Unintended consequences of exhaust pointing skyward?

[strantor]

Sorry I don't know what combination of words Google needs in order to tell me what I want to know, so I'm asking humans.

Picture the exhaust pipes on an 18-wheeler, how they point straight up at the sky behind the cab. Usually there is a flapper up there to prevent rain from pouring down the exhaust. I'm thinking of doing something similar, but instead of a flapper, I would just turn my exhaust 90 degrees near the top of the buggy and point it aft, with a muffler mounted up there.

Ignoring things like "what if someone grabs the hot exhaust running up the outside of the buggy," what are the unintended consequences that I don't know enough to consider?

I what happens to the condensation in the exhaust on big rigs and trucks with snorkel systems? Does it just drip down into the cylinder? That seems bad. How do they get around this? Use a p-trap like a sink? Or do they even address it at all?

[slonomo]

Vertical exhaust pipes are used on all kinds of vehicles and equipment without much issue. Yes the rain caps are probably the best way to keep rain out. Farmers use buckets to cover the ends of the pipes when tractors are parked. If the pipe is sized correctly, rainwater will not get into the vertical pipes while the engine is running, the exhaust pressure is enough to keep the water out, unless the pipe is oversized, then all bets are off there. Most semi trucks the exhaust slopes down away from the engine, then runs horizontal, then runs vertical through mufflers etc. If moisture builds up in there it sits on the bottom of the inside of the horizontal pipes, then burns off from the heat of the exhaust, it never reaches the engine. The down side is the bottoms of the pipe are the first parts to show corrosion/rust from the sitting water.

If you design your golf cart exhaust with a horizontal run of pipe before it goes vertical, you should have a similar scenario as with a semi truck.

Performance wise, vertical exhausts are no more restrictive than a typical setup. Sound will be higher or more noticable since the pipe is higher up closer to the ear level. Exhausts under a vehicle are quieter because the sound is projected at the ground and the sound is deflected more.

[strantor]

Originally Posted by slonomo

Vertical exhaust pipes are used on all kinds of vehicles and equipment without much issue. Yes the rain caps are probably the best way to keep rain out. Farmers use buckets to cover the ends of the pipes when tractors are parked. If the pipe is sized correctly, rainwater will not get into the vertical pipes while the engine is running, the exhaust pressure is enough to keep the water out, unless the pipe is oversized, then all bets are off there. Most semi trucks the exhaust slopes down away from the engine, then runs horizontal, then runs vertical through mufflers etc. If moisture builds up in there it sits on the bottom of the inside of the horizontal pipes, then burns off from the heat of the exhaust, it never reaches the engine. The down side is the bottoms of the pipe are the first parts to show corrosion/rust from the sitting water.

If you design your golf cart exhaust with a horizontal run of pipe before it goes vertical, you should have a similar scenario as with a semi truck.

Performance wise, vertical exhausts are no more restrictive than a typical setup. Sound will be higher or more noticable since the pipe is higher up closer to the ear level. Exhausts under a vehicle are quieter because the sound is projected at the ground and the sound is deflected more.

Ok, good to know, thanks.

[sho305]

You might smell the exhaust depending on the height. Otherwise you should be fine.

[jayreynoldsii5]

I grew up on farms and there is nothing quite like the sound of an idling engine with a flapper going ting ting ting lol

[Capt. Lenny]

If you mount the muffler up vertical you will have to support the weight well. Installing a heat shield like on a semi might not be a bad idea.

[augiedoggy]

Originally Posted by Capt. Lenny

If you mount the muffler up vertical you will have to support the weight well. Installing a heat shield like on a semi might not be a bad idea.

As someone with sidepipes on my vette I second the heatshield idea...

When I was a kid I used to make go carts/ off roading machines out of riding lawnmowers and tractors and I did what your saying with a pipe pointing up... and yes I burned myself on both the vette and the tractor... I added heat shield to the vette because if oneof my passengers or kid at a criuse night burned thier legs that would be no bueno