I performed a search on this subject and the only direct responses were :

1) I would not want to rely on a electric motor water pump

2) The power has to come from somewhere and that place is the alternator and the alternator drives off of the belt( so there is no net increase in power)

Counter point, I am interested in throttle response ( when I press the throttle I want no lag)

1) an electric motor is no less reliable than a belt

2) An alternator stores energy in the battery and the throttle response of the engine will be better if the water pump is driven by a electric motor ( the battery picks up the delta for purposes of throttle response)

These are the some of the same arguments that apply to an electric fan

Why isnt anyone talking about an electric pump. We are all trying to find more performance isnt this a option?

 

Probably because the performance gains are minimal, especially when compared to the cost. A seat of the pants guess says that the water pump takes 1 to 2 percent of engine power, much less than the fan, A/C, or alternator... and probably less than your pwoer steering.

Also, your alternator/battery view is not correct. If you truck is currently drawing 50 amps, the alternator is putting out 50 amps. If your system is drawing 75 amps, the alternator is putting out 75 amps. The only time this isn't true is when the alternator is turning to slowly to put out the required amperage. Then, the battery takes over. But, this is a moot point since the water pump won't be turning very fast at slow speeds, either.

The big advantage of an electric fan is that once you reach a certain speed, you do not need the fan at all... the ram air from moving forward provides all the cooling. The same cannot be said for the water pump. It needs to run all the time.

 

You will see electric water pumps and oil pumps and a/c compressers and power steering pumps, etc. in the near future. About 2008 when we really start seeing 48 volt systems. I was reading about it in a trade magazine last week.

 

Electric fans. Electric water pumps. Electric power steering. Electric A/C. Pretty soon, we'll have electric engines.... Oh, wait. We already have them and we'll probably be seeing more and more of them in the future.

 

There are hp gains from switching to an electric water pump because you are removing a drag from the belt. Maybe not a huge hp gain, but some. I believe they cool better also because they are always spinning at a constant rate. The downside is that they do not have a long life and off course the amp drawage. There is a Cobra R pump that sells for $100 for the Lightnings but dont know if it fits our trucks. I dont think its electric though. I've seen 9 or 10 hp gains in other applications (non F-150) from bolting up an electric water pump. Pretty cool.

 

Blown2run makes some good points. An electric water pump would reduce parasitic drag and free up some extra ponies but the pumps that are available have short lifespans and I have yet to see one made for use on the Triton motors.

If I remember correctly the Cobra R water pumps give a few advantages over our stock pumps because they are lighter ( aluminum body Vs. steel body) and they also have an impeller design that requires less HP to flow the same amount of coolant. The drawbacks are that they are still belt driven and they have no provisions for mounting a mechanical fan. So... even if it does fit our Tritons you would still need an electric fan before you would be able to use one.

It's been a while since since I've followed that topic but I'm sure someone will be along soon to correct me if I am wrong......I hope.

 

While hardly an exhaustive search, every time I look at the manufacturer's claims -- none specify 100% duty cycle use.

If you figure 100K miles as standard for a water pump -- and assuming 40 MPH average speed, then an electric pump would need to be at least 2,500 hours of guaranteed life (not "average life") in order for me to consider using one.

If you can find one that does (and you can trust the company), you'll have your solution.

 

HI!... The stock water pump does not have a steel body. It is made of aluminum just like the COBRA R pump. The one on my 5.4 in my truck is aluminum and the 5.4 crate engine I have too. It is a bit lighter because it has no provisions for a mechanical fan and the internal rotor is machined from a lighter more efficient design that eliminates cavitation at higher RPM's. That's why it free's up some H.P.

As for electric fans go, MOROSO has a universal kit that with some fabrication you could modify it to work on our F-150's. But I would only use it at the strip and NOT on the street. At the strip you could possible knock off about a tenth, possibly 2 with some luck, but in no way would this set-up be compatible with street running.

 

I can't see where any gains hp if the electric pump works from alternator current . Your load of the belt driven water pump , simply put , would transfered to the belt driven altenator to supply electricity to the electric water pump . The only real gain would occur if the electric water pump had its own power source (battery) which is not connected to the altenator . The battery at some point would require to be recharged . So that would require a setup that would disable the charging circuit when hp gains are desired and enable the charging circuit when hp gains are not desired .

The point is that you can't get energy for free . To do the same job the energy will be transferred to somewhere else .

 

Here's a link showing the gains from bolting up a Meziere electric waterpump on a 96 Trans Am: Meziere dyno.

 

You'll notice all of the gains are in the upper end of the RPM scale... OK if you are racing, but nothing added trying to get off the line at lower RPM's.

2.7 HP approximately equal to 1 percent of total HP.

 

Nobody said that an electric waterpump netted gains off the line. If you want off the line performance, get some gears, a higher stall converter, and/or a power adder.

Moreover, 2.7hp is the average hp gained, not the total hp gained. That's also a gain at the rear wheels, not the crank.

There are some other dyno links showing an increase of 9-10hp on the same type of vehicle, but I cant find them.

 

RedExpy made the original post to this thread and he said, "I am interested in throttle response ( when I press the throttle I want no lag)".

The numbers you posted show that there would be no discernable difference when first punching the throttle.

PS: Thanks for the dyno chart.

 

BeastRider, oops, must have overlooked that. My bad...

RedExpy, what mods do you have?