NOS Gauges

[Justin]

Look at these little beauties.

 

Probably going to bottle mount them as I don't want nos lines running behind my dash.

 

Bottle warmers next

[terribleturner]

Very cool justin I want i want

[TimH]

They look ace mate, what Nitrous setup do you have, you spoken to these guys about a bottle warmer? Wizards of Nos.... If not if you have an 11lb bottle I may be able to see if one of the celica crew is selling bottle warmers at the mo

[JohnA]

You do know that they are not accurate indicators of the remaining nitrous, right? For that you need to weigh the bottle (you just lift it, you get used to it pretty quickly )

[TimH]

But picking up the bottle won't tell you what PSI is in the tank, I thought (maybe incorrectly) that the bottle warmer made the PSI higher so a proper controlled injection can be given?

 

I may be wrong, if so

[JohnA]

You have to remember that what you've got in the bottle is liquid, with a 'header' of gas. It's that header that the gauge measures.

However, it's the volume of the liquid that really dictates how much more juice you've got.

The only way to estimate that is by weight. You'll know by experience how heavy an empty bottle is, and you'll see how much heavier it gets when full.

The pressure gauge will be merrily showing lots of psi until the liquid has practically finished. Pretty useless for that purpose (good for safety-checking though)

[Justin]

You have to remember that what you've got in the bottle is liquid, with a 'header' of gas. It's that header that the gauge measures.

However, it's the volume of the liquid that really dictates how much more juice you've got.

The only way to estimate that is by weight. You'll know by experience how heavy an empty bottle is, and you'll see how much heavier it gets when full.

The pressure gauge will be merrily showing lots of psi until the liquid has practically finished. Pretty useless for that purpose (good for safety-checking though)

 

This was my understanding. I didn't buy them to tell me the bottles were empty.

 

NOS, to run most efficiently, needs to be coming out at a certain pressure. If the bottles are cold then the pressure might be too low and you're not getting the right gas. To get over that you warm the bottles to a certain 'pressure'. You know when to turn the warmers off and start racing because the 'pressure' gauges tell you.

 

See this article also:

 

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0211gmhtp_nos/

[Justin]

They look ace mate, what Nitrous setup do you have, you spoken to these guys about a bottle warmer? Wizards of Nos.... If not if you have an 11lb bottle I may be able to see if one of the celica crew is selling bottle warmers at the mo

 

I've got 2 x 11lb bottles mate. 75bhp jets. I'll probably get the warmers off the Wizards in Doncaster. They supplied me these gauges.

 

But let me know about the Celica stuff.

 

Cheers

Justin

[JohnA]

The overall advantages of 'warmers' are still being debated by knowledgeable people, at least in the UK

 

Personally I see nothing wrong with a thermostatic blanket as a concept. (Not that it will be of much use at the Pod in the summer though)

 

Go to the forum of the 'Wizards', there are a few people who know what they're talking about (and a couple who don't, but aren't they everywhere? )

[Justin]

So I'll never need to warm the cold bottles to increase the pressure and I don't need to monitor the pressure levels at all.

 

Excellent, saved some money there then.

 

I probably don't need any gas in the bottles either?

 

Thanks for your input on this thread John. Very helpful.

[JohnA]

So I'll never need to warm the cold bottles to increase the pressure and I don't need to monitor the pressure levels at all.

That's a gross generalisation --- how did you get to that?

 

Thanks for your input on this thread John. Very helpful.

waste of bandwidth, I should know better...

 

No probs mate.

[Justin]

Sorry chief you caught me at my tired and sarcastic part of the day.

[JohnA]

Nice of you to clear it up Justin.

 

The points I made were clear, and were not meant to be exrapolated that the gauges and blankets are useless in principle.

 

It was meant to clear up what they are NOT meant to do, because people tend to buy them for the wrong reasons. There is no such thing as nitrous oxide pressure gauge that gives you an idea of the remaining juice. Only at the very end of the bottle, but you already feel the difference by then because it's running filthy rich (little gas and lots of fuel)

 

As for the warmers, they are only meant to keep the pressure within a specific range, so when you map the car it isn't way off the final racing conditions. But warmers that go wrong can create a real mess indeed. I've got a few pictures on the 'NOS' page of my website.

[Justin]

Oh dear, nasty pics indeed.

 

The blanket option seems more appealing now. How about using a travel hair dryer that you can plug into the cig lighter to warm the bottles?

 

How did you keep your bottles up to temp/pressure John between leaving the house and launching at Pod?

 

Cheers

Justin

[JohnA]

I didn't take those desctructive pics Justin, they're from the States.

But they demonstrate that failures can and do occur.

 

Another issue that is not widely advertised is that there usually is a relief valve to stop the pressure exceeding the limits of the bottle. Leaving the car in the sun, or a malfuctioning 'warmer' can lead to this.

That valve will then discharge nitrous oxide inside the cabin, something that you don't want to be forced to breathe. Being heavier than air it can just pile up silently, and (potentially) breathing it won't do your reflexes much good. Food for thought.