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Cabin Heat

N804RV

Well Known Member
I don't want to hijack the other thread on RV-6 cabin temp. Hope its ok to start another.
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I'm wondering how some of you have rigged your cabin heat in the 8/8A. I know a guy that has to swap out scat tubes every spring and fall so that he can select between the NACA vent in the wing and the heat muff.

I was considering just plumbing the NACA vent to the front seat. And the heat muff to the rear seat.

My wife gets cold easy. When she get in a car, she turns the heat full up and won't turn it down till I ask her too. The cold doesn't bother me. Too many years in the back of open helicopters.
 
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Electric jacket

Get a motorcycle heated jacket liner and wire her in a quick disconnect from the battery. She'll have heated front, back, arms, and neck. Easily add heated gloves as well. This and sealing the aft canopy should have her nice n toasty.
 
Cabin heat for my 8 is derived from ducted air passing thru the oil cooler. Controlled by a bypass flap that dumps the expelled hot air overboard when not needed for cabin heating, works well although the rear position doesn't get as much of the hot air, their problem I reckon...lolol:D
 
I installed a second heater valve on the right side of the firewall. The scat tubing is going through the lower forward "cargo hold" and exits into the cabin beside the right gear tower. I am very happy I did this and even flying at OATs like 0F it is warm. It even blows straight to the backseat however I have to admit that the rear seater is always harder to get warm. Electric seat heaters and a good canopy seal will help.
 
RV-8 heat

resolve draft sources, particularly forward moving air from behind back seat
-loop velcro under canopy skirt all around
-sheet in canopy frame behind back seat (like a hat shelf)
-D weatherstrip under canopy cross member behind back seat
-additional foam weatherstrip in front of canopy cross member behind back seat

-2 Vetterman mufflers
-2 stainless heat valves, one left, one right
-left one to pilot's feet with rotatable diffuser from hardware store
-right one through vertical baggage via scat, to bulkhead fitting into cabin, to blow straight back towards back seat along right side of pilot. No diffuser...
-air from right vent misses pilot, goes right to back

Have never had both heat valves fully open, normal request is to "turn it down"... No seat heaters. Bought wife a heated motorcycle vest, she occasionally wears it but has never plugged it in...

Cold air from front goes to Stein valve on panel, from wing to Stein valve at stock location near rear stick. No changes summer / winter...
 
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Hi Ron,

looks like we almost have the same setup except for the sheet in of the canopy frame behind the back seat. I?m good without this, the Canadian winters are colder and this probably helps.

May I ask you for some more details about the rotatable diffusor? You have a pic?
 
I don't want to hijack the other thread on RV-6 cabin temp. Hope its ok to start another.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm wondering how some of you have rigged your cabin heat in the 8/8A. I know a guy that has to swap out scat tubes every spring and fall so that he can select between the NACA vent in the wing and the heat muff.

I was considering just plumbing the NACA vent to the front seat. And the heat muff to the rear seat.

My wife gets cold easy. When she get in a car, she turns the heat full up and won't turn it down till I ask her too. The cold doesn't bother me. Too many years in the back of open helicopters.

My plane had one stock (either Vans or Vetterman) heat muff with the air intake in the baffle behind the #3 cylinder. I was pretty underwhelmed with the heat, and my GIB in the back was even more underwhelmed. I purchased heated seat elements that I haven't installed yet, but I also did the following that made a substantial difference:

1) Added a second Turbo Heat muff to the second exhaust and plumbed it in series with the first. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/turboheat05-15249.php

2) Sealed the canopy better. My bride said it was like turning off the A/C in on her neck in the rear. I tried 5-6 different weather stripping materials, and this one was the best. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0733TDRLB/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A1C7VLGMJJ2DVA&th=1

The net result of doing this was a massive improvement. I can fly down to about 10F OAT and it's okay in the cabin.

I really would rather use two heat muffs in parallel with one of the Tom Berg heat valves instead of the plenum/diverter. Tom was kind enough to send me the plans. I just haven't had time to make one.
 
Hi Ron,

looks like we almost have the same setup except for the sheet in of the canopy frame behind the back seat. I?m good without this, the Canadian winters are colder and this probably helps.

May I ask you for some more details about the rotatable diffusor? You have a pic?

Sorry - no pic of the diffuser...

I just walked through the lumber-yards and found about a 2" aluminum vent, I believe it was meant to join a few hundred friends in someone's soffit. The vent has about 1" of 2" round aluminum tubing, with a louvered cap crimped on one end...

I opened up the slots a bit with a screwdriver and found that with a bit of a twist the louvered end bit could be rotated. I used some aluminum duct tape and attached it to the inside tubing from the stainless air valve coming through the firewall...

The nice part about being to rotate it is that I have changed the air flow direction a few times for the most comfort in the front seat... Just a little easier than removing / re-taping it...
 
Like others have mentioned:
1. Good seal on the back canopy skirt.
2. Heated seats, bottom and back. I used the ones from Flyboy Accessories. They?re carbon fiber, so not bulky at all and have two heat settings.

In addition to these, I also added a ?defrost? fan to the top of the glareshield. I cut a grid on the glareshield and mounted a computer case heavy duty fan that I got from Newegg.com. This draws the hot air that comes out by your feet, goes up to the windscreen and across the canopy to the back seat. 4 hour flight, -10C OAT, no complaints from my GIB, and she gets cold easy.

Get rid of the stock plastic air vent from Vans. I got the anodized aluminum 2? Aveo Maxi vents. Two things, lots of air for summer flying and close off nice and tight for winter flying with no air leaks.
 
How are you wiring the Classic Aero seats?

I purchased these - also carbon fiber, but haven't connected them yet. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0188ZD2WQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They were $34.99 when I purchased them for 4 pads (2 for each seat). I'm planning to wire them with their own breaker and I'm told NOT to run them through a solid state system like Vertical Power, but I don't have first hand experience with that. They really are simple.
 
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