REFLECTOR: Plenum drain?
Jerry Teitsma
jerryteits at comcast.net
Fri Nov 13 12:31:01 CST 2009
Don Johnston asked an interesting question. I have experienced engine
compartment pressure that forced hot air back up through the ducts. I also
have a plenum drain that extends through the firewall into the engine
compartment. I do not have it plumbed to the outside, just into the engine
compartment, just under the plenum.
One time I reached altitude and leveled off at 3,000 ft AGL and suddenly had
a mist in the cabin. The mist was thick enough to obscure vision. After I
shut down power and put the plane to best glide speed, the mist gradually
went away. Upon landing, I found that an oil fitting in the engine
compartment had failed, spraying a fine mist of oil over everything. I had
less than a quart of oil remaining in the engine. In a way, I was lucky to
have the mist carried back into the cabin or I would have left the vicinity
of the airport and would have run out of oil while flying over the
mountains.
Re-thinking this situation, I think I will duct that drain line to the
outside and reduce the possibility of taking in carbon monoxide. As an
additional measure, I have constructed a reverse scoop in the bottom of the
cowling to try to create a negative pressure zone in the engine compartment,
assisting in more cylinder cooling. Will fly this configuration within the
next 2 weeks.
Jerry Teitsma, Inc
PO Box 796, Granby CO 80446 970-887-3910 (Phone/Fax)
jerryteits at comcast.net
Jerry Teitsma, RRC, RRO, CCCA
RCI, Inc
PO Box 796, Granby CO 80446 (USPS mail/shipping)
36 Lodgepole Ct, Granby CO 80446 (UPS/FedEx shipping)
970-887-3910 (Phone/Fax)
jerryteits at comcast.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/private/reflector/attachments/20091113/b7a95c09/attachment.htm>
More information about the Reflector
mailing list