NYTOM

NYTOM

Well Known Member
I'm storing a new TMX 0-360 on a engine stand that allows complete turning of the entire engine to keep the inside evenly oiled and even have the whole engine sealed in a vacuum bag with two pounds of desiccant to keep it nice and dry but I want to go a step further and install some of those desiccant filled plugs that replace a spark plug in each cylinder to keep the cylinders dry. I thought I was pretty good at tracking down things on the web but I'll be darned if I can't find those plugs. Does anybody out there in RV land know what I'm talking about and where I might find four of those buggers. They look like a glass topped spark plug filled with white crystals that look like sugar.
Tom Norwood
RV-6A N822PM (res)
Sure thought I'd be flying by now. Darn life keeps getting in the way
 
Just Curious - what Cylinders?

When I had my brand new TMX-360 sitting in my garage/workshop here on the gulf coast, about 20 feet from the salt water, I was a bit nervous about not having desiccant plugs, so I called Mahlon at Mattituck and asked about them. His response was that since I had cerminil cylinders, which can't rust, what was the point? I could certainly buy them if it made me feel better, but his opinion was that they wouldn't be any benefit. (Note: I was only storing the engine for about six months between delivery and first start-up....maybe a longer storage time would make a difference....)

Paul

forgot to answer your questions....sorry....ACS:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/dehydrplugs.php
 
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Dehydrator Plugs

Bought mine from Spruce-look under 'Engine Parts'. They are called

Engine Parts - Spark Plug Accessories
AN4062-1 Dehydrator Plugs 18mm
 
Tom,
Don't know where you are but if close to the Dallas area, You can come get some from me (no charge). Just looked up your registration. New York might be a little too far.
 
Preservation / Dehydrator Plugs found

My Dehydrator plugs, along of one of Walter's fuel levers is on the way to my little airplane factory down in my basement thanks to the instant help by Paul, Vern, Mel and a pm from Steve F. This is one of the reasons why I love this site so much. :D It's like having a direct line to the RV God him or herself (PC language). Whether it's a question on expected # 4 Cylinder head temperatures during cruise flight in light rain during a full eclipse of the sun or a simple question from a dummy like me who can't find something simple, its all here. Thanks Doug. You'll never know how much you've helped my dream.
Tom Norwood
RV-6A N822PM (res)
 
Here's a useful tip: When the beads in the plug start to turn pink, it's time to bake them.

I used to bake them in a pyrex dish in the oven, but now I use a microwave... much faster. Just dump the beads into a glass measuring cup and cook them until blue.

V
 
Microwave

Hey Vernon that is an excellent idea. I usually cook all my dissicant bags at the same time to regenerate them and start early on a Saturday morning because it taks so long. The ones from my gun cabinet have the colored indicators on them to tell when there done. I can't wait to try it. Thanks
Tom Norwood
RV-6A N822PM (res)
 
Caution with the microwave technique! This does not present enough RF load in the resonating cavity to absorb the microwave energy. The high resonant RF loads that result are incredibly hard on the magnetron that creates the microwaves, and you'll SERIOUSLY decrease the life of the magnetron as a result.

On the other hand, microwaves are relatively cheap - have fun! Personally, I'm not willing to risk the political fallout when my wife finds out I nuked her microwave.
 
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Careful with cooking them in the oven--some kinds have plastic that softens at pretty low temps. Other kinds have a cap you can remove, empty out the silica gel, cook it, then refill the plugs.
 
I believe spec for silica gel dessicant is 250 degrees for 8-10 hours, I use a lot of molecular sieve dessicant (slightly more expensive, but works better) for high-pressure air systems, I get good results drying it at 300 for 2 hours.
 
I bake mine on a foil covered cookie sheet at 300F, but it usually takes less than an hour.
 
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I "reset" my desiccant pellets by putting them in a dixie cup under the warmth of a halogen lamp.
20040207_desiccant_pink.jpg

Turns 'em from pink...
20040207_under_light.jpg

...to true blue!
20040207_after_light.jpg

Before/after:
20040207_before_after.jpg
 
dehydrators for automotive plugs

My engine is set up for automotive plugs, so I believe that means my dehydrator plugs must be 14mm rather than the 18mm size for aircraft plugs. Dont see 14mm plugs listed in ACS, but Wicks has ones that look like the ones that came with my engine (clear plastic). The Wicks on-line catelog states that the 14mm plugs are not re-usable, but I dont understand why that would be - in their picture they look just like the 18 mm ones, and I have emptied and dried out mine numerous times. Hmmm.

I kind of chuckled when I saw descriptions above of baking the silica for two hours to dry it out. I dumped mine into a cup and hit them with my heat gun for all of 1 minute. They look just as blue as the two-hour oven baked ones. Hey, I wanted them done NOW! :)

erich
 
Be careful when you are taking the plugs apart - the springs on the side are a little tricky and believe me - those little glass beads are like mini superballs - they bounce a long way and go all over the countertop !

Also, when ready to put them back - take 5 minutes, make a small icing cone out of paper and trim off the end. The beads will fit in - just and watch out for the springs again.

I am on my 2nd set of plugs due to this :eek:
 
Bags of Material

I just received my plugs and some 1/4 lb. bags of the same material. Am not clear on how to use those for more drying action? I'm guessing the engine would need to be wrapped in plastic and the material in the bags exposed to the air inside the bag? :confused:
Thanks for any help...
 
Engine Bagging for Fun & Profit

RVadmirer said:
I just received my plugs and some 1/4 lb. bags of the same material. Am not clear on how to use those for more drying action? I'm guessing the engine would need to be wrapped in plastic and the material in the bags exposed to the air inside the bag? :confused:
Thanks for any help...
Click to expand...
That is correct. The plugs take care of the inside of the cylinders but the outside of the engine is prone to corrosion especially if stored in a unheated environment. Just place one of 1/4 pound the bags on top of the engine and put a big plastic bag over the whole engine. It will work longer if you suck as much air out the bag as you can with a vacuum cleaner and then seal the bag the best you can with tape or clothespins. That is exactly how I'm storing my engine now. I once stored a antique car in a unheated garage in the Northeast in the same fashion with two large desiccant bags on the running boards and I swear the car came out cleaner in the spring than when I put it away in the fall. There was absolutely no rust on anything, even the bare metal parts.
Tom
N822PM (res)
 
Be Careful Installing/Removing Them!

My instructions that came with my new TMX-IO-390 advise to use caution with the dehydrator plugs that came installed.... If you break them or allow the beads to fall into the spark plug hole (and into the cylinder / valves), you'll have to tear down the engine to ensure they are all removed!

Yikes! That would sure slow a project down. :eek:
 
I, too, use a heat gun that I got years back to shrink the plastic covering on model airplanes. I put the beads in a paper cup and heat away and after a few minutes, the beads are dark blue again. Much faster than sticking them in an over, and probably uses a lot less electricity. Heat guns can get pretty hot, so be careful.

But, I got mine from ACS and the plugs do come with the dessicant.
 
Nuking desiccant

In addition to the RF comments made earlier, I want to note something else: Most desiccants have a moderate metallic content, regardless of base material (silica, zeolite, carbon, etc) to help stabilize the matrix and as a thermal buffer against rapid temperature swings that can be caused by rapid adsorption or desorption. An older nuke may really not like that process. Have a fire extinguisher handy.

I use bone-dry air back through the plugs at low pressure and less than a cfm for about a half hour. Works fine. I used to do air dryers for a living, I may just be stuck in my ways. Heat is the industrial preferred method.

If you get oil in it, chuck it. It won't take long to become useless. Oil will propagate through the bed. I cannot be 'washed' effectively. You may get false readings.


Rick 90432
 
Infrequent Flyer Miles!

Ironflight said:
When I had my brand new TMX-360 sitting in my garage/workshop here on the gulf coast, about 20 feet from the salt water, I was a bit nervous about not having desiccant plugs, so I called Mahlon at Mattituck and asked about them. His response was that since I had cerminil cylinders, which can't rust, what was the point? I could certainly buy them if it made me feel better, but his opinion was that they wouldn't be any benefit. (Note: I was only storing the engine for about six months between delivery and first start-up....maybe a longer storage time would make a difference....)
Click to expand...

I assume the rings are Iron?

Might take longer because of residual oil, but they still can rust, and the moist air mixture could change the PH locally within the combustion chamber and close proximity.

Just a thought for those infrequent fliers to get more miles;)
 
Dessicant In Cylinders

rswalden said:
My instructions that came with my new TMX-IO-390 advise to use caution with the dehydrator plugs that came installed.... If you break them or allow the beads to fall into the spark plug hole (and into the cylinder / valves), you'll have to tear down the engine to ensure they are all removed!

Yikes! That would sure slow a project down. :eek:
Click to expand...

Tell Me about it. I bought overhauled cylinders from ECI and when I received them, I was surprised to find small granular white pellets in the bottom of one of the 4 cylinders. The bag of dessicant that they put in there was not ruptured, so it seemed to me that the guy packing the parts either had one break in there, threw it away without cleaning it, and put in a new one. I opened up one of the bags I had to check and sure enough, same stuff as was floating around inside my cylinder. I contacted ECI and told them about the contamination and specifically requested that they completely tear down the cylinder to ensure that it was completely cleaned out. So I sent it back to them. Wouldn't you know it, when it was returned to me, I could still find little pieces of dessicant grains (salt I think) here and there on my pistons and in the cylinder.

I guess it just goes to show that if you need a job done right, you have to do it yourself. Thanks a bunch ECI :mad:
 
My turn to dry out my dessicant plugs

I have 4 dessicant plugs replacing 4 spark plugs in my IO360 as it patiently waits to get installed in my -6A. The stored and sealed engine is on an automotive engine stand with homemade mounting rods/galvanized pipe which allow me to rotate the engine every couple weeks in my pretend aileron rolls to keep the overfilled oil moving around inside. The dessicant finally is turning pink after being deep blue for 6 months. I removed the dessicant plugs, and one at a time, disassembled the spring clip/glass container and spread the dessicant on a paper towel on a paper plate and microwaved it for 1 minute on high. Made a crease in the paper towel and holding the glass still on the paper plate, slowly poured the newly deep blue dessicant back into the glass. Reassembled and repeated the process with the other three. 5 minutes, all done, all back to deep blue and back in the engine waiting for another aileron roll in a couple weeks. Microwave worked great. The glass turntable, paper plate and paper towel were very warm when finished. I will be curious to see how long it takes to turn pink again.
 
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