The Blower Shop Intercoolers WTF!!!
 

Do all Blower Shop intercoolers Leak????????? Or am I just that unluckey??? I bought a pair of intercoolers from a guy here on OSO. When I get them they have obviosly been run in salt because there is a considerable amount of corrosion in them. So I figure I had better water test them. Sure enough they both have pin hole leaks. So I found a set of cores that have never been in salt and look brand new inside and out here locally. So i bought them and installed them in the cases and just for grinns I tested them to. They both have pin hole leaks also. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are these cores $1200 pieces of crap???? I would expect more from The Blower Shop. Anybody else have leak problems with these dang things. I'm just about ready to throw them in the dumpster. :( :( :( :( :( :(

Thats some bad luck buddy, I say Fu&%k intercoolers, I`ve never seen intake temps under my 10-71 more than 150* , they look pretty thou.

I've got a buddy who bought a pair of them used a while back on oso. He's finally getting around to assembling the engines, hopefully his will pressure test ok. They are also blower shop units.

I think aluminum cores, can also rot away in freshwater, just not as quickly as they would in salt. Besides leaks, you need to check them routinely to make sure the passages behind the end caps arent all clogged up with crud, calcium deposits, etc. They wont work well that way. Think of a clogged radiator, whether inside or outside that can make your car/truck run hot.

What are your intake air temps you are seeing?

I was told 2 seasons tops then its time for a new one...

Wow only 2 seasons. I had not heard that. I guess they are not a part you can by used. What about the Cupronickel cores? Is that the better way to go? They are pricey but then so is this sport. LOL I do not know what my intake temps are but that's something I should find out.

They are alum. cores, so if someone doesn't take care of them; they will fail. Pin hole, leaks any chance they froze or were overheated?

Used intercooler cores
 

Hey Likefastboats,

We recommend not buying any used intercooler cores. We have found that they are for sale because the coolers most likely were leaking due to improper boat maintenance (especially in salt water). There is no reason to pull a good core out of an intercooler unless it leaked.

We carry a manufactures warranty and stand behind all of our parts. Please feel free to contact me anytime to help you resolve this issue.

Thanks,

Joe V
Sales Manager

The Blower Shop. Inc
1825 Surveyor Ave. #103
Simi Valley, Ca 93063
Tel: 805-581-1441
Fax: 805-581-1444
www.theblowershop.com

[email protected]

Welcome to OSO, I'm sure you will be a great resource.

My buddy pressure tested his yesterday. Yep, sure enough, both leaked. Think he ordered 2 new cores from blower shop today.

unless you run antifreeze through them after every use then they are going to leak..my dad use to get 5 seasons out of his and guess who had to run the antifreeze through the coolers? lol then he said phuck the blowers and build some big cube motors..then said phuck it again and parked the boat..

See , you charged him too much . lol

Some people's kids ill tell ya.

Funny you say that. I told our buddy today, that I thought running regular antifreeze thru them, would help keep them from corroding. Alot of people dont realize fresh water can also corrode aluminum over time. Most car radiators are aluminum, as well as heater cores. They last plenty long with antifreeze in them.

I wonder if anyone has ever tried drilling and tapping the intercooler housing, for a sacrificial anode, like mercury puts on their bellhousing oil/trans cooler covers.

Almost all of the bigger boats I service have those screwed into water jackets all over the place. Pencil anodes are fairly cheap.

maybe i should design a heat exchanger for innercoolers,maybe i could make millions off it,LOL.

Why are the cores aluminum VS lets say brass or copper like a radiator?

Would hard anodizing in/out cause any temp transfer issues ?

Good luck with the millions, but I have also wondered why not water to water innercoolers.

I know, I know - more stuff to rig....but........

He could have had the 2 Lee cores I had access to , brand new billet and anodized.

one must ask himself why someone is selling used innercoolers for 50% of what they cost new.the answer will almost always be BECAUSE THEY LEAK AND ARE JUNK.i wont mention a name but i know a guy who would have been money ahead if he just bought new coolers from the get go.

Sounds like meth injection is the way to go if you are trying to stuff it hard.

Or just go whipple cooler and not worry about the core...a person could add a Meth as well.

i say convert to propane and you wont have to worrie about coolers of good fuel and crank up the boost!..

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Joe, Nice to see your post! Welcome to forum.

Well I spoke with Joe at The Blower Shop yesterday and he wasn't much help to be perfectly honest. As in his post he does not recomend buying used coolers because they only have a 2 season life span to begin with. Or maybe 3 seasons if your lucky and flush them and fill them up with antifreeze after each use. What a PITA that would be!!! Also it sounded like he was really going to help out with manufactures warranty but the best he can do is give me $100 off new cores which are $1200 each and then maybe get 2 or 3 seasons out of them. I know this is an expensive sport but damn. The worst part is he is out of stock on them for 6 weeks. There goes the rest of the boating season. Maybe I'm wrong but I sure don't feel like he was any help to my situation with 4 leaking Blower Shop cores. I will be calling Hardin Marine about their Cupornickel cores today.

Do you NEED intercoolers on your setup? I've been running a few different styles of blowers for years now, and been doing just fine without them.

How much hp do they make?

800hp

How much hp would you gain w intercoolers?

Considering my blowers are at 7% under driven , probably not much. Unless of course I crank the boost up. But I'm not into a engine that makes 550hp on motor , and trying to make 950hp out of it via boost. Doesn't work out real well if your looking for an endurance marine engine.

Got it. So intercoolers are really only needed for blowers that are overdriven or inefficient blowers?

The intercooler makers claim 75 to 150 Hp gain. A few years back a buddy of mines motors dynoed at 605 ish without coolers and 698 with. So I believe they do help. They look really cool also. LOL Besides my boat is all plumbed for coolers with dumps, high pressure release dump, separate pickups, billet sea strainers and all SS braided lines. Would hate not to use all that bling!!

Tell us more about the build that gained almost 100hp from adding an intercooler ? I'm gonna guess at 605hp it was a small blower and low boost. Then intercooler added and they turned up the boost. I'd find 90+ hp by bolting the intercooler on with no other changes , a bit hard to believe.

My engines are 7% overdriven so my intake temps are much higher.

What temps are you seeing at wot

Just an FYI from experience. AN stuff doesn't hold up well to raw water either.

Yes B&M 250 blowers. Yes boost was raised from 5 to 7 psi to make up for the flow restriction of the coolers.

Figured as much. The majority of the gains he saw was from the extra 2psi in the manifold , and some from the cooler air temp. That 250 was prob 75 percent overdriven and making some good heat

Well my guages are old and not sure how accurate but around 150 to 170 degrees.

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I have read and heard the HP gain from intercoolers is not as important as reduced combustion chamder temps, thus increasing motor longevity and less chance of detonation.