Ice frozen in the spinner

[NJMac]

My wife, kiddo, and I flew down to Cartersville(KVPC I think) Georgia outside of Atlanta and were forced to tie down outside.  It rained real well on Christmas Eve and then got below freezing. I didn't think anything of it until we got in the plane today and fired up.

Immediately you could tell something was off. It was very confusing since shutting down a few days before everything was perfectly smooth. I thought maybe the FBO towed it around and damaged the prop, but we were in the same parking spot as before. I shut down a few times and restarted thinking maybe it was only running on three cylinders. The whole time I'm trying to remain cool in front of my wife and kid but clearly knowing something's not right.

The first clue that I had was the prop slinging water on the ground as it was idling. I got out of the cabin a couple times with the engine off to try and see, maybe it was an engine mount failure. But it finally registered with me to check the inside of the spinner.

Sure enough, there it was.  A large amount of ice.  I never pay attention to the orientation that the prop stops since with the three blades, it is somewhat random. But going forward I'll definitely be watching this should we find ourselves tying down outside again.

[Mcstealth]

Kudos for the logical steps taken. Goes a long way in confidence building as well as experience gained. Thanks for passing the knowledge around. 

[Hank]

I generally park with the 3rd blade pointing up. Reckon in winter I should put the 3rd blade pointing down, so water can drain out.

[Mcstealth]

5 minutes ago, Hank said:

I generally park with the 3rd blade pointing up. Reckon in winter I should put the 3rd blade pointing down, so water can drain out.

Not being snippet,  but would that make a difference?

[Skates97]

I had never given it much thought as most of my time is not spent in frozen areas, but I learned this from Lee Trotter when we were tied down next to him up in Utah a couple winters ago. He said always have the prop vertical (two blade) to allow water to run out and not freeze inside. His comment was "trust me, I learned the hard way." I guess on w three blade as Hank mentions you would want it pointing down.

[Hank]

15 minutes ago, Mcstealth said:

Not being snippet,  but would that make a difference?

This way will trap water inside the spinner.

Spin it a little so one blade points down, water should drain nicely. 

Huh, can't fix gravity on this one . . . .

Edited December 26, 2020 by Hank

[carusoam]

When outside... the blade always goes down for drainage...

Did you get water frozen in the fuel caps as well?

 

Matching water frozen in the fuel caps is a good sign....   otherwise the small o-ring leaks the water into the tank... and makes a slushee in the sump drain...  

(old M20C experience... two blade... the vertical was attractive to birds...so a few degrees of turn works to make it less comfortable... and still drain)

PP thoughts only, not an ornithologist...

Best regard,

-a-

[NJMac]

8 minutes ago, carusoam said:

When outside... the blade always goes down for drainage...

Did you get water frozen in the fuel caps as well?

 

Matching water frozen in the fuel caps is a good sign....   otherwise the small o-ring leaks the water into the tank... and makes a slushee in the sump drain...  

(old M20C experience... two blade... the vertical was attractive to birds...so a few degrees of turn works to make it less comfortable... and still drain)

PP thoughts only, not an ornithologist...

Best regard,

-a-

I hadn't thought of it until now, but yes, the fuel truck guys dug some ice out of the fuel caps too.  Made me thankful AGL did my O rings right and none got into the tanks. 

[carusoam]

Water drains best with one blade pointing down...

 

and...

Fine upstanding young people....

[carusoam]

One of the finest M20Cs around...

 

-a-

[yvesg]

I had the same issue 3-4 years back. Upon startup, the imbalance would make things shake like crazy. Permanent solution was buying a prop winter cover since the aircraft sleeps outside.

Yves

 

 

[Ibra]

I usually check for animals in the intakes on cold days even with covers, never thought of ice but everyday is a school day ! 

Was it covered? I am not sure if engine cover would catch some of the water?