Dave Calkins
Registered User
Anchorage, Alaska
Good to see it moving along and Thank You for sharing!
The metal doubler is there to reinforce the otherwise fairly soft fiberglass nose bowl. A carbon fiber replacement will have that area beefed up from the start. Like I said earlier, this nose bowl is a prototype.
I don't think congealed oil will be any problem. If it is I'll add Reiff oil cooler heaters. Does Niagra offer a non-congealing cooler like we use on Cessnas? I never thought about it before.
2. Is the cold oil gonna be congealed when you decide your oil temp needs reduced and you open the doors? maybe!
Dave’s comment has merit.
I’ve seen how thick Phillips XC can get in sub-zero temperatures. Radial oil would be worse. My engine has a Vernatherm so bypass may occur until the plane is in flight. I’m not familiar with any local cooler failures from congealed oil but can imagine that two coolers in series may increase the risk when using very efficient direct contact engine preheat that ignores the coolers. But maybe it’s just my imagination.... runnin away with me? In the big scheme of things a couple of hundred dollars for Reiff pads is an insignificant expense, if I decide they’re warranted.
We're gonna file Hurt Feelings Reports when you start getting it muddy!!
At -35 the Reiff does a good job on sump and cylinders but these coolers are separated from the engine so no heat share. I don't have plans to fly at -35 anymore so that's a bigger factor in my decision than anything.
George,Doesn't the Reiff heat the ambient air inside the cowl? It is that ambient heat that would bring the coolers up from the outside really cold to a more moderate temp.