[Phil]

For those of you who are using the AirFlow Performance kit on your engines, how have you chosen to label your Purge Valve on the panel?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[[email protected]]

PURGE... Pull

PURGE
Pull

 

[Mike S]

I used "Pull For Fuel Bypass"

Also, I used a "T" handle, and tucked it out of the way for a right seater to reach.

It is to the left of the throttle.

I figured I did not want someone to mistake it for a heater control or such, and pull it by mistake.

 

[DanH]

I used "Pull For Engine Kill"....because that's exactly what it does if you pull it in flight. And Mike is right; you want it located someplace where nobody will ever pull it by mistake....including you. Mine is under the RV-8 throttle quadrant.

 

[flion]

"Purge
Pull -> ICO"

The control is labled with the top line and the second line is underneath the control.

 

[N427EF]

One more

You will use this control knob twice for each flight.
Just like the mixture knob, it will kill the engine if you pull it,
and just like the mixture knob the engine will run again if you shove it back in.

 

[Geico266]

My -10 had it in front of the passenger with a black handle, next to cabin heat (with black handles) "Front" and cabin heat "Rear".



I moved it over the throttle, with a red handle marked fuel cut off / bypass.

 

[Phil]

Yeah, I currently have it closest to the mixture with the oil cooler door directly beside it.

On the passenger side is the cabin heat knobs and AFP Alternate Air knob. I don't like having Alt Air that close to the heat, but it's not a deal breaker if they accidentally pull it. It's just a hassle to reset it once we're at the destination. I'm going to make the Alt Air knob a different color and style (T-Handle with a quarter-turn locking mechanism) to help prevent an accidental pull.

Phil

 

[Bill.Peyton]

Where in the system does the purge valve get installed? Do you purchase these directly from afp? I assume they really help with hot starts

 

[Phil]

Here you go Bill. I just took a snapshot. It's at the top of the engine and immediately before the fuel distributor block (spider).

The idea is to open the purge valve (which is plumbed back into the bottom of the fuel selector valve), kick on the boost pump, and cool fuel is routed directly to the fuel distributor block. While the valve is open, the fuel is returned back to one of the tanks.

Once you've ran it for a few second to purge the system, you close the valve and everything operates as normal.

Phil

 

[N427EF]

Accidental pull?

Quite often I see references made to, "accidental pull" of a control cable or switch and consideration given in placing the control knob out of the way.
It's highly unlikely that you will accidentally pull any knob and even if you did,
pushing it back in will reverse the action. In the case of the purge valve knob,
I used a good quality cable from McFarlane with a knob that needs to be depressed before it can be pulled. In other words, pulling the knob has to be a deliberate action to be accomplished. Your mileage may vary but given these
circumstances you can place that knob where it is most convenient for starting and shut down.
BTW, nice looking engine set up, I miss the building especially the engine installation.

 

[PIN 37]

This is an interesting subject for me. I have had in the past an RV6 which we fitted AFP injection to. We actually removed the purge valve completely. We really have had no problem with this setup, so I have done the same thing with my 7, which is yet to fly, but I cant see any reason why it should be different to the 6. Even in summer, and Australia is a pretty hot place, we have found no problems without the purge valve.

 

[flion]

When I first installed my engine, I locked the purge closed as I had not yet pulled the tank and plumbed a return line. Phil is right, the system works well without it. But after plumbing the return and operating it per the AFP manual, I am becoming a believer. Hot starts are much easier with the purge than without, even though I was getting the hang of them before plumbing the purge.