Educate me on snorkels

No offense to anyone but I've seen several in my area and they just look dumb. Short of driving thru Tampa Bay or south Westshore Blvd when it rains you'll never use one.
 
I'm gonna guess that the majority of those sporting snorkels did it for the "cool" factor. If my TJ didn't come with a snorkel already installed I wouldn't have one. Can't remove it or I'll have to patch the entry hole. I won't wheel through deep water....ever!
 
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Here in Florida they seem to be the second most popular accessory, right after mounting a Hi-Lift on the hood.
 
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Ever try to drive a rig across (through) some water? Everything is just fine up to a certain point, and that point is well below where the snorkel is doing you any good. LOTS of bad things happen once you get into water that is just deep enough to make you loose traction. 12 volt is just fine in water, the high tension spark plug leads are not. Get just deep enough and it's "sweep me away, Calgon!". Any current just pushes you down stream. Usually towards deeper water. Learned that little tip years ago in the BIL's CJ. CJs don't float for very long, and neither do K5 Blazers. Snorkels belong on submarines, and mall crawlers.
 
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Snorkels belong on submarines, and mall crawlers.

Or properly prepped DIESELS

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Or properly prepped DIESELS

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OK, I'll give you that one CT. Once again fording a river or whatever is dependent on local conditions. In my neck of the woods, it's not the smartest thing to do no matter how prepared your rig is. Around here our creeks and streams tend to run fast and deceptively deep. The water volumes, though not necessarily levels change rapidly with the weather. It is a really good idea to get out and walk the ford before crossing each and every time. Getting out of the rig and grabbing a 6 - 8' pole to check the conditions before plunging in is a great idea and can really save your bacon. But again, that's just the local conditions. A snorkel doesn't do me much good, though they do look cool if done correctly. I'm an old fart, so looking cool is pretty much low on the list.
 
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Well, I for one purchased a snorkel kit and K&N air filter for these reasons. (1) appearance (2) it does work well as a cold air system, and not taking hot air from under the hood. (3) I didn't purchase for fording water, But it does work well when your out in deep soupy mud. (If you have ever had to shovel/clean out you air box pluged up with mud, you know what im talking about) (after of course you have had to unstuck your Jeep with your winch and Hi/Lift jack. located on the back. lol)

Each to their own choices in life, i feel this is simular to a presidencial debat on which is the least evil. lol. Just saying and I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
;)
 
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We have plenty of Swamp Buggies down here, some use half tracks. I agree that a Snorkel may look cool, down here, most of the people that have them never go off road, and when they do, most end up getting stuck in the black Everglades muck. Why would anyone in their right mind try to put an expensive rig under water is mind blowing! Either they are rich and have plenty of time and money to blow.

All it takes is for a snorkel to develop a small vacuum leak in one of the connections and then they will end up hydro locking their engine.

Another issue is getting water in the front and rear axles, Transmision and bearings; most people don't realize the damage water, dust, and sand can do.

I am not going to waste anyone's time trying to argue if there is more dust at 4' or 7', if that's the case, I would rather Fly over the crap than to go through it.
That's why I also a Private Pilots License.
MORE IMPORTANTLY: Try cleaning out your lungs!
DUST is just plain nasty stuff. It took me one week to get most of it out of my rig.
By the way Chris is right, everyone of us has different tastes. That is what makes us unique.
Stay Safe and
Happy New Year!
 
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Another issue is getting water in the front and rear axles, Transmision and bearings; most people don't realize the damage water, dust, and sand can do.

Especially if vent tubes aren't extended and properly vented to atmosphere . Otherwise if diffs and trans get hot when they hit cold water they tend to try to suck in through the axle and pinion seals if they can't get air in through vent.
 
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Where is the waterproof line on a stock 02 tj? Is it the vent on top of the transmission? And if that breather vent was extended to, say, the top of the firewall, where is the next water vulnerable spot? I also heard that if you depress your clutch while submerged, it can suck in water. True?
 
Jump on Youtube and there's a "DIRT EVERY DAY" episode where they take a TJ, waterproof the heck out of it (electronics, etc), plop in a cummins diesel, and add a snorkel that is like 4 or 5 feet ABOVE the roof line. The purpose? To drive the TJ literally underwater, through a pond. Point of it is sillyness and to see if they could do it. Realistic for everyday use? No. Entertaining? Yes. Thing is, they go to such huge efforts that the TJ's purpose is limited after that....until they change the build again.

I see occasional snorkels around here on Wranglers, Cherokees, and the occasional Toyota. Usually they rigs are full of mud....Yeah, it's about the look I guess.
 
Snorkels work on submarines and tourists in the water here on Maui.
If you have any normal street vehicle in that much water....well, forget it, you won't have a running Jeep any more.
Also, think about the length of the intake run, it will make a huge difference in the resonant frequency of the air flow. Exactly what this will do to engine power I don't know but I'm sure it falls well outside of anything the designers considered when they designed the intake system.
Snorkels, cold air intakes, headers, high flow exhaust, etc. on Jeeps are an exercise in spending money. These are tractor engines designed for low speed operation. Do any of these things and put up some before and after dyno figures and I bet there is no difference, or maybe a deterioration of power.
 
pair a snorkel with a hi-jack and you've got a real mall crawler right there

Easy on the farm jack (aka hi-jack), in the proper hands it is a great tool! I have used one to change tires on tractors, lift up stuck vehicles to place crap under the sunk tire to get out of being stuck, removed motors from vehicles that were left in fields, and pulled several tractors out of the muck.
My 04 came with one already on the hood and since it did not have any-other jack with it I taught my daughter how to use it to change a tire on the jeep. It has a winch so I do not see using it to get herself out of being stuck but never know, so I taught her how to use the farm jack to pull yourself out of the muck just in case.

Now with that being said, if one does not know how to use a farm jack then one could get real hurt real fast (just like the old bumper jack).