the T's. As in aircraft, there are circumstances when heat might be beneficial depending on temperature and humidity.
Hot air is less dense equates to less air in the cylinder, therefore less power. Cold air more dense, more power. Superchargers and turbochargers are used to compress more air into the cylinders to produce more power and to compensate for less dense air at altitude. If you do not have a humidity problem causing ice to form in the carby, a hot air pipe will decrease performance by reducing the amount of air that reaches the cylinder. Ford would have fitted a hot air pipe to all cars as they would be sold into many varying climates and altitudes, and used in varying climatic situations. To ensure reliability in all climates hot air pipes would have been fitted to all cars if they needed one or not. If you need it have it fitted, if not remove it and fit a good filter to protect your engine from dust and dirt. As a pilot, I can tell you when you pull the carby heater on to de-ice you do notice a difference in performance and economy. T's are not known for blinding performance and any difference will be slight, but still noticeable.
Peter
If I remember right the small continental and lycoming engines used to drop about 200 rpm when carb heat was added.
schuh
I wrapped two stainless steel wires around a plexiglass X leaving the ends open. I connected a pos and neg wire to the ends of the stainless and immersed the rig into a quart jar filled with soda water. I then installed a hose system to the intake and when you flip the switch the 7 amp current flowing through the soda water separates the C from the O2 and supposedly feeds the car with hydrogen. You control the amp draw by the amount of soda used in the water. One quart isn't enough to make a big difference but it does make the car run similar to driving on a cool, damp evening. How about some comments from the chemists out there.
If nothing else, it's a gee-whiz item and something to talk about
Water vapor reduces the ability of the air to contain oxygen and fuel, thereby reducing power. A subject taught to every aircraft mechanic and an FAA test question answer.
I flew the B-26 in Korea and we had water injection for added power. The old KC-135s dumped water into the combustion chamber and we got 200 pounds more thrust from each engine (but that because of cooling).
When you turn the switch on the gadget in my previous post is sends bubbles of some kind of gas to the surface, and that's what winds up in the intake. What is hydrogen?
Hydrogen is an element, Lightest gas. It burns. Water injection is rumoured to raise compression but the only person i know that tried it noticed recession of valve seats increased in rate.
Hal,
Actually water methanol injection was used in conjunction with turbosupercharging (turbocharging in today's lexicon) to boost power in the B36. Superchargers heat air as it is compressed. Water injection cooled the superheated air charge to reduce preignition. If the water injection were used without turbosupercharging it would hurt power. Again basic FA powerplant test questions.
When I was in A&P school the class watched a Korean war era film called "War Emergency Power" that showed how boost levels could be increased through the use of water injection. It is probably out there on the web to see right now if you want to look hard enough for it.
In our high school chemistry class, we had a small glass device with a bowl at the bottom and two vertical tubes, one tube had a + voltage applied to an electrode in the water and the other tube had a - voltage applied.
The DC current through the water separated the oxygen and hydrogen from the water. One gas went up one tube and the other gas went up the other tube. I don't remember which was which though. The oxygen would make a match flame burn brighter when released. The hydrogen would only go poof when released.
Charging a lead acid battery also releases hydrogen in a similar manner and that gas sometimes goes poof too.
One of our club members was charging the battery in his T pickup truck with the top down. He decided to use a torch to remove a rusty muffler bolt. When he lit the torch, he blew that little metal battery cover up though his top that was down.