Oil temp in cold weather

I have one aircraft withe the leading edge remote cooler thermostat and can recommend it as simple and very effective.

the system allows far faster warmup and appears to have no issues on hot days.

Having said that I also use on other aircraft a bit of tape over the oil cooler and again very effective in the Summer we just take one strip off and add it in winter...a few cents and when people comment it is about time for a change at least you know they are monitoring the gauges !

So both very good solutions.

Most in my part of the country use aluminum tape over the cooler. Duct tape glue comes off the Duct tape with the heat and makes a mess all over the cooler. Main two types of aluminum tape. One is thin with a paper peel off backing (best). The other is really thick. We have found the best one is the thin paper backed aluminum tape. It cost pennies to use and keeps temps up in the proper range. Then when outside temps increase you just yank it off. All this said I live in a semi arid part of the country and not snow covered for 4-6 months. Thermostats are okay, but many times only take engine oil temps to 180F where the tape can be adjusted to keep oil temps in the 200F+ range.

Rotax Wizard wrote:

Hi Sean

The problem ..._"914turbo. Super petrel with dynon skyview. Cold weather operation (34f)."

A cheap solution is simply put some duct tape on the oil radiator to block some of the cooling flow.  This however, besides being ugly, can rob airflow into other areas of the engine bay that may need cooling air flow from the same ductwork.  34F is barley 1C of temperature, this is a problem in a lot of northern Europe and northern USA and Canada.  We have used oil coolers for many years with great success.

The Super Petrel is designed and made in Brazil, they never see that kind of temperature in Brazil.  Given that it is a pusher installation it makes it even more difficult as the incoming air is not under pressure like a tractor installation.  The engine is fully covered and airflow from the coolers has to also deliver air to other parts of the engine bay.  The air inlets are directly under the top wing where there is not much pressure in the first place.  An opening is also on the top of the wing, again not a high pressure area for inlet air.  In normal operational temperatures this generally works great and they have mastered the hot environments wonderfully in my opinion.  How to block airflow however presents some real issues so you do not rob air incoming from the other parts of the engine.  if you block the inlets or the outlets it may be creating another issue somewhere else.  For that reason I think the oil thermostat makes a lot of sense, no seduction here but I love the word. 

Cheers

I am passingly familiar with Super Petrel (SP) - Australia doesn't have the lakes/inland water ways of N & S America, and I am lead to belie the SP cant handle much more than a ripple at sea, so I have always been a bit sceptical about their practicality in the driest inhabited continent.

Back to over/under cooling issues - I acknowledge that every aircraft type/model, must be approached with an open mind, as air flows within the cowling can vary enormously, as can the climate they are asked to operate in.

Lacking both knowledge and skill in almost every facet of aircraft design I  cant help but feel that the concept of a cowl flap (fixed in place for winter or pilot controlled all year round) to control exit air has a great deal of merit. Controlling exit air means that all cooling systems continue to have their proportion of air flow (according to the designer/builders concept) while the pilot reacts dynamically to over/under cooling by increasing/reducing air flow as the cooling instruments suggest.

After two winters in S Alberta (before retreating back to Australia ?) I can conceive of temperatures that may be below that which a cowl flap might have the desired effect - bring on the tape, oil  & coolant thermostats. Mind you I personally would not wish to fly in an unheated aircraft in anything below - 10C.

I fly quite a bit in cold temps. I usually limit it to 15 F but have gone to 0F. Painters tape On the oil cooler and  radiator gets me over 200 to adjust just add or remove tape. My Remos has a sliding cover that is adjustable from inside but I no longer fly it in winter.

my biggest challenge is keeping warm in the cockpit as the heater is not to powerfull with low engine temps. 

Make sure you preheat!