If it does, youll still get ammeter drop but the pitot will still freeze in the extreme cold. Many systems have two elements in parallel. Do more than just turn it on and watch the ammeter. Every winter there are a dozen episodes of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Janitrol heater in the twins tailcone gets a pressure check as well. That way the exhaust heater muffs get pressure checked just before their value goes from nice to essential.

It makes sense to annual the aircraft in the fall. One primary task for cold-weather operations is to inspect the cabin heat. The important thing to do now is to prepare for those cold months ahead.

Just because its winter doesnt win you a class C transponder exemption. Its easier on your gyros and your transponder will work forthwith. Use an electric heater if possible.Ĭabin preheat is more than a luxury. Preheat the cabin, but not with carbon monoxide and soot-containing burner blast. Its just enough to power the two oil pan heaters and the twelve barrel heaters. When were skiing in the back country, we carry a two-stroke Coleman 1000-watt generator. If you dont have the watts then you also need an engine cowl blanket. The oil should be runny and the barrels slightly warm to the touch. Therefore, its best to heat both the pan and the barrels. Dipstick heaters may warm a little part of the oil puddle, leave the barrels cold, and leave thick oil at the oil pickup. The tools run the gamut from the Northern Companion stove, which is little more than a white fuel burner vented to your cowl flap outlet, to various electrical heaters.įlyers on a budget beware, however, that if you set up a temperature gradient between the pan and the barrels, moisture in the oil may condense in cool reaches of the engine, setting up corrosion. You can also heat the oil while its still in the engine, but that takes wattage and patience. They drain the oil into jugs, keep it inside where its warm, then pour it back into the engine when its time to fly. There are many, many ways to warm your engine many Alaskan operators take the oil in at night. In the extreme case, the barrels get hot, and the cold oil doesnt mobilize until there is irreparable damage to the hot section. That thick gooey stuff just doesnt push well through the impeller until it thins a bit. All the oil has drained off your camshaft since that last flight two weeks ago. Starting cold engines below 32 degrees F is an invitation to not make TBO. Once the weather is cold, the usual precautions apply. Its time to prepare both pilot and aircraft. In the Midwest, this means gray, cold, wet, windy and only rarely clear and cold.

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