Covering the cowl vent

[Luftmasse]

May sound bizzare, but has anyone consider blocking the cowl vent (the vent below fhe windshield near the wiper blades)?

My theory is if you block the cowl vent, you won't have water, dust, leaves, and drib intrusion into the cabin air filter and it will not cause that mildew smell and also not contaminate the cabin air filter. What say you?

 

[Lolvoguy]

Contamination of cabin air filter has never been an issue before.
It's job is to filter air, which is what it does.
Why would you want to block that?

 

[JLawrence08648]

It may cause mildew because of the lack of air flow.

 

[bullwinkle]

It would cause very poor air flow through the vents, heater, and defroster-since that's where a car's HVAC system gets its' air from.

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote

May sound bizzare, but has anyone consider blocking the cowl vent (the vent below fhe windshield near the wiper blades)?


I'll say it; this guy's neighbor

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2234502

I really need to spend my time on more productive things

 

[The_Nuke]

a) was he using the same cup each night or different ones each time.
b) why use a cup at all?
c) I hope he doesn't have any pets, I'd hate to see what warped punishment he uses to discipline a misbehaving animal.
d) huh?

 

[Luftmasse]

Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Contamination of cabin air filter has never been an issue before.
It's job is to filter air, which is what it does.
Why would you want to block that?


So that it wouldnt smell.

Originally Posted by bullwinkle
It would cause very poor air flow through the vents, heater, and defroster-since that's where a car's HVAC system gets its' air from.


The air is from the fan. Only when it is not in recirculate mode then it will take air from the outside.

 

[RooflessVW]

Where is your cabin filter?

If it starts to stink, change it - I don't really follow your reasoning here.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted by simple_gifts
Quote

May sound bizzare, but has anyone consider blocking the cowl vent (the vent below fhe windshield near the wiper blades)?


I'll say it; this guy's neighbor

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2234502

I really need to spend my time on more productive things

You and me both, bud!

Originally Posted by painfx
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Contamination of cabin air filter has never been an issue before.
It's job is to filter air, which is what it does.
Why would you want to block that?


So that it wouldnt smell.

If you have smells originating in your HVAC system, it isn't from that filter.
It's more than likely from your AC system not allowing the evaporator to fully dry (before shutting down).

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

If you have a mildew smell, it's probably coming from the evaporator core. That can be cleaned in various ways depending on your vehicle.

For smells that come from outside, carbon filters can make a difference.

In cooler weather, it will be hard to manage condensation if you keep the system on recirculate.

 

[Luftmasse]

My OEM cabin filter is charcoal type. Doesnt really make much difference according to the people online.

 

[andyd]

Grand Wagoneers cowl vents packed the cowls with leaves and road dirt. Total PITN . Got a 5 gallon of soggy compost out of my last one. Locking the barn after hoss was stolen, I fixed the problem with some window screen.

 

[Luftmasse]

What about just covering it when it rains and snow? Good idea?

 

[Omahaug]

Covering the cowl vent will do absolutely nothing to block airflow so I don't understand the purpose of doing that.

Have you ever removed the cowl vent? The actual venting for the cabin air system is not anywhere near the cowl in most cases. On systems where the cowl vents are not directly exposed they may be more direct but the cowl is still sealed and the air is probably still not flowing directly from the vent to the blower. For one thing if it were, water pouring directly on the cowl would enter the cabin air system. It's usually a series of labyrinthean passages the air has to follow that throws off heavier forms of water since the air can follow them but the water cannot. For example it's very common for the air to follow an upside down U, the air can flow upward the water cannot.

If you cover the cowl vent it will still suck in air. If you cover the actual venting it will still suck in air, through some other source (gaps between the evaporator case and blower housing for example). This is a pointless exercise.