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Baffles Seals REV 2
I decided since the taxiway in front of my hangar was getting repaired for a couple weeks, I'd take the opportunity to re-do my baffle seals. My engine has always been on the hot side. Manageable, but I'd really like to have more headroom on hot days.
I though there was a pretty good chance I was getting some leaks in the back corners as the the air may have pushed the material down. We started with the original material from Van's. I shopped a few things at Oshkosh and decided to give the McFarlan Cowl Saver stuff a try. It's extremely slick on one side and much stiffer than the original. While I was at it, I figured I'd make it look cool too. Worst case scenario, I have the same cooling and a better look with the cowl off. So, I whipped up new strips for both sides so the rivets had something good to bite into, off to the anodizer, and here we are. First flight with them was on Saturday to fly young eagles. Getting the cowl on for the first time was a bear!!. So far it seems I may have lowered the temps a couple degrees at best. Won't really know for sure until I go somewhere where I can get up high in cruise where I know exactly what temps I usually see. Here's the before and after pics... Before: ![]() ![]() After ![]() ![]() |
Cowling inlets
Hi John - thanks for sharing the photos - do you have any pic of the area around the cowl inlets? That's always a tricky area I believe.
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Baffles
John, what did you do to finish the baffles? Paint, powder coat, anodize?
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Umm..
Excuse me for a few weeks. I'll be in the hangar redoing my baffles. They suddenly look awful...
Nice work there. Can I ask what the insulation on the wiring (?) is for? |
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I don't have any pictures of that. I might redo it with the new material so it's consistent. |
John, what's on your firewall?
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Rv 10 rdd baffle kit
Anyone using the rv10 baffle kit that rdd makes? It looks like a copy of what the people that the build the sportsmen 2+2. I know it works well with the io 390 engine on the sportsmen.
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Thanks. Might be over kill but I might put that over the foil just as extra fire protection.
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Wow
Yesterday I replaced my original baffle seals with this same, thicker material. I thought my originals were pretty good but wasn't completely satisfied with the back corners, overlaps and transition at the inlets. I was able to install the new ones with only a couple cuts and they seal to the top cowl much better, overall a much cleaner install.
I flew today and have never seen temps this cool. #3 was down in the 330's in climb and my hottest cylinder, #4, only got to 370 in a climb to 10,000'. Cruise was +/- 350, whereas normally is around 370. Granted, it was a cool day in the mid sixties but nonetheless, it seems reworking my baffles, that I thought were good already, made a big difference. I also tried something on my oil cooler, which mounts to the rear of the engine baffle. (Should get a picture). It seams to me that air can exit straight rearward through the cooling fins, but also through holes in the top and bottom of the oil cooler?? I took RTV sealant and closed off the holes in the top of the oil cooler, front and rear... oil temps never went over 155 (normally 170's). I think not only did this make more air travel through the fins but also decreased the amount of air pouring through the oil cooler exit. Good day for me, maybe I can advance my pmag timing now |
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My oil temps are usually right at 180, so I actually added a butterfly valve, so in cruise, I can close off some of the air to the oil cooler and get more air to the cylinders. I let the oil come up to about 190(ish) and that gets a few more degrees cooling to #6... Just my 2 cents.... |
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It might be a couple weeks before I have any high cruise flights where I can see off the new baffle seals really made a difference or not. Got a lot of short hops and sight seeing flights coming up. (not that I'm complaining) |
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