Covering Oil Cooler

[PTK]

Just wondering, does anyone partially cover the oil cooler in cold weather? If so how and how much?

[carusoam]

Continental, I believe, has a recommended temperature and a part for the job...

It probably makes sense if preheating your oil cooler is part of your engine preheat procedure.

I remember reviewing the advice when I first got the R.  I don't have the radiator blocking device...

Are you going to be traveling someplace unusually cold?

Selecting a winter grade of oil will be a good idea to go with that...?

Best regards,

-a-

[triple8s]

Anyone running the TCM engines, had better take heed to preheating the engine in cold temps and by saying engine i mean engine and oil cooler. If the oil cooler isnt warm and the oilmis congealed when the vernatherm start diverting oil to the cooler it can be damged or busted. So when the engine is preheated the oil cooler must also be considered.

http://www.oilcoolers.com/article_oil_cooler_woes.asp

[StevenL757]

Peter, I suggest checking the M20J maintenance manual and parts catalog.  I know there is a cold weather "kit" for the Bravo, TLS, Eagle, Ovation, and Acclaim that consists of 4 parts - a metal frame/bracket that screws to the front of your oil cooler, a sheet metal plate that slides from top to bottom into that frame that blocks airflow to the cooler, and two placards - one for the plate itself with the temperature limitations as to when the door/plate should be removed and one placard for the oil cooler.  To give an idea on pricing, the Ovation kit was listed (several years ago) for around $300'ish.

Last I saw, no such kit existed for the 231 or 252, but again, the parts manuals should be consulted to determine whether this is is still true or not.

Steve

[jetdriven]

I never could find any documentation of the cold weather kit for the J model but I do know from experience taping off half of the oil cooler with silver tape does raise oil temperature 20° or so which is helpful in colder climates. Also another thing to make it more cold-weather friendly is to run multigrade oil. Cold 50W makes very high oil pressure when cold, and takes too long for my comfort to  reach all the engine bearings and oil galleries.  Remember The Lycoming pressure sensor is right at the oil pump.....it does not indicate if the pump  is getting oil pressure to all the bearings. Is it opposite way on the Continental engines, the sensor is at the end of the oil gallery.... that's why they allow you a full minute to show oil pressure. I have a feeling both engines behave the same it's just the  Lycoming gauge indication shows oil pressure much sooner than continental 

[StevenL757]

Agree with all here who mentioned it...proper cooling is absolutely necessary for as many engine parts as you can preheat.  Having flown a couple of Tanis-equipped aircraft and also Reiff, I can honestly say everyone should invest in one of these.  Particularly the Reiff TurboXP...it's a magnificent system that, in my opinion after experiencing both of them on several aircraft, clearly outperforms the Tanis.

Not trying to open the worm can...just some observations based on experience in very cold NY and MN weather over several years.

[PTK]

10 hours ago, carusoam said:

...Selecting a winter grade of oil will be a good idea to go with that...?

Best regards,

-a-

 

8 hours ago, jetdriven said:

I never could find any documentation of the cold weather kit for the J model but I do know from experience taping off half of the oil cooler with silver tape does raise oil temperature 20° or so which is helpful in colder climates. Also another thing to make it more cold-weather friendly is to run multigrade oil....

I was just wondering out loud at what OAT does it become necessary to restrict airflow to oil cooler and by how much. I do utilize the premium multigrade oil, Aeroshell 15W50. 

[StevenL757]

On 3/13/2017 at 9:46 AM, PTK said:

 

I was just wondering at what OAT does it become necessary to restrict airflow to oil cooler and by how much. I do utilize the premium multigrade oil, Aeroshell 15 W 50. 

According to the Ovation placard I have, the cover plate is suggested to be in place when field temps are below 30F.

Steve

[jetdriven]

2 hours ago, PTK said:

 

I was just wondering out loud at what OAT does it become necessary to restrict airflow to oil cooler and by how much. I do utilize the premium multigrade oil, Aeroshell 15W50. 

I would put tape over part of the oil cooler when the oil temps arent staying in the green.

[peevee]

3 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

Agree with all here who mentioned it...proper cooling is absolutely necessary for as many engine parts as you can preheat.  Having flown a couple of Tanis-equipped aircraft and also Reiff, I can honestly say everyone should invest in one of these.  Particularly the Reiff TurboXP...it's a magnificent system that, in my opinion after experiencing both of them on several aircraft, clearly outperforms the Tanis.

Not trying to open the worm can...just some observations based on experience in very cold NY and MN weather over several years.

We also have the reiff turbo XP and I'm super impressed. An hour or two and we're good to go. We have the oil cooler heater also.

[StevenL757]

Very nice...same here.  Not only is that system a time saver, but adding the oil cooler option gives you the most holistic engine heating option you can buy.  For me, well worth the ~1AMU investment.

[jlunseth]

I have the TCM TSIO360LB.  I use an oil cooler block in the winter.  It is a couple of pieces of foam taped together to make a block and stuffed in the cooler frame.  Works really good.  Oil temps are too cold without it, especially in the dense air at low altitude when temps are below 0 dF.  Oil has to be at least 100 dF.  I don't know what two pieces of foam and some tape costs.  My mechanic put it together for me.  I have two of them just in case.

[M20F]

I the relocated oil cooler on my F and don't really notice any real substantive change winter to summer at 1000' MSL or 25000' MSL.  

The key as others have pointed out is getting the oil hot in the first place, that is where real issue is.  Multi-grade plus Reif Turbo XP is my recipe for winter flying. 

[peevee]

We run w100 without issue. I was up at -30F a couple weeks ago, temps were ok, 161f

[JC252MB]

I run straight weights exclusively in my 252. Right now I'm using 65 and will transition to 100 probably in April. I do run a strip of tape on the oil cooler and it does help get those oil temps up a bit in the winter. There's a Tanis on the airplane and I preheat anytime the temp is below 50 which in Northern Wisconsin is pretty often. Definitely a balancing act in my airplane between oil temperature and pressures that I have to manage pretty actively.

Edited March 14, 2017 by JC252MB

[Shadrach]

I use aluminum tape if regularly operating in OATs below 30df. operating in cold weather with the cooler fully exposed holds oil temps in the mid 160df range. I prefer to see it between 190-210df. I run Phillips XC 20-50 with camguard.

[Andy95W]

Thanks for the info, Ross. I'm going to start doing the same.

[Raptor05121]

Negative for my D/C. I was told the vernatherm takes care of that automatically.

[jetdriven]

The vernatherm wont completely bypass the oil cooler, it seats to force oil through the cooler, but when open, some oil still goes through the oil cooler. This is most of why your oil temp is cooler in cooler weather.  Hence the tape.

[Shadrach]

9 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Thanks for the info, Ross. I'm going to start doing the same.

Good luck! You may have to cover more in the Michigan winter. It gets cold enough in Maryland on occasion to necessitate completely blocking the cooler.  This may or may not vary from plane to plane. I used trial and error, stepping up the area covered by degrees until satisfactory.

[kevinw]

My mechanic cut a piece of aluminum and drilled about 6 one inch holes in it. It slides right in front of the oil cooler and held in place with two screws. Works well and fits perfectly but the guys up in Minnesota where I bought my J just do as jlunseth said and just use a piece of taped up foam.

[PTK]

1 hour ago, kevinw said:

My mechanic cut a piece of aluminum and drilled about 6 one inch holes in it. It slides right in front of the oil cooler and held in place with two screws. Works well and fits perfectly but the guys up in Minnesota where I bought my J just do as jlunseth said and just use a piece of taped up foam.

I like this. It should result in a much more homogeneous temperature across the oil cooler.

[kevinw]

4 hours ago, PTK said:

I like this. It should result in a much more homogeneous temperature across the oil cooler.

It's pretty slick. I'll take a pic the next time I'm out to the airport and post it here. What's nice is you can fine tune it. At first it the oil temp was a little high so he drill one or two more holes and the oil temp holds at 180 in the freezing cold. If it's too cool you can cover a hole with tape, but I've never had to.

[tigers2007]

I stumbled on this thread from a google search regarding low CHT's. I went up yesterday and the OAT at 7500MSL was -23C. My oil temp was in the green but my CHT's were quite low. I have yet to see definitive guidance on what temps are too low. I'll have to reread the POH.
I took this photo during cruise:





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[PTK]

6 hours ago, tigers2007 said:

I stumbled on this thread from a google search regarding low CHT's. I went up yesterday and the OAT at 7500MSL was -23C. My oil temp was in the green but my CHT's were quite low. I have yet to see definitive guidance on what temps are too low. I'll have to reread the POH.

 My concern with this thread was protecting the oil cooler in very cold OAT.

As far as CHT is concerned, if too cool the tetraethyl lead in the fuel is not properly scavenged and forms deposits in the combustion chamber and fouls spark plugs. But this takes running very cool CHT's in the low to mid 200°F or cooler at low power settings and for an extended period of time.