Cylinder Temperature

[HopePilot]

So, I have a very short taxi now that I've switched airports.  Even after waiting around for ten minutes, my CYL TEMP rarely gets to where the needle is in the green before takeoff.  Sometimes, after waiting around for a while, it will get to 250.  My question is do I need to wait until I'm in the green before take-off or just wait for it to get off the peg? 

[Cruiser]

I wait for the oil temperature to get into the green on my factory gauge. This is 150°F on the JPI. I don't really watch the CHT at all.

[GeorgePerry]

You'll get several schools of thought on this but I recommend that you bring all temps to the bottom of the green arc prior to TO, esp the Oil Temp (MHO).  If your having trouble getting temps up here are a couple of techniques to try.   While taxiing, agreesively lean the mixture and keep the RPM's at 1000 minimum for taxi.  The Higher your Taxi EGT's the quicker your CHT and Oil temps will come up.  Also you can close the cowl flaps during the run-up to help get your CHT's up and heat the oil up to the point that it's in the green arc...just don't forget to reopen prior to TO and climb.  In the winter, if the Temps really stay down, after the run-up you can leave the RPM's at 1500-1700 for an extra minute or two to help getting the temps up to operating range.

With all that said...If your in a hurry and have done a run-up and the engine's been idling for 3-5 minutes and the guages are off the peg, your not going to "hurt" anything as long as your oil has some heat (viscosity) in it to promote proper oiling.

Bottom line is in the Green is good, but not absoultely required...Over to others for their techniques/opinions

[HopePilot]

What's max CHT to avoid on climb up (not that it's been a problem)?

[Cruiser]

I don't like to see CHT over 360°F at any time, but I will tolerate 370°F. If it wants to get hotter than that I started changing the setup to keep the CHT down.

Some say it is OK to run hotter but I think that is because their engine does. Many seem to be below 350°F CHT. Turbos and six cylinder engines will run hotter. I believe you will start to get metal fatigue at around 440°F

[HopePilot]

I was seeing 380 today when I leaned for cruise, so I'm thinking I should back it off a bit.  Thanks!

[N201MKTurbo]

Lycoming Says that the engine should be warm enough that it does not stumble when the throttle is advanced. I wait for the CHTs (scanner) to be above 200 and the oil to be above 100, which they are after run-up except on the coldest days. I have never seen any ill effects from this in 5000 hours on two Mooneys.

[Jeev]

Quote: Cruiser

I don't like to see CHT over 360°F at any time, but I will tolerate 370°F. If it wants to get hotter than that I started changing the setup to keep the CHT down.

Some say it is OK to run hotter but I think that is because their engine does. Many seem to be below 350°F CHT. Turbos and six cylinder engines will run hotter. I believe you will start to get metal fatigue at around 440°F

[Mac201]

When picking up my plane from overhaul, I had the chance to ask the mechanic many questions, until he finally gave me the look.  Concerning heating the oil for runup and take off, he was emphatic that oil at 80-90 degrees circulates the engine properly and there is no need to wait to heat the oil any further.  That's good enough for me.

[jetdriven]

In the summer our engine won't stumble if you went full throttle 30 seconds after startup. That sounds suicidal to me.  Remember the IO-360 has a dry intake manifold, not at all like a carbureted O-360. 

Lke you I want to see 100/200.  maybe wasteful but we are talking a quart of gasoline per flight sector.

Quote: N201MKTurbo

Lycoming Says that the engine should be warm enough that it does not stumble when the throttle is advanced. I wait for the CHTs (scanner) to be above 200 and the oil to be above 100, which they are after run-up except on the coldest days. I have never seen any ill effects from this in 5000 hours on two Mooneys.