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covering oil cooler

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olderthandirt

Well Known Member
Winter in Northwest makes warming up engine very long and when flying never reaching correct operating temp...so I have seen people cover the oil cooler..my question is how much to cover..half, quarter or the whole thing??
 
I'd start small and work up based on experience after each change. Maybe start with 50% coverage. How much to cover varies. Better to go in steps and make sure you don't overheat anything.
 
Start with this. Make longer depending on outside temperatures.
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I've started doing this myself with my RV4. Not breaking 150 deg even with the flap / door closed on the oil cooler. I covered 1/3 of the cooler with aluminum tape, that got me up to 165 deg or so. I've covered 2/3 now but have yet to fly it (weather and work). Trying to at least get over 170 ( I hear 180 is a good minimum).
 
Old tune - but - -

A Thermostassis Oil Therm works best of all. Warm ups are the fastest possible. No messing with anything year around. Ignore what the oil temp display says. It is reading at the pump. The tank oil is warm all the time.
 
As others said, it is an iterative process. I started with 60% (my winter oil temps were REALLY cold), then tried 80%, and then 90%. When that barely got my OT to 160 in winter months, I went to full block-off the following winter. That works well, though my oil temps still never exceed 175 even on "warmer" winter days. :).
The best news was that thruout the process all my oil samples showed essentially zero water content.
 
thanks to all who posted...I will start with half cover...and see where temps run...would be nice to heat oil cooler etc..prior to starting so not so long a warm up period on ramp...again thanks for help
 
JBPILOT said:
A Thermostassis Oil Therm works best of all. Warm ups are the fastest possible. No messing with anything year around. Ignore what the oil temp display says. It is reading at the pump. The tank oil is warm all the time.
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I'll second this one!
 
olderthandirt said:
thanks to all who posted...I will start with half cover...and see where temps run...would be nice to heat oil cooler etc..prior to starting so not so long a warm up period on ramp...again thanks for help
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Me too for the Thermostasis, with reservations.

I would not cover 1/2 in Washington it doesn't get that cold often if at all. You will overheat in a long climb. I used an alum plate for several winters, and found about 1/3 covered worked OK, but you still have to watch your temps in a climb.

The Themostasis Kit with the oil thermostat discussed in other threads works well. I have that installed now.
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My oil temps are up by the time I get to the run up pad. An additional benefit is the oil temps do not drop as far and as rapidly in a long descent. The kit is expensive and adds additional hoses on top of the engine so I am not necessarily recommending it for a plane that operates in Washington.
 
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Look up the "bender baffle" for the water radiator, that's my next mod for me along with the oil thermisat
 
Yes, I installed the EZ-Heat system in my RV-12 ELSA about a year ago. The system is working fine for my modest engine preheating needs (I live in northern California and rarely see temps below 30 degrees). The install was easy (one heating pad glued to the underbelly of the crankcase and one heating pad glued to the lower portion of the oil tank). I access the electrical plug through the oil access door on the top cowling. There is no thermostat on the 912-spec unit, but the heat never rises above a level that would degrade the oil. I activate my unit with a timer that turns on the heat about 3 hours before I start the engine -- it is by then warm and toasty. The EZ-Heat is relatively inexpensive and does the job very nicely for me.
 
Phantom30 said:
Look up the "bender baffle" for the water radiator, that's my next mod for me along with the oil thermisat
Click to expand...

If memory serves, John Bender pioneered the thermostat also. Or maybe it was Marty? It was one of those guys from the heartland.
 
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