plenum VS baffling

[woodmanrog]

I would like to get some feedback on plenum use VS baffling. I have had great success with baffling on 3 RV6'S with Temps in the 350 degree range at 2500 rpm's in the summer heat of Florida. Any discussion is appreciated. I like the clean look but not at the expense of cooler temps. This would be applied to an RV14 with an IO390 engine.

[Ironflight]

I've flown both the RV-14A and the RV-14, and both of them cooled really well - the -14 (with the IO-360) amazingly so. Once you have cooling that is good enough, everything else is just extra work.....

(Of course, if it is truly overcooled, you are wasting air and drag - so getting the airflow more efficient at the expense of higher temps is worthwhile if you still keep the temps below limits).

[DanH]

A plenum lid is just a sealing device. Most flap seal installations don't seal well at all, although sometimes you'll find one that is a marvel of craftsmanship.

[rvbuilder2002]

A lot of design effort has been put into the RV-14 baffle system. All parts final trimmed to size and templates provided for cutting all of the seal segments. I won't say it will as good as well designed and installed plenum but it should be close to similar.
It is one area that doesn't tolerate sloppy workmanship. I have seen home brew plenum a that had worse performance than conventional baffle installations.
Hopefully the design effort put into the RV-14 baffle kit will make the installations more consistent.

[woodmanrog]

RV Builder
Are you saying that the baffle kit is available?

[rvbuilder2002]

No.
The engineering is being wrapped up in preparation for releasing the power plant kit.