Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Thermal Exhaust/Turbo Blankets: Good or Bad?

[fortunate1]

I just came back home from the Int'l Workboat Show in New Orleans, LA. One of the other booths there was ATP (Calif. ), which manufactures thermal blankets for exhausts, manifolds, turbos, etc. They had some special items for sale that were specifically made for the Dodge Ram's Cummins engines. The man I spoke with there, Ed Thompson, told me that keeping the heat in the exhaust manifold and turbo would help the efficiency. I can understand how this would help reduce noise and underhood temperatures, but it seems that this would cause a lot of heat retention in places where it would not be helpful: the turbo bearing, for one.



Also at the show was a rather large floor display of several Cummins Marine engines. I noticed that these engines had similar covers on the turbos, and asked one of the Reps about them. He said that the covers were for fire safety to prevent oil or fuel spray/leaks from igniting on contact with a hot surface. He also remarked that this type of thermal insulation would lengthen the required cool-down time since more heat would be retained in the turbo bearing area. The Cummins Marine engines counter this effect with an oil bath beneath the bearing that allows a splash washer to pick up and renew cool oil in the still-spinning bearing upon shut-down. I don't think we have that on our Cummins, regardless of year.



Who has used these blankets, and what kind of effect do they have on performance and engine efficiency? The search I did about them returned results mainly aimed at noise reduction. I figured that much, but wanted to know whether the ATP guy or the Cummins Marine guy was more "on track".

 

[redram]

I use one manufactured by SEI who should also have been at the Workboat show.



Wrap it. Plain and simple.



By keeping the exhaust heat concentrated in the actual piping rather than radiating throughout the engine compartment and under truck exhaust area, you are keeping the average exhaust gas temperatures in the pipe higher than uninsulated. Higher temperature gas flows at a higher velocity which will help scavenge the exhaust gas relative to an uninsulated pipe.



It will also have the effect of sound insulation as well as reducing overall heat effects under hood as well as increasing the safety of not burning yourself on a bare manifold.



Using a high quality oil will not have any detrimental effect on the turbo charger bearings.



I usually attend the Workboat show as an exhibit (have the last 9 years). This year I was at the PRI show in Indy instead.



Hope the show was good. I had a blast in Indy.