DIY cowling plugs

[Airways]

Engine cowling plugs for a Mooney are expensive because they are made to order.

I was thinking of making a pair myself, since I don’t get to fly much and in the meantime I’d like to spoil the engine as much as I can.
Does anyone have tips to do this ? Which material could I use ? I’d go for a foam-type of material that can be cut to size.
Nothing fancy, preferably easy to find in a home depot.

[ArtVandelay]

I used some foam I found, no fancy covers, just wrap it in plastic, it’s not pretty, but works, I rarely use it since I hangar at home.

[carusoam]

Arts and crafts stores will appreciate your business...

My C used ordinary foam stuck in its nose...

My O got fancy nose plugs with zippers, tail number embroidery, and a string to tear them out if they are still in there during engine start...

Jim Cancil retired, but he did great work...

Best regards,

-a-

[RLCarter]

Anyone know how or what these old school koozies are coated with, or was it part of the process?

[carusoam]

Snowman, holding a white koozie, in a snow storm/blizzard..? 

Nothing but a blank screen, RLC.

As seen on an iPad...

Best regards,

-a-

[RLCarter]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

Snowman, holding a white koozie, in a snow storm/blizzard..? 

Nothing but a blank screen, RLC.

As seen on an iPad...

Best regards,

-a-

Better ?

 

[MB65E]

You could take foam, cut to size then RTV the snot out of it. 

maybe some of the same material that you dip plier handles in? 
-Matt

[carusoam]

RLC,

Sorry it took so long to reply...

Barely within 24hrs....  

That looks like a polyurethane foam... that when molded forms it’s own skin...

It appears to be coated, but it is a natural affect...

PU is a nice soft rubber material... usually easy to clean...

If you cut it and find that it is indeed another layer... it is possible to mold the foam with a similar sheet of PU in the mold already...trying to pull to layers of PU apart is near impossible... PU is also a very tough indestructible material...

PP thoughts only, not the rubber guy...

Best regards,

-a-

[lotsofgadgets]

sometimes it isn't worth it to DIY.  the PO of my mooney stuffed two dogbone car wash sponges into the cowl.  The sponge didn't stay for long and a family of starlings moved in.  (they have since been evicted...) 

I looked around for over a year and came across GotPlugz.  They were about half the cost of the big name vendors.  I think I paid about $80 with my N number embroidered on them.  

[GDGR]

Two types of foam come to mind:

- Polyurethane 

- Polystyrene

If you're in an oil based area, look up companies that make pigs (insert your worst Deliverance joke here). For those who don't know, they're basically a rubber plug that is put into a pipe, and with pressure, are sent through the line to clean it out. They are typically made out of solid polyurethane, and one could be cut in half and formed to fit your cowl openings. use whatever you'd like to cover the outside once said fit has been completed. 

Polystyrene is more of a rigid insulation foam. We have it come in 2x8' sheets here, and our civil contractors use it to create frost boxes under shallow buried utilities (for those of you down south, "shallow" up here is less than 9 feet of bury... our frost gets down that low and freezes pipes in the winter if its buried less than that). It is somewhat brittle, but you can use an exacto knife and cut out the precise shape fairly easily. Once again, cover with what you prefer. 

[Hank]

5 hours ago, GLJA said:

for those of you down south, "shallow" up here is less than 9 feet of bury... out frost gets down that low and freezes pipes in the winter if it's buries less than that.

Drift warning-- on the SE coast of NC, and here in LA, I often leave the hose attached to the faucet and water turned on all year. Makes it easy to water plants, and wash the car with a bucket of warm, soapy water.  

Back on topic, you can always make a cardboard template, then cut whatever foam you can find (I used to have a battery operated hot wire foam cutter for the rigid white stuff; an electric knife works well on the squishy foams, but be careful cutting the rigid white stuff), taper it to fit, and wrap it in most any heavy canvas or other durable fabric. But then again, I'm a CB and don't have a plug to fit the top half behind my prop where the guppy mouth isn't closed off.

[carusoam]

Some scrap rectangular piece fit the top of the guppy mouth... 

Some excess part of the carpet project fit in the tail...

Thanks Hank!

My memories are slowly getting re-established..!

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

9 hours ago, lotsofgadgets said:

sometimes it isn't worth it to DIY.  the PO of my mooney stuffed two dogbone car wash sponges into the cowl.  The sponge didn't stay for long and a family of starlings moved in.  (they have since been evicted...) 

I looked around for over a year and came across GotPlugz.  They were about half the cost of the big name vendors.  I think I paid about $80 with my N number embroidered on them.  

How do you tow the plane with the prop in vertical position?

[carusoam]

That’s the drain the rain prop position...

no rain caught in the spinner... no ice to unbalance the prop....

Lessons from storing the plane outside in the winter... in NJ...

Best regards,

-a-

[philiplane]

coat the foam with latex house paint. One coat to establish closure of the foam cells. Two more coats to make a flexible coating. Then spray a coat of red Rustoleum professional red paint. 

Works very well. You'll have waterproof, flexible coatings on foam you've customized to your openings for very little money. They last for years. 

[carusoam]

Phillip,

That sounds like years of experience!

Best regards,

-a-

[lotsofgadgets]

On 5/4/2020 at 9:58 PM, ArtVandelay said:

How do you tow the plane with the prop in vertical position?

You don't.... I had to pose the prop to show off the cowl plugs.   

[bradp]

For a while mine were some closed cell pipe insulation foam duct taped with neon duct tape.  Best cowl plugs I owned.  

[WaynePierce]

I used pillow foam from Walmart and cut to size... This plane is in a hangar most of  the time, except when traveling, but it keeps the bugs and birds out.

Edited May 8, 2020 by WaynePierce

[jma201]

I've used sponges from Wal-Mart for years.  Like the ones you would use to wash your car.

 

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[Nippernaper]

Just put in an order to gotplugz.com. Had my plane on a ramp for just 30 hours, and two damn birds had built a nest on the engine. Took me an hour to clean all that crap out.


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