REFLECTOR: Fwd: Re: Still test flying...battling high CHT's (Geoff Gerhardt)

Ron N VelocityXLFG velocityxl at fastmail.fm
Wed Sep 12 07:24:00 CDT 2012


Funny I did the same thing with my radiator to get the air to turn and 
use more of the radiator
in the stream.

Ron
On 9/11/2012 8:15 PM, Scott Derrick wrote:
>
> Geoff,
>
>     here is a crude drawing, attached
>
>     The vanes for number 2 cyl, take up 1/3 of the area of the duct as 
> view from the NACA side.   same arrangement on the left side for #1..
>
>     There are of course two ducts, left and right.
>
> Scott
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Still test flying...battling high CHT's (Geoff 
> Gerhardt)
> From: Geoff Gerhardt <geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>
> To: Scott Derrick <scott at tnstaafl.net>
> Date: 09/11/2012 10:02 AM
>> Scott,
>>
>> So, do these vanes vertically bifurcate the flow from the runners so 
>> that the left half of the flow goes to the most forward cylinder and 
>> the right half goes to the most aft cylinder?  Or, do you bifurcate 
>> it horizontally, the bottom going to the most forward cylinder, the 
>> top is then directed aft?  Yeah, a picture or rough sketch would help.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Geoff
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 11, 2012 at 9:25 AM, Scott Derrick <scott at tnstaafl.net 
>> <mailto:scott at tnstaafl.net>> wrote:
>>
>>     Geoff,
>>
>>         I will make a drawing on how I did the turning vanes, there
>>     is no way to get a picture.  basically you have two rectangular
>>     feed tubes from the NACA into the plenum.  My two vanes start
>>     inside the feed tubes, thats where they are riveted too.  They
>>     are bent  in a curve to end up where I want them.  They reach all
>>     the way down to the upper fins of the cylinders.  I split a small
>>     fuel line and glued that to lower edge of the vane so they don't
>>     scratch or cut any of the tubes, wires or fins down in there.
>>
>>         Yes the gap is where the plenum comes up against the forward
>>     side of the cylinders.   I just silly-coned a piece of foam in
>>     between the cyl and plenum to hold it out.  I ended up leaving it
>>     in there, for the last 100 hours!  I siliconed fiberglass to my
>>     lower cylinder fins to force the air though them as you did with
>>     aluminum. I left those in place, don't remove them!  The gap
>>     causes a low pressure to form which encourages the air to make
>>     the turn down through the cyl instead of going straight back to
>>     the back cyls.  Somebody on this list told me about this trick,
>>     he deserves the credit.
>>
>>         I also suffered the pusher streak!  Oil breather oil on the
>>     lower cowl and prop. What a Pita.  I wiped that streak off for
>>     700 hours!  Now I have a super clean lower cowling!
>>
>>         I had Custom Aircraft weld in a 1/2 inch nipple to the left
>>     hand stack which I attached the breather hose to.  Now the little
>>     bit of oil that can make such a nasty long streak and vapor gets
>>     partially burned and thrown away from the cowling.  I've attached
>>     Clinton's diagram he sent me after I talked to him about it.
>>
>>     Scott
>>
>>     -------- Original Message --------
>>     Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Still test flying...battling high CHT's
>>     (Geoff Gerhardt)
>>     From: Geoff Gerhardt <geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>
>>     <mailto:geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>
>>     To: Scott Derrick <scott at tnstaafl.net> <mailto:scott at tnstaafl.net>
>>     Date: 09/10/2012 03:04 PM
>>>     Scott,
>>>
>>>     If you have some pictures of your turning vanes, I'd much
>>>     appreciate them.  I'm envisioning curved aluminum bits riveted
>>>     to the top of the plenums that direct air flow down to the two
>>>     fore cylinders.
>>>
>>>     I've seen you mention before about opening up a gap along the
>>>     side of #2.  On a Lycoming 1&2 are the aft cylinders, so that
>>>     didn't really make sense to me, but now I see that for you
>>>     (Continental?), 1&2 cylinders are your fore cylinders.  I wonder
>>>     if opening up that gap draws more air to make that sharp turn.
>>>      I've got my plenums up tight to the wall of my 3&4 cylinders.
>>>      I also have aluminum extensions to my plenums that wrap around
>>>     the cylinders to make sure air is forced thru the fins.  Perhaps
>>>     I should open those up a bit.  I can't completely rationalize
>>>     how that helps, but it seems to have made a difference for you.
>>>
>>>     One thing that may have nothing to do with this, but I've found
>>>     interesting...My oil vent line is in the center of the fuselage
>>>     right where the cowling meets the firewall.  I typically see a
>>>     nice brown streak running up the cowling right to the furthest
>>>     aft end.  I've also found that oil collects right under the prop
>>>     extension.  Initially, I thought that I had a seal leak or the
>>>     crank expansion plug was leaking, but it turns out that the oil
>>>     from the vent is turning the corner and running inside the
>>>     cowling and pooling right under the prop extension.  Does that
>>>     say anything about a vacuum being created there?  Good or bad?
>>>      Does this happen to everyone?
>>>
>>>     I think I'm going to start by adding taller VG's a bit further
>>>     forward (maybe 4" like you suggest) of the NACA's.  Right now I
>>>     have relatively low profile ones right before the NACA's.
>>>
>>>     Geoff
>>>
>>>
>>>     On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 12:27 PM, Scott Derrick
>>>     <scott at tnstaafl.net <mailto:scott at tnstaafl.net>> wrote:
>>>
>>>         Geoff,
>>>
>>>             I felt like my battle of the CHT's was legend!
>>>
>>>             I have 5/8 VG's about 4 inches forward of the roof NACA,
>>>         I thought I got 5-10 degrees better cooling from them.
>>>
>>>             I have turning vanes in my plenum for #1 & #2 cylinders,
>>>         those are the forward as in nearest to the firewall
>>>         cylinders.  Normally I've been told those are the warmest
>>>         because the air has to make a dramatic turn to go through
>>>         them.  I have two vanes for each cylinder, one ends halfway
>>>         across the cylinder, the other right between the cylinder
>>>         and the next cylinder.   I think that dropped the temps on
>>>         those two cylinders about 5-10  degrees.
>>>
>>>             I opened a gap in the plenum in front of #2(right
>>>         front).  That helped #2 about 5-10 degrees.
>>>
>>>             I installed a cowl flap(which I didn't need when I had
>>>         the IO360, that helped about 15-20 degrees.
>>>
>>>             Now I can climb out full power and not hit 400 unless
>>>         the oat is above 90F.  In the winter I have trouble keeping
>>>         the temps up, range is 290-320 in the coldest days.
>>>
>>>             I cruise max throttle LOP 360-330, near max throttle ROP
>>>         390-360 in the summer.  Max throttle ROP exceeds RPM
>>>         redline, so I don't do that much.
>>>
>>>         Scott
>>>
>>>         -------- Original Message --------
>>>         Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Still test flying...battling high
>>>         CHT's (Geoff Gerhardt)
>>>         From: Geoff Gerhardt <geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>
>>>         <mailto:geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>
>>>         To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>>>         <reflector at tvbf.org> <mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>
>>>         Date: 09/10/2012 07:52 AM
>>>>         Fred,
>>>>
>>>>         Yes, this is a new engine, so I'm guessing that's part of
>>>>         the reason, but I don't like having one cylinder being that
>>>>         much higher than the other three.  I have VG's about where
>>>>         you suggested putting them, an inch or so ahead of the NACA
>>>>         entrance.  Because I'm having problems primarily on climb
>>>>         out, I'm thinking I should move them fore a few inches.
>>>>          Also, the VG's I'm using are relatively low profile (<1/2"
>>>>         high).  I think I'll make some taller ones and see if that
>>>>         helps, too.
>>>>
>>>>         Thanks for the suggestions.
>>>>
>>>>         Geoff
>>>>
>>>>         On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 9:23 AM, Fred Anderka
>>>>         <fred at holohil.com <mailto:fred at holohil.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>             Geoff:
>>>>
>>>>             Had similar CHT problems with the IO-550, particularly
>>>>             cylinder #2.  There are deflector plates between the
>>>>             cylinders that can be bent to change the air flow, have
>>>>             not messed with them though.  Trying to put deflectors
>>>>             on top of that engine would be a nightmare with all the
>>>>             plumbing that is on top of that engine.  Is this is a
>>>>             new engine?  I have been told that the CHT's will
>>>>             decrease as the engine breaks in.  This is also a scary
>>>>             portion of your flight testing if you follow engine
>>>>             manufacturers reccommendations.  The engine
>>>>             manufacturers recommend that for proper break in of the
>>>>             engine it should be operated near maximum power for the
>>>>             first 20-25 hours.  Continued low power operation will
>>>>             glaze the cylinders resulting in high oil consumption.
>>>>              I suppose 25 hours of touch and go's might qualify.
>>>>
>>>>             Place a pair of VG's 1 1/2" ahead of the start of the
>>>>             slope of the NACAs.  You will see a dramatic decrease
>>>>             in the CHT's to the point where I am trying to figure
>>>>             out a way to reduce the air flow in the winter or when
>>>>             flying at very cold altitudes.  Scott suggested making
>>>>             the ramp of the NACAs adjustable to reduce the size of
>>>>             the air intake.  The VG's pressurize the plenum to a
>>>>             point where I have also noticed an increase in manifold
>>>>             pressures during climb out.  The Continental gets it's
>>>>             combustion air from the back of the engine plenum.
>>>>
>>>>             Fred
>>>>             XL-RG (620 hrs.)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>             Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2012 20:08:51 -0400
>>>>             From: Geoff Gerhardt <geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com
>>>>             <mailto:geoff.gerhardt at gmail.com>>
>>>>             To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>>>>             <reflector at tvbf.org <mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>>
>>>>             Subject: REFLECTOR: Still test flying...battling high CHT's
>>>>
>>>>             All,
>>>>
>>>>             Just an update on my test flying.  I've got just over
>>>>             9hrs in now.  I have been battling high CHT's, making a
>>>>             few changes.  I had a fuel flow imbalance that was
>>>>             causing some problems (hot #2) - I think it was a
>>>>             partially blocked injector.  I took all the
>>>>             injectors/lines out and cleaned them and balanced the
>>>>             flows (mixed and matched injectors until all injectors
>>>>             were putting out the same flow.  Now, in cruise, all
>>>>             cylinders are pretty close and reasonably cool (or, I
>>>>             guess, not overly hot).  Once I get to cruise, they all
>>>>             sit <380F.  But, on climb out, #3 gets way too hot
>>>>             (420F) forcing me to reduce power and bring the nose
>>>>             down so I'm climbing at <500FPM at ~60% power, 100kts.
>>>>              But, once I get to cruise and can bring the nose down
>>>>             and get the speed up, it behaves.  Still the hottest,
>>>>             but it'll sit around 380F.  So, I'm thinking I have to
>>>>             work on my cooling plenums.  #4 will get hot too, but
>>>>             it doesn't get much over 400F.
>>>>
>>>>             Has anyone had success putting deflectors in the
>>>>             plenums to direct air flow to cyls 3/4?  Or, maybe VG's
>>>>             in the entrance of the runners to keep the airflow
>>>>             better attached to the bottom of the runner so it can
>>>>             turn the corner down to cool 3/4 (I have VG's before
>>>>             the NACAs)?
>>>>
>>>>             Part of the issue may be my cruise prop - I need to
>>>>             keep full power on to get a decent climb rate.
>>>>
>>>>             Thanks.
>>>>
>>>>             Geoff
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>         -- 
>>>         What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
>>>         Confucius
>>>
>>>
>>
>>     -- 
>>     What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
>>     Confucius
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> He who knows others is wise;
> He who know himself is enlightened.
> Lao-tzu
>
>
>
>
>
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