Tim,
Lycoming's website has some good articles on leaning procedures. Go to http://www.lycoming.textron.com and type "leaning procedure" into their search box. Most of what I know about leaning, I learned there. I'm burning about 6 gal/hr if I'm not in a hurry. I'm still working on putting the principles into practice, but here are some things that seem to be working for me:
1. Back off a few hundred RPM before leaning.
2. Over 5-10 sec, lean slowly until first sign of roughness, then richen just enough to make it smooth again.
3. If you're patient and have an EGT gauge, you can lean really slowly and eventually the EGT will peak and start down again. Richen back over the peak and down 50F. Meanwhile, keep your CHT below 400F, oil temp in the green, and watch for traffic. (I usually opt for method #2.)
Some 7ECAs have 35 gallon capacity. It's nice if you're alone...
I hope this helps. If anyone thinks I'm going to damage my engine with the above procedures, please speak up. Thanks!
-Alex
