Custom Aircraft - exhaust repair and fabricating

[FlyDave]

During annual last month on the Bravo my mechanic found the center support on the heater shroud had all 3 welds broken and the center support was loose inside the shroud. They had sent it to Knisley who they've used before with good results. I've also heard good things from other shops about Knisley.

The issues for me started when Knisley sent back a quote to fix the 3 welds for $1,500 and couldn't commit to getting it done sooner than 2 weeks. I thought "Are you Serious?". They were. 3 little freaking welds, $1,500.

So I started a search and called Custom Aircraft in El Cajon, CA. I ended up speaking to Clinton the owner. Very nice guy AND knowledgeable. We discussed what I needed and he asked me a questions about how I run my engine, what the rest of the exhaust system looked like, etc.. After looking at the pictures I sent him he suggested I send the front crossover as well as the stack for #4 and the flange that the VBand connects to with the $200 gasket. He told me that if I can't easily get a new gasket on the flange then he should make a new flange as well. Everything he said made sense to me so I shipped him all 3 components. Knisley just sent a quote for the basic repair of the crossover WITHOUT asking any questions - thanks for nothing Knisley!

One issue that my mechanic said they frequently run into with exhaust repairs is that the repaired/fabricated exhaust does not fit back onto the engine. Custom Aircraft is not an FAA certified repair station and my mechanic had not heard of them prior to me (CB). So he called another shop in San Diego to get the low-down on Custom Aircraft. He called me back a few minutes later and said "send it. I'll install it".

Custom Aircraft turned it around in 2 days and shipped it out just as requested (I needed my plane back for the Mooney Flyer Summit).

My mechanic said that all 3 parts were installed without a hitch - they fit exactly like removed parts.

Custom Aircraft's bill to repair the front crossover including replacing a lot of pitted areas on it and the #4 stack and made a completely new flange - ALL THAT FOR $1,000.00 (yes, you read that right 1 AMU!). Also, don't forget that this is a Bravo - the plane with stories of $8,000+ exhaust systems.

Kudo's to Clinton and team - GREAT to work with, on-time delivery and great pricing. If you need exhaust repair or fabrication, call Clinton - you'll be glad you did.

 

CUSTOM AIRCRAFT PARTS

Aircraft Exhaust Systems Specialist
14374 Olde Hwy 80
El Cajon, CA 92021
1-800-561-1901
1-619-561-5757
Fax 1-619-561-5177
E-mail: sales@customaircraft.com

[jbs007]

Great info.  KSEE is my home field and I'll likely need some work done in a few months.  Always nice to hear about good experiences too.

[carusoam]

No reused Bravo exhaust clamps, right ???

Thinking out loud.

Reusing Bravo exhaust clamps can lead to issues.

The clamps are expensive.

I have no first hand knowledge.

Best regards,

-a-

[Exhaust]

FlyDave, all of us here at Custom Aircraft thank you for all the kind words; we specialize in repairs as well as custom systems for the experimental market, and we do aim to please!

Our slogan is "Big enough to service but small enough to care"  

 

Sorry your experience with Knisley Welding wasn't as good, but I can tell you Knisley produces some of the best exhaust systems out there. If someone is looking for new PMA parts their the shop to go to.

 

Thanks again and Happy Flying.

 

Sincerely,

Mary Ann & Clinton Anderson

Custom Aircraft Parts

customaircraft.com

[jezzie]

Give these folks a chance. With the strong US dollar you might have an advantage money wise. Probably worth a phone call. I know they have a lot of US customers.

 

Acorn Welding

www.acornwelding.com/

‎

 

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Acorn Welding is your quality One Stop Shop for aircraft exhaust and engine
mounts. Serving customers around the world we are Canada's largest aircraft ...

10916 119 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5H 3P4
(780) 447-5955

 

Acorn Welding has grown to become Canada's largest aircraft exhaust and engine mount company. Growing even more in 2006 with the purchase of Radial Exhaust from West Virginia, Acorn is now also the largest radial and vintage aircraft exhaust company in the world. Between 1999 and 2009, Acorn Welding successfully performed 30,353 repairs to various aircraft components. In the same time Acorn Welding successfully manufactured 212,206 various general aviation components from small brackets, braces, and struts all the way to large riveted assemblies.  Today with a modern 50,000 sq..ft. facility, forty full time staff, almost 100 new manufactured products, aircraft exhaust and engine mounts for over 50 makes and 270 models, 750 fabrication fixtures, Acorn Welding continues to grow.

 

[affricate]

On 7/2/2015 at 9:13 AM, carusoam said:

No reused Bravo exhaust clamps, right ???

 

Thinking out loud.

 

Reusing Bravo exhaust clamps can lead to issues.

 

The clamps are expensive.

 

I have no first hand knowledge.

 

Best regards,

 

-a-

I changed them

[PeytonM]

This is pretty old post.  Any update on these guys? I am looking for options for my IO360A3B6D.  Flame tubes shot... 600 hrs after exhaust system overhaul 

[cliffy]

I used Custom a couple years ago to rebuild my D model system and was very pleased with them

[kortopates]

send pictures to Clifford there for an estimate but he won’t be able to give you a complete estimate till he cleans up your parts and measures wall thickness - he’ll replace all thin sections and make it good as new. I would expect it will need more than the flame tubes.
it’s important to send everything so he can make sure everything fits right after repairs.


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[kortopates]

send pictures to Clifford there for an estimate but he won’t be able to give you a complete estimate till he cleans up your parts and measures wall thickness - he’ll replace all thin sections and make it good as new. I would expect it will need more than the flame tubes.
it’s important to send everything so he can make sure everything fits right after repairs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PT20J]

I'm not a big fan of the flame cones. They break down quickly (mine only lasted 500 hours after the muffler rebuild in my M20J). Worse, if they collapse in such a way as to block exhaust flow they can cause power loss. The purpose seems to be to keep more heat in the muffler (which is going to wear it out more quickly) in order to produce more cabin heat and carb heat (the latter is not an issue in an IO-360 and my cabin heater is plenty hot without them). My exhaust system is otherwise sound and I discussed it with my IA and we decided good riddance. 

[PeytonM]

Spoke to Matt at Custom this morning; very informative. (Clinton, the owner, was not in yet.)  I plan on sending the muffler & risers for inspection & repair to save myself $. If unrepairable, they have PMA new available. 

[Ragsf15e]

26 minutes ago, PeytonM said:

Spoke to Matt at Custom this morning; very informative. (Clinton, the owner, was not in yet.)  I plan on sending the muffler & risers for inspection & repair to save myself $. If unrepairable, they have PMA new available. 

Im with @PT20J on this one.  My ia told me i was missing them the first time he saw my F… I sold it 8 years later and the same exhaust was otherwise still fine.

[PeytonM]

One last question: risers. I was told at 4100 hrs, it’s likely that all risers would need to be replaced. Again, it’d an IO360A3B6D. Thoughts & experience please. 

[carusoam]

@PeytonM

expect the wear on the hot parts of the exhaust system to be related to how hot the parts get…

 

a fancy way to start the LOP vs ROP discussion…

ROP will be sending flames past the exhaust valves…

LOP most of the fuel burn is completed before it exits the cylinder…

Roughly speaking…

a visual inspection of the exhaust tube leaving the cylinder… may give a hint to how hot it has been getting…

the tubes start life as smooth surfaced tubes…

once heated and cooled a few thousand flights… the surfaces take on a more rough and grainy (?) appearance…

hard to describe… but, when measuring thickness… you can probably find that some metal has been moving with the cycles…

These parts CAN get red hot… which is about where they lose a lot of their typical strength.

by comparison… a TC’d exhaust system takes a thermal beating compared to an LOP’d NA exhaust system…

you might just get lucky!

 

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…

best regards,

-a-

[carusoam]

A note on flame tubes inside the muffler…

they work as flow distributors…

they keep the hot parts of the exhaust stream from impinging on the outer wall…

when the hot gasses get misdirected… they start to cut their way through the heater muff…

this is how heater muffs start allowing CO into the cabin…

it takes a lot of things to go wrong… before CO becomes a problem… 

but, once things start going wrong… 

100LL flame temperature is much higher than the softening point of stainless steel…

keep your exhaust flow organized…!

Best regards,

-a-