LOW HEAT! BRRRRRRRRRR
- Thread starter VETE76
- Start date
citabriaflyr
New member
try a winterization plate to cover the oil cooler. i put mine on once temps are around 20 or colder.
and also used sheet aluminum cut with AVIATION snips...so that makes it legal..doesn't it? LOLcitabriaflyr
New member
i just made mine out of .032 sheet metal cut with a snips, bent a tab on top and slid it between the cooler and the baffling, just pull it out when then snow melts.
I don't think the covering the oil cooler will help with the cabin heat. My 7ECA runs cold all the time (140-150 summer) and (100-120 winter without the cover-140-150 with the cover). No matter what the oil temp, my heater gets hot enough to drive you out of the cockpit. I got my cooler cover from ACA, about $20.00.
Bill
Bill
Guys, heads up here. Fred's freezing in the cockpit!!!! I don't think he's after a means of raising his oil temp although his engine might like that.
Fred, the cockpit heat you're controlling when you pull that knob is generated at the exhaust muffs. One heats you. the other does carb heat /alternate air. Check the flexible ducting (skeet scat hose) is intact and in place between the firewall and the heat muff. Look under the panel at the firewall and check the opening and closing of your cabin heat valve as you pull and push the knob. It should be moving but since you're freezing, the nut may have loosened off, the wire fatigued and broken,or the wire casing is slipping in the p clamp.
If the integrity of the heat muff is compromised, (ie. your exhaust is rotting out and would allow CO into the heat muff) someone may have removed the flexible ducting to prevent you from using the cockpit heat and succumbing to Carbon Monoxide. (annual inspection item here)
Cheers,
Simon
Fred, the cockpit heat you're controlling when you pull that knob is generated at the exhaust muffs. One heats you. the other does carb heat /alternate air. Check the flexible ducting (skeet scat hose) is intact and in place between the firewall and the heat muff. Look under the panel at the firewall and check the opening and closing of your cabin heat valve as you pull and push the knob. It should be moving but since you're freezing, the nut may have loosened off, the wire fatigued and broken,or the wire casing is slipping in the p clamp.
If the integrity of the heat muff is compromised, (ie. your exhaust is rotting out and would allow CO into the heat muff) someone may have removed the flexible ducting to prevent you from using the cockpit heat and succumbing to Carbon Monoxide. (annual inspection item here)
Cheers,
Simon
HI SIMON, THANK YOU.
my plane is in very good shape. all the stuff works and is there. i called aca and Dale, aca's test pilot told me that because i have a dual exhaust system, the heat box is too small to put hot heat in cockpit especially when the oil temp id 135 -to 140. summer time if you pull the little knob you instantly get heated right out! but the oil temp is 180ish. he suggested blocking some of the air that hits the oil screen housing. he did not suggest "duck tapeing" the cowl inlets over. he said block all the air blowing into the cabin etc and it may help. i flew 1.8 hrs today and it was cold. but i love to fly! i have skiis so i guess i will have to get dressed much warmer.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bymMr07C0OVgN4s_oHa7vA?authkey=GOzqwc3fQQY
my plane is in very good shape. all the stuff works and is there. i called aca and Dale, aca's test pilot told me that because i have a dual exhaust system, the heat box is too small to put hot heat in cockpit especially when the oil temp id 135 -to 140. summer time if you pull the little knob you instantly get heated right out! but the oil temp is 180ish. he suggested blocking some of the air that hits the oil screen housing. he did not suggest "duck tapeing" the cowl inlets over. he said block all the air blowing into the cabin etc and it may help. i flew 1.8 hrs today and it was cold. but i love to fly! i have skiis so i guess i will have to get dressed much warmer.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bymMr07C0OVgN4s_oHa7vA?authkey=GOzqwc3fQQY
Mine has the same two muffler setup. I live in edmonton Alberta. I get enough heat to nicely knock off the chill. Below -10 Celsius I park it.
How much heat are you losing through drafts around the door and window seals, and windshield at the wing root fairing?
I've seen some mufflers with studs attached to increase the heated surface area of the exhaust, and to slow down the movement of air through the muffler on the cockpit air side. (They are certified however they're not cheap.) If you look inside your exhaust muffler there is a pipe with numerous holes in it.(Sieve like with bigger holes and closed over at one end) When the exhausts deteriorate these are known to fail and in some cases obstruct the flow from the muffler, sometimes resulting in engine failure. When they get old before completely failing they will distort, warp and crack. To increase exhaust flow some people will remove this piece. Doing so renders the exhaust unairworthy technically as it is now an unapproved modification. It also allows for faster flow from the exhaust and therefore less heat transfer. Could be worth a look next annual. Your heat issue might be a need for new mufflers. Hope not. They're not cheap. Hope this is of some help.
Cheers,
Simon
How much heat are you losing through drafts around the door and window seals, and windshield at the wing root fairing?
I've seen some mufflers with studs attached to increase the heated surface area of the exhaust, and to slow down the movement of air through the muffler on the cockpit air side. (They are certified however they're not cheap.) If you look inside your exhaust muffler there is a pipe with numerous holes in it.(Sieve like with bigger holes and closed over at one end) When the exhausts deteriorate these are known to fail and in some cases obstruct the flow from the muffler, sometimes resulting in engine failure. When they get old before completely failing they will distort, warp and crack. To increase exhaust flow some people will remove this piece. Doing so renders the exhaust unairworthy technically as it is now an unapproved modification. It also allows for faster flow from the exhaust and therefore less heat transfer. Could be worth a look next annual. Your heat issue might be a need for new mufflers. Hope not. They're not cheap. Hope this is of some help.
Cheers,
Simon
I find that leaning the mixture makes a significant difference in the temperature of the cabin heat. If I'm cold, I check my EGT to make sure I've leaned enough.
Another thing I've found is that best heating happens when the heater valve about 1/4 to 1/2 open. If it's wide open, the air coming out is colder. Kinda makes sense, since the longer the air spends passing by the muffler, the hotter it gets. My passenger gets cold easily, and we've played around with this quite a bit.
Another thing I've found is that best heating happens when the heater valve about 1/4 to 1/2 open. If it's wide open, the air coming out is colder. Kinda makes sense, since the longer the air spends passing by the muffler, the hotter it gets. My passenger gets cold easily, and we've played around with this quite a bit.