How Much Air

You're not going to get to Tasmania :)) But assuming that you have the blind and speed right, you might get across most creeks on Cape York. Of course your diffs etc are getting water in them, so check fluids after crossing.

Wide variation there Stephen , but for my patrol it would be around 3/4 of a cubic metre which would be good for some 2 seconds as engine not far off idle.

Robin Miller

Pay the few hunge for a snorkel and fit up (easy as pie did mine on weekend), cheap insurance over a $10k rebuild + recovery costs.

If you get the bow wave happening, there should be a trough in the wave next to the wheels, this should be where unlimited air comes in.

interesting poser but sounds like you have a generic answer?

i reckon,

if you have tarped from your wipers (and why would you?) then it sounds like all vents are covered so you have a potential vaccum. how long does your donk breathe for if you block the air inntake with your hand? too rich a mixture, too little oxygen. combustion requires the air intake to mix with the fuel and the spark is the heat. a fire needs three elements to exist: fuel, heat and oxygen. if there is no or minimal air intake, in a vacuum, then you have practically no chance. if you have some residual air, you may get combustion but you won't go far.

what i reckon anyway.

Reason I ask we are doing the high country in december and my mate is a bit concerned as he doesnt have a snorkel on his 3litre turbo /D hilux and was told that depending on rain and snow that there can be as much as a 3 feet of water in the Murray which is one of the first crossings we come to so is debating wether to put a snorkel on or not as it wil cost him $350 but is selling just after xmas but was told by the tag along mob that as long as he's tarped up wont be a problem, then I said yes but what if you stop or get bogged for what ever reason half way accross then he was a bit concerned. Regards Steve M

Stephen,

Redback or Baz, depends how you know him, forded a stream a couple of years back in a vehicle without a snorkel. He had to go back the same way and on entry back to the same spot the nose buried and end of engine in an intstant. He was fortunate his insurance covered his misadventure.

The important thing is do you know where the air inlet to the mudguard space is? You really need that as high as you can without any low down entry for water so it doesn't leak in

Petrol engine pajero, no snorkel, made it across the Jardine with a tarp on the front.
Water was 600mm to 1100 deep in one place(300 below window sills), mostly over 800 deep (height of tyre).
About 50 metres across?

Havn't tried a longer one. Wouldn't have tried it in a diesel without a snorkel.

There was a deisel Jack at Bamaga that Hydraulic'd on the OTL track when we were up there a month ago and I had to tow a Territory out of a creek with a flooded engine on the Bloomfield.
I can't laugh as I did a radiator.

I have crossed bonnet depth rivers in the High Country in a petrol Paj but wouldn't risk a diesel without a snorkel.

Stephen,
I guess your talking about the Tom Groggin crossing. True enough it can get up a bit, if you choose not to go the snorkel, you can always got the long way round if you have to - or try talking to the station owner and permission to cross using his bridge and property. I have done this once and they were very friendly, others have told me different stories. When asking assume that access is a possible privildge and certainly not a right.
We are currently having a fairly ordinary snow season, thus the available spring discharge will not be as good a prior years.
If you want to keep an eye on what the murray river level is doing, here is a link to a water monitoring sire that is located about 40km down stream from tom groggin Site Link - Murray river at Biggara – 401012. The plot will be in local staff gauge datum – so don’t be fooled into thinking that the scale on the water level plot it is the dept of the water – it aint.
Reading the plot you will give you a feel for how quickly the river falls after rain and how quickly it responds to rain (they always rise fast and fall slow). Rain in the catchment may not necessarily show in the Biggera sites rain gauge. If you watch the river level plot over the next few months it will also give you an idea on how much snow melt / catchment discharge is elevating the base flow levels. If you play with the advanced ‘form options’, you can create a river level plot of many months or years and then determine the level in prior years for comparison to the level when its time for your trip.

As you will see at the tom grogin crossing, if you take a crescent shaped path (toward the down stream) you miss the big up stream hole. A straight line or upstream line will put you into deeper water.

I think its fair to say that for 4wding, I am a hydrophobic hydrographer – if its to deep, don’t risk it. Wade the river and think very seriously if it 6-700mm deep. It will be spanner water - waders would be handy.

Paul.

p.s. you will need to copy/paste the url into you browser – exploreoz claim its not a valid link when I submit it as a link.

Site Link