Afternoon all.

so after waking up the last few mornings ( Aberdeenshire ) it has been very cold. Highs of +1 during day and we had a -15 two nights ago. Got me thinking of you were assembling an engine in these temps , ok I know your not doing it outside and 250m above sea level but how could / would that effect tolerance? It’s been that cold it’s frozen all my pipes even inside sheds and kennels despite lagging , and all my cleaning products / wood glues / etc.
only asking as mine is being put together as we speak it is a bit lower than here but would still be experiencing these extreme temp fluctuations. Be interesting to hear people’s thoughts.
we all know metal expands and contracts with temp but do they need to be more extreme than this ? Wondering if being to hot would be worse ?

 

Very interesting question, I've read somewhere that there is an amount expansion in metal per every degree in temperature. Different metals I reckon would expand at different rates given their density, albeit negligible expansion perhaps.
So yes there is that to factor in, but man this is way way out of my league!

 

Haha !! Yes and out of mine and that’s why I thought I’d ask ! I once watched a piece of film where an exact bolt was placed in a hand and wouldn’t fit , when cooled it did !

 

think it was on a spitfire wing ? ( guy Martin ) ??

 

Engines are usually assembled at a controlled ambient temperature. Some manufacturers will specify what tolerances you should be seeing at a recommended ambient, so yes it’s important to have a controlled and acceptable ambient temperature.