Cabin heat box - is it supposed to be full of shredded insulation?

[tigers2007]

Is this supposed to be inside of there? It’s obviously insulation. Looks like it’s also full of mouse scat. Or is this there for some sort of fire protection? If not, where did this come from? From the walls of the precious owner’s hangar?

 

 

 

 

 

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[Hank]

Looks to me like the mouse built himself a nest in there . . . .

[tigers2007]

Looks to me like the mouse built himself a nest in there . . . .

The feeling of cabin heat with OAT in the teens will be priceless. This thing never had “cabin heat” really. I’ve had a bottle of water freeze in the back seat...


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[Immelman]

I guess they don't call it SCAT tube for nothing....

But bad jokes aside, I think you're in for cleaning/replacing your cabin air ducting.

[DXB]

Yikes!! Gives a new meaning to "SCAT hose".   Was the plane sitting recently?  Were the hoses disrupted anywhere? I imagine the hoses make a fun playpen, like habitrail tubes.  They are somewhat less hospitable in flight however.  The stench of heated mouse carcass and feces would be anticipated.  

[jaylw314]

Eww.  Was that visible in the heater valve in front of the firewall?  I wonder if some previous owner figured they'd never use the cabin heater and stuffed the heater box with insulation.

[carusoam]

Pull it out and you will find all the other fuzzy things that the being left There as well...

Don’t breathe anything while cleaning it out.  Mice have a tendency of leaving illnesses behind...

Best regards,

-a-

[tigers2007]

Pull it out and you will find all the other fuzzy things that the being left There as well...
Don’t breathe anything while cleaning it out.  Mice have a tendency of leaving illnesses behind...
Best regards,
-a-

The hangar fairies cleaned it out good. The mice must have entered via the flip-down deflectors above the footwell area. I close them up now and also make sure the main heater guillotine is closed. The pilot side isn’t blowing as good as the passenger side. I’m waiting for my A&P to get back from a seasonal contract so he can replace all of the tubing.



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[tigers2007]

Eww.  Was that visible in the heater valve in front of the firewall?  I wonder if some previous owner figured they'd never use the cabin heater and stuffed the heater box with insulation.

Nah that was pulled out with needle-nose pliers.


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[Yetti]

have your checked between your side panels and the wing roots?

[carusoam]

Dcon is available in ordinary grocery stores... a spring nesting challenge...

what is the source of the insulation?

That kind of looks like the stuff that got removed to help keep the tubes from getting rusty?

The wrong type of insulation keeps moisture close to the tubes...

Are you familiar?

best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

The hangar fairies cleaned it out good. The mice must have entered via the flip-down deflectors above the footwell area. I close them up now and also make sure the main heater guillotine is closed. The pilot side isn’t blowing as good as the passenger side. I’m waiting for my A&P to get back from a seasonal contract so he can replace all of the tubing.



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Unless they have developed flying skills, mice will usually climb the tire and enter through a broken rat sock in the mains or any other opening they can find.

I was paranoid about mice getting into my plane because I know they can do a lot of damage. I used electronic mice deterrents aimed at the plane and a bunch of sticky mice traps around the tires. Pain in the arse to move but I did catch a couple of mice this way.

I have also seen guys built aluminum skirts that go around the tire and use a quick fastener to complete the skirt. Worked fine on concrete hangar floors. Saw one that a guy added a rubber baffle around the base to account for an irregular surface in an asphalt floored hangar.

Must wage war!

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[tigers2007]

I have seen a mouse deplane twice by exiting via the retractable step. This happened when I was pulling the plane out of the hangar. I now leave the step cranked up. I suppose I need to be more aggressive with my mouse control.


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[jaylw314]

This conversation is making me very anxious   I feel the need to run over to the hangar tonight...

[Marauder]

This conversation is making me very anxious   I feel the need to run over to the hangar tonight...

What started my mouse war rampage was seeing the nest a mouse had built in the radio stack in a Piper only a couple of bays down from my plane. The plane had only sat for 1 week. Turds had fallen into openings in the radios, urine soaked grass was everywhere and some of the wires had chew marks.

Scary indeed.


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[xcrmckenna]

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[Shiny moose]

Go to your favorite hunting store and purchase Red Fox Urine( a fox is a natural predator of mice and mice know this and stay away) Comes in a small pump spray bottle, spray around your hanger, on the tires, on the ground near the tires, I wouldn’t spray on alumium or steel. I use this on Rental houses and my M20F and it works