REFLECTOR: Cabin Heating

[Dave Black]

Scott,

> I think if you had the nose oil radiator and an inside one for cabin
> heating you could easily run them in series, much easier plumbing.
> 
> Then close off the cabin heat outlets on the oil cooler duct.  If your oil
> is too cool just close the flap(that used to direct the air into the cabin)
> a bit thus reducing the flow through the radiator and raising the oil
> temps, good for the engine and for the passengers too.

You may be on to something! It would be stone simple plumbing. And I believe
it would be a huge improvement over the standard nose cooler only
installation. 

I see two drawbacks:

1) The total length of the oil line. The longer the line, the more 'congealed
oil plug' effect you have in cold weather. But now that I think of it, with
this system, there'd be absolutely no need to leave the original cooler in the
nose. Rather, it should be relocated to the engine compartment. Hence the
total plumbing could be MUCH shorter than the standard system.

2) The cabin heater would always be hot, even in summer. However I'm certain
that with some clever design, most of the unwanted heat from the cabin heater
during the summer can be contained, blocked from entering the cabin, or ported
overboard. Heck, if the unwanted heat can be eliminated efficiently, the cabin
heater could even be used during summer as an auxiliary oil cooler. There are
certainly times when that would be a good thing.

All-in-all, I believe two coolers in series with no valves is a big
improvement over the standard system. Certainly it'd be a very simple to
plumb, and cabin temperature control becomes a matter of controlling a blower
motor and flapper(s). 

I guess a flapper valve located in the cabin floor could direct hot air either
back into the cabin or overboard. It needs to work quite effectively to keep
the cabin from getting hot in summer. But I'll bet it could be done. On the
other hand, putting a bypass valve around the cabin heater would keep the heat
out too.

Hmmm...


Dave Black
Shortwing RG