Aluminum tape works good. Remember what temp water boils at, if your oil does not get that hot water(condensation) and other contaminates don't boil out plus with thick oil the engine is working harder. I work on a lot of large radial engines and most operation manuals for those say not to exceed 1000 r.p.m. until the oil is up to around 40 degrees Celsius. I still cant convert between C' or Farehiet but a good guess puts 40 around 100 degrees f'.

I own a 55' 180 and installed a oil cooler baffle that has a hinge and a plate installed on it, so I can adjust my temp up and down via a control from the instrument panel.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Say, is that C180 plate a cessna part or after market? I've been wanting to make something like that for my scout.
thanks, John

Duct tape. Cheap, easy. Fully FAA approved.

There is an approved oil cooler shutter available for the Husky cooler. I think Bob Hoff in Idaho Falls owns that STC, and he might share a picture or two with you.

My experience on Huskys and my 170 is, just cover the whole cooler about this time of year, and uncover it in April. In warmer places, covering half might do the deed.

I've never found a need for an air adjustable cover, but I generally don't go from cold places to warm places in one flight.

MTV

I have had the same problem, I use the Aluminum tape but want to put the adjustable baffle on because my oil cooler is in the back of the cowl, and most of my winter flights consist of Colder TO to wormer air in the canyons. I have talked to Bob about the Husky cooler and there is one that the RV guys use that works very good as well. I will try to get pictures dug back up that I have od both

mtv wrote:Duct tape. Cheap, easy. Fully FAA approved.


MTV

Since when does the FAA approve duct tape?


The Scout came with a piece of 2024 that is held on with two screws and two tinnerman nuts.

If you make a plate make sure it has holes to clear the mounting bolts.

Scout,

Uh--it was a Joke. From Dictionary.com:

Joke–noun 1. something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.
2. something that is amusing or ridiculous, esp. because of being ludicrously inadequate or a sham; a thing, situation, or person laughed at rather than taken seriously; farce: Their pretense of generosity is a joke. An officer with no ability to command is a joke.
3. a matter that need not be taken very seriously; trifling matter: The loss was no joke.
4. something that does not present the expected challenge; something very easy: The test was a joke for the whole class.

I was hoping that most would be able to figure that out without assistance. Sorry .

MTV

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:

wagonwrench wrote:Remember what temp water boils at, if your oil does not get that hot water(condensation) and other contaminates don't boil out plus with thick oil the engine is working harder.Dave

That's been my concern, we've only been down to mid fourties mostly fifties here and already my oil temp is not getting much higher than 160F. I'm going to check the guage at the next oil change here pretty quick, but I don't think it's that far off. Thanks for the tips, and I'd appreciate if you can post those pics hottshot.

I don't think you want your oil temp to exceed 212F. I believe the number, I've seen as ideal oil temp is between 180F and 200F, with 225F acceptable for short periods as in a steep climb.

jr,

I think you'll find your gauge is accurate. The 170 cowl is really wide open on the bottom. A cowl flap would really be nice on these airplanes, because they run really cool, particularly in winter.

I can completely cover the oil cooler and run it that way in even fairly warm fall and winter weather, and the temps still don't go to 180. Ideally, you want to achieve 180, and I wouldn't want to consistently run above 200 as ah64 noted.

I've seen a couple of 170's with cowl flaps, but I doubt you could get them field approved nowadays.

I actually disconnected my oil cooler at one point to see if it was still getting enough air flow around it to cause it to cool the oil too much. Didn't make a nickel's worth of difference in the oil temps between that and just covering hte cooler.

These cowlings are just way wide open, unfortunately.

Let me know if you come up with a solution, but I haven't found one. My oil temp runs about 160 most of the time.

MTV

mtv,
I've seen the cowling exit blocked off by a removable sheet metal piece on a M****, used in Artic conditions, but again I'm sure you wouldn't get it approved.

a64pilot wrote:I've seen the cowling exit blocked off by a removable sheet metal piece on a M****

Just use the word "maule" already. What the hell does an M followed by 4 assholes mean?

Zane,

In that case, the Maule would be the leader. Of what, I'm not sure..... .

MTV

Damn!

All this time I have wasted looking for Duct tape w/ a yellow tag.

TD

Your approved flight manual or maintenance info on the 337 filed approved oil cooler should have the proper procedure for blocking off the airflow. OH it didn't. Guess what? You might not be insured because of unapproved modification. Check it out! You might be flying without insurance and in an aircraft not approved for flight.

assholes? Is that what * means?

I wouldn't use tape. It's easy enough to fab up a metal cover that won't come off.

a64pilot wrote:assholes? Is that what * means?

Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions

I've been using duct tape for this purpose for over 30 years every winter. Planes (note the plural) have been inspected, annuallede, and signed off with tape on the cooler. One winter, I was asked to fly with four FSDO Ops Inspectors to check them out in a government airplane. That airplane had--you guessed it--duct tape over the oil cooler. At least two of them noticed, and shrugged their shoulders. These are the guys who enforce the regs, by the way....

As to insurance coverage: Your insurance company is not going to deny coverage because of duct tape on the cooler UNLESS it was proven that said duct tape caused an overheating condition, leading to engine failure. I have been operating engines in really cold temps for 30 years plus, and I can tell you that dang near EVERYBODY uses duct tape on the coolers. It is not a big deal, and if you ground loop your airplane, the insurance company is NOT going to try to dodge out of paying just because of some duct tape on the cooler.

You can fabricate a plate and screw it on there if you like. It may look official, but that is an "owner fabricated part". If it's not covered by a field approval.... But, frankly, I doubt anybody would give a crap about that either, UNLESS you smoked the engine.

This is NOT rocket science, folks.

MTV

a64pilot wrote:mtv,
I've seen the cowling exit blocked off by a removable sheet metal piece on a M****, used in Artic conditions, but again I'm sure you wouldn't get it approved.

182's, as well as most Cessna's, had winter covers as an optional item. You put rivnuts just inside the cowl where the cowl bends around. I used them for several years. If I remember right the placard said they had to be removed for flight above 40 degrees.

Jr.CubBuilder, I have been told there is supposed to be a temperature sensitive valve that open and closes as needed. It seems a lot of em don't work. It seems a lot of Ma__le pilots have this problem. I here the aluminum duct tape works well. With experience you will know how much to use.

As we all know the Ma_les are mostly held together with duct tape. I'm sure you know someone with a Ma__le who will give you some DT.

Al Gore says you won't have the cold oil problem much longer. Hey he invented the internet. hE A ReAl sEEmaRT perRSonZ.

I don't think Bill will mind.

Rob,
The vernatherm valve restricts oil flow, but cannot stop it. If it did then you would get a slug of cold oil when it finally did open. Without a small flow of oil going through it, it would not be able to monitor oil temp.
It is exactly like the coolant thermostat on a over the road truck. They have to block off some airflow in cold wx. just like we do. The vernatherm is an engine part, is located in the engine case. It's not airframe specific.
It's something that should be changed at overhaul, but sometimes isn't.