DonMuncy

I think that most of us who have them seldom use them. But when we do need them they are pretty helpful. When I bought my plane, they were on the "almost must have" list. Now, after 18 years, they have moved down to "nice to have but I probably wouldn't install them".

Sorry to see you have moved out of the ownership ranks at this time. But don't go away.

Australians have accents?

Paul, I appreciate your keeping the map going. I sympathize with your having to continually deal with it. I am not sure I agree with your thinking, but then again, I am not in the data privacy business. Keep up the good work. Thanks

What he said.

I am not sure your plane is the same as the later ones, but if you have two senders per tank, you have to watch the wiring carefully. The wire to the gauge runs through the unit. That is, it goes into the feed wire and does not go to ground. The screws holding the inner unit on the tank are insulated from the tank. That unit's body is then wired to the input wire on the outer sender, which then goes to ground. Said another way, the inner unit is in series with the outer unit. Make sense?

Thanks

I would like the link. I submitted mine long ago (I think).

Draining into an oil drain pan takes a lot less precision. I can kick it in place with my foot. The only downside is keeping the pan clean enough to salvage the drained fuel.

And how do we access it. I put my information in, and I'm sure Paul told us at one point, but I seem to have forgotten.

I take a little different attitude than most. I would suggest one get the newest model, best Mooney he can comfortably afford. If you can only (comfortably) afford a C, it will do everything you need. If you can afford a J, go for it. Faster is more fun. If you can afford a turbo, it is nice to be able to get over the mountains or weather better, even if you don't do it too often. That said, do not sacrifice quality in the model you are shopping for, just to have newer. If you can't afford the nicer ones (of that model) on the market, drop down to the level you can.

Good decision making Jim. Sorry for your troubles. The good part is that there is little labor in removing and replacing a prop. The time it takes to get a prop repaired or a new one, is a different story. Let me know if I can help.

At 40 psi every 15 minutes, that is 120 and hour. Presuming you start with 1800, that would be 15 hours. That is very small amount of O2 to use. If that was a typo, and you are losing 300 to 400 in 15 minutes, that is a very different situation. I recognize that usage is in cu ft, and that doesn't relate linearly with psi.

John, I have one I designed and built, which I have been using for 10 years. Picture in my album. I have no idea whether it helps or not. Like many things in aviation maintenance, we never have "proof" of their value. But it is a fairly cheap way to increase your odds.

That was a carefully engineered design feature to keep the nosewheel tire from corroding. All the K's have it.

I read somewhere that the regulations required that the sump capacity must great enough that with the maximum oil consumption, and normal cruise range, the oil level would not go below minimum oil level before running out of fuel. Even if that were true, I don't know what they would say about long range tanks.

I have a plastic pan (like ones used to drain oil). Easy to place under drain and then pull ring in cabin.

Here is mine. Sorry I took the containers out before taking the pic. Incidentally, I recovered almost 8 ounces of oil from my oil change. Naturally, it would be much less (or none) if you are willing to wait 15 or twenty minutes between pouring in each quart.

Don't you just hate guys who know mathematics.

I don't think so, but they have both 1 1/2 inch and 3 inch extensions. Incidentally, a moderately talented hangar elf can turn out a set and install them. Not hard.

Mine is different, but does the same job. I'll try to remember to take a picture.

PT20J, Everyone giving you numbers about the time it takes to change the oil, generally have been talking about theoretical or maybe ideal conditions. Her is a real account. (I am not making this up). I arrived at the hangar a little after 11:00 this morning to change the oil. Taking the cowl off, I found that someone had put additional washers on the lower two camlocks on the lower cowl, to help with wallowed out camlock holes. One of them made the camlock so tight, it would not come loose. After trying three screwdrivers, I had to use a Dremel tool abrasive wheel to cut the washer before it would come off. Then I put the hose on the quick drain and attempted to push it up and latch it "open". No luck; no oil cam out. I cut its safety wire and discovered my open end/box end wrench set skips from 3/4 inch to 7/8ths inch, and the quick drain is 13/16ths. Trip to Lowes to get a 13/16ths wrench. Removed the quick drain, draining the oil into a plastic pan. (I usually drain directly into empty milk jugs). I cleaned out the quick drain and it was open. Cleaned it up, replaced it and re-safety wired it. I still have no idea why it would not drain. Attempted to remove the oil filter, finding someone had used gorilla strength torque installing it. Too tight to remove with the usual box end wrench. Hooked up a 1 inch socket with a long break-over bar and a 2 inch extension, since the cowl flap linkage prevents reaching it without the extension. Loosened the filter and while putting the plastic zip lock bag around the filter to keep it from leaking too much oil, a friend showed up in front of my hangar to chat. I didn't time our chat, but it was probably 45 minutes or so. It was actually kind of nice, as it gave the oil time to run down into the zip lock bag, and created less of a mess. Uneventfully installed and re-safety wired the new filter. Poured in the fresh oil and set out the empty oil containers to drain, since I don't like waiting for the length of time it takes to completely drain the quart containers, and I'm too much of a CB to toss them with a tablespoonful or so of oil remaining in each one. Emptied the plastic drain pan into my container to take to the oil disposal place, and set the filter to drain. I will go back tomorrow to cut the filter and replace the cowling. I left the hangar at 2:45. Re-cowling, filter cutting, inspecting, oil disposal and logbook entry, yet to go.

It is my understanding that having a Merlyn wastegate does not eliminate the problem with engine management. It improves it and manages the bootstrapping to an extent, but you can't just push the throttle to the stop and it will be okay. Keep in mind, I do not have a Merlyn, just repeating what I have read.

I use a similar system. I have a roll-around stool that is a perfect fit a few inches under the cowl. I can loosen all the camlocks and drop the cowl down onto the stool. Replacing, I use coat hanger wires in the same way you use bungees. But I say it is doable by one person, not necessarily easy.

I have never timed it, but I suspect it takes about 3 hours to remove the cowl, drain the oil, remove the filter, replace and re-safety wire it, replace the cowl and fill with oil. I set the old filter in the trash can to drain for a day or two, then cut and examine it later. I would think that someone who does it all the time (and works on the clock) would be able to beat me pretty easily.