ORIGINAL: MaJ. Woody
What is the normal operating temperature for glow engines? I am sure this varies from engine to engine based on size and mounting dynamics (cowels). I am running two O.S. .91FX two stroke engines in my tightly coweled P-38 and was wondering about cooling. Over 65 flight so far but I had an engine out a few weeks ago and it got me thinking. What is too hot? The engines are generally in the 165-200 degrees Fahrenheit range after a flight. Is this acceptable?
Thanks!!
Dom
---------------
Believe me, if you were cooking them for over 65 flights, the pistons would be a dark black and the rings would have lost their tension long ago. Of course, this is not to say that it is impossible for something to have failed in the fuel delivery system, resulting in a radically leaned mixture at any given point.
I'm an old schooler, as you may have guessed. You don't need to take the engine's temperature in order to know whether it is running hot or not. When engines run hot habitually, they consume glow plugs at a much faster rate than normal. Then there is the buildup of carbon on the piston that I mentioned previously. They also smoke for a while after being shut down.
Electronic tools are wonderful, if you know how to read them correctly - and I'm not just talking about the display/readout. They can also cause unwarranted concern and confusion when not understood in their proper context.