I'm confused, Radiator Flow Rate, More not always better?

[Martinm210]

That is exactly true, but not all radiators can provide that necessary delta, therfore they are limited. All radiators have a specified heat load that they max out at..

Can you explain the "Max Out" part?

I haven't seen that in any testing yet, they all seem to progress with more and more heat dissipation as the delta increases. Obviously if we approached boiling in the the fluid, that would be a limit, but I just havn't even began to see any sort of limit. I've tested and measured up to 20C deltas which is approaching my own personal comfort level and I know my temp probes also have their limits, but I just havn't really seen any sort of limit in testing.

I can see a limit when you say something like what is the limit for a "10C water/air delta", but that's just a point of reference. I know there are some small physical changes to the specific heat/thermal conductivity values, but I just haven't seen any sort of limit yet other than my own self imposed one.

I tend to stay away from the thought of a radiator "Limit". I hear that alot in the forums with folks thinking that if they have a 1000 watt radiator, there's no performance loss to be had by adding another 100 watts to the loop, etc. That's obviously an incorrect way in thinking because every single watt of heat adds to the water temperature and your receiving core temperatures.

From what I gathered, you could potentially dissipate 1000 watts from a single 80mm radiator if you had a high enough water/air delta and enough air flow.