Knowledge base
On a small generator set the radiator sits on the set frame and the engine drives the fan. Once the engine grows, or the set moves into a building, a container or a crowded plant, that arrangement runs out of room and air. The cooling is then taken off the set and placed somewhere else - on a roof, beside the building, on a steel platform - as a radiator with its own electric fans. That is a remote radiator. This guide explains what it is, how it differs from the engine-mounted kind, and what pushes a project one way or the other.
A Radiator That Stands On Its Own
A remote radiator is a finned coil in a steel casing, with electric fans that move the ambient air through it, connected to the engine by coolant pipework. It has its own frame, legs or base, its own fan motors and its own power supply, usually fed from the generator set or the plant switchboard. The engine pump circulates the coolant out to the radiator and back; where the pipe run is long or high, an auxiliary pump or a header tank is added so that the engine still sees the flow and pressure its maker asks for.
For an engine with separate jacket and charge-air circuits, a remote radiator carries both coils in one casing, each with its own connections. The circuits stay apart, just as they do on the engine.
Remote Or Engine-Mounted
The engine-mounted radiator wins on simplicity. Nothing to wire, no separate foundation, and the cooling arrives with the set. Its fan, though, turns at engine speed whatever the load or the weather, it takes its power from the crankshaft, and it has to pull all the cooling air through the engine room.
Taking the radiator outside changes each of those points. The electric fans can be speed controlled, so on a cool night or at part load they slow down, use less power and make less noise. The engine room only needs the air for combustion and ventilation, which keeps louvres and ducts smaller. And the radiator can be placed where the air is clean, where warm discharge air does not come back to the inlet, and where its sound is easiest to live with. The price is pipework, cabling and a second structure to install.
Horizontal Or Vertical
A horizontal remote radiator lays the coil flat with the fans above or below it, and the air goes up. It is the usual choice on open ground and on roofs: the warm air leaves straight upward, away from the intake, and several units can stand side by side. A vertical remote radiator stands the coil on edge and blows the air sideways. It suits a narrow plot, a wall line or a site where the air has to leave in one direction, but the discharge must be kept clear of buildings and of the next unit, or the radiator starts breathing its own warm air.
A V-type radiator is a third layout, with two coil banks leaning toward each other under a fan deck. It packs a large surface into a short footprint and is common in larger power plants. Which layout is right depends on the space, the wind, the neighbours and the sound limit more than on the engine.
When A Project Moves The Cooling Outside
The usual reasons are size, sound and space. A large engine needs more coil and air than the set frame can carry. A strict sound limit at the property line is easier to meet with slow electric fans placed in the right spot than with an engine fan inside a room. Containerized and building-installed sets rarely have room for the air path an engine-mounted fan would need. Data centers, hospitals and power plants also tend to want speed-controlled fans tied to the plant controls, which only a remote unit gives them.
TECS Engineering designs and builds remote radiators in horizontal, vertical and V-type layouts for diesel and gas generator sets and engine power plants. Send the engine data sheet, the site ambient and a sketch of where the radiator can stand, and we will propose the layout that fits.
In Short
- A radiator with its own electric fans, standing away from the engine
- Connected by coolant pipework; long or high runs may need a pump or header tank
- Speed-controlled fans follow the load and the weather
- The engine room only needs combustion and ventilation air
- Horizontal for open ground and roofs, vertical for narrow plots, V-type for large plants
- Chosen for size, sound limits, space and plant control
What To Send With An Enquiry
- Engine data sheet, or the heat duty, flow and temperatures of each circuit
- Site ambient on the hottest day at full load, altitude and humidity
- Where the radiator can stand: roof, ground, platform, and the space available
- Pipe run from the engine to the radiator, including height difference
- Sound limit and where it is measured
- Fan power supply, control wishes and the corrosion class of the site
Questions We Are Often Asked
What is a remote radiator?
A radiator with its own electric fans that stands away from the engine - on a roof, beside the building or on a platform - and is connected to the engine by coolant pipework.
How is it different from an engine-mounted radiator?
An engine-mounted radiator sits on the generator set and its fan is driven by the engine. A remote radiator has its own frame and electric fans, which can be speed controlled and placed where the air and the sound limit allow.
Does a remote radiator need its own pump?
Often not, the engine pump circulates the coolant. When the pipe run is long or the radiator stands high above the engine, an auxiliary pump or a header tank is added.
Should I choose horizontal or vertical?
Horizontal suits open ground and roofs, with the warm air going up and away. Vertical suits narrow plots and wall lines, provided the sideways discharge has free space in front of it.
Can one remote radiator cool both engine circuits?
Yes. A remote LT/HT radiator carries two separate coils in one casing under one fan group, so the jacket and charge-air circuits stay apart.
Contact Us
Send us the heat duty, the fluid temperatures and flow rates, the ambient conditions and the installation limits. We answer with a design proposal - or write to us on WhatsApp.
