231LV

will have to retrieve and then post...

I just had a nice opportunity to do some testing on a 3 hour flight back home. At 17,500 ft, I was burning 10 gph at 2500 rpm. I was running 31 MP with the hottest CHT at 360 and corresponding EGT at 1540. TIT was hovering around 1620. I was able to push the MP up to 33 inches and could lean to about 10.2 gph but TIT climbed to 1630. Any leaner and the engine would quit as It was starting to "cobby" with an occasional stumble. The EDM 900 showed 65% power. I showed a TAS of about 165 but had a nice tailwind so GS was 200. The engine is Gami'd but I have not done a Gami spread since getting the overhauled engine with the LB configuration. It may require a different set of nozzles.

Thanks for initial thoughts....I’m running pretty deep LOP at 10 gph.....I can keep leaning but eventually the engine quits. It does have Gamis..... and an inter cooler.....and no, not running WOT due to TIT limitation....wish I could run WOT. This post refers exclusively to LOP ops as this is where I spend 99 % of cruise time.

For turbo drivers I have a question. With the EDM 900 now installed and working, I am seeing my TIT sitting at 1620 when running LOP. MP is between 28 and 29 inches and RPM is 2500. Hottest CHT is 340 and hottest EGT is around 1530 with a FF of 10 gph. Altitude doesn’t seem to matter as I see this down below 10,000 ft as well as up closer to 20,000 ft. I’m trying to figure out which parameters affect the TIT. Leaning further doesn’t seem to cool it....maybe I’m not leaning it enough.....opening cowl flaps wider seems to have a marginal affect....of course, reducing power reduces it but that’s not gonna happen in a climb. The red line is 1650 and this is the one parameter I’m struggling to manipulate.....I would appreciate some thoughts from those of you smarter than I about the TIT and how it’s impacted.

Just stunning!!

Thanks all for the great suggestions .... I realize the Bahamas are several hundred cays so the choises are nearly limitless. This will give me some good places to start!

which one?

Hi all with the newly overhauled engine and a new JPI 900, I'm dying to do a fly away to the Bahamas. I'm hoping for some thoughts of Cays to visit and places to stay and the best season to do it. It's just my wife and I and she has muscular dystrophy so beaching is pretty much out and trying to find a nice flat Airbnb is priority. We carry an electric scooter and walker in the plane (rear seat fold down option). She loves the beach and the whole tropical scene but her disability has really crushed her dreams of just living there for a couple of months. If I can get her to agree to go, (overwater flight makes her understandably nervous with her non-working legs) I'm hoping to find a killer Cay with a nice Old Bahamain feel and a suitable Airbnb. If anyone has flown the Bahamas or has some links for suggestions of flying down there, I would deeply appreciate it. We have flown Baja and the Yucatan in Mexico as well as Canada so international flying is not a problem. Our magic carpet was made for traveling....not $200 hamburger runs!

+1 with these suggestions! Not to delve into the LOP/ROP wars of yesteryear but an old line mechanic who absolutely forbids LOP operations should be asked the simple question of "why". Most will sputter something about valve cooling with more fuel, blah blah blah which doesnt explain why LOP shows CHT's running cooler...not hotter...something you would instantly see with an analyzer....of course, its your engine.

You are almost describing a "lean stumble" where the engine is running so lean that the engine will "hiccup". Of course, this can only happen when LOP. I would suspect Mag arching at altitude...ice crystals in the fuel might cause this, as well....of course, we are all just guessing but it does seem associated with high altitude/cold temps.

Yikes! Nice job keeping your head when everything is turning to crap quickly....I second the above suggestions for an engine analyzer....well worth every penny as it lets you see, at a glance, whats happening inside the jugs. I'm replacing my JPI 800 with an (OEM qualified) JPI 900 which takes all the steam gauge dials out of the cockpit including all the gauges across the top of the glare shield.....with Sun and Fun, you can grab a new JPI 800 for $2700.....this would allow you to safely run LOP where life is sweeter...great job getting down in one piece!

Thanks all...its coming out for a 900 upgrade and my mechanic is willing to take it in lieu of some install labor...just trying to get a sense of a fair exchange value. i will also have some OEM engine gauges ( some working, some inop) that I will throw on here if anyone is interested. The inop are 1/2 of a split gauge like the CDT/TIT and MP/FF gauges. For all I know, they are paperweights and need to be pitched.

I am trying to determine the value of a working when removed JPI EDM 800 6 cylinder engine monitor. I have scoured all the major publications like Trade a Plane and Controller.com to try and find a used instrument but have come up empty. I see that new units (for 6 cylinder engines) are selling for about $3000 although there is currently a Sun N Fun deal offered for $2700. Without a yellow tag, I can't reasonably expect a new price but the unit was working when removed from my plane so it must be worth something. Does anyone have a suggestion of where I can look to try and determine a value? Thanks

OK...so a pretty easy solution....simply replaced the O rings in each port....a couple were cracked which was allowing O2 leaks. Kind of fun removing the ceiling panels to see how everything goes together. The plastic is old and brittle but will use Hector for Ultraleather when the time comes. Next up...putting the new JPI 900 into the panel. I have the unit sitting here waiting for my mechanic to fit me into his schedule.

OK...so I pulled the ceiling panel off and removed the 2 port blocks (2 outlets per block) and checked them.....they are really pretty simple in function and design. Other than replace the O rings for each port, everything else looks fine. Im wondering whether anyone has a suggestion of where to locate the correct size O rings....unfortunately, they are not included on the drawing schematic Lancecasper provided. Failing something else, I can measure them and order several sizes which appear to be correct and just try them on for fit (and leak test).

Thanks....yea, I wouldnt order them without looking at the serial number on the port first....now on to removing the ceiling panels!

Perfect...those are the ones! Thanks very much!

Recently, I found 2 of the 4 O2 ports in my plane will no longer accept "bayonet" plugs. There doesn't seem to be anything impeeding them but they simply will not slide all the way in. In order to replace these ports with new ones, I am trying to locate which manufacturer made them. The O2 system was installed as a retrofit kit in accordance with Mooney 870024 drawings. The log book entry simply states "O2 system installed IAW Mooney factory drawings 870024" back in 2002. I suppose I coud contact the shop if they are still around and see if they have any records on the install. Failing that, is there any other way of determining what system was installed prior to pulling the plastic ceiling panels and removing the ports?

LOP yields LOWER cylinder heat temps. ROP yields higher temps. Heat kills engines....you choose which is better for the engine

Along these same lines, I have a question for the group; what voltage do you see (on a 14v system) prior to start up and does your voltage pop up to the charging rate (14.2v) instantly upon startup? In my case, I see 12.2v after the plane has been sitting on a battery minder at 4 amps but the voltage slowly climbs to 14.2v after I start the engine...usually takes 10-15 seconds all the while my Low Volts light is flashing on my annunciator panel. My mechanic has tried everything and we can't figure out why it won't pop up to a full charge immediately.

Actually, this is what I am planning to do as Hector has been very responsive and we are working out a game plan to do things in stages. Thanks for the suggestion! BTW, here is the damage my head caused to the ceiling panel with that "jolt"...

Believe me, I would love to redo the interior (and so would my better half) but the cash flow after an overhaul and JPI 900 makes even that undoable right now

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Aero Comfort may be a good choice when I redo the interior planned for sometime in the future. Mine has O2 ports in the ceiling as the factory drawings plumbed them this way. I will call Plane Plastics and see what they have....if all else fails, clear Gorilla tape!

Seems the "money machine" never tires! After dropping a considerable amount on an overhauled engine then watching my old Aerosonic split gauge MP/FF crap out necessitating an upgrade to a JPI 900 (and the associated cost), I was flying today and hit a severe "bump" in an otherwise bumpy but uneventful flight. The bump caused my head with headset to smash the top of my plastic ceiling panel into several pieces. I checked into Plane Plastics but could not find anything for K models. Either I am looking in the wrong place or they don't provide anything for the K's. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Ha ha....I know the answer...just wanted to hear from smarter people!