Source for mouse boots

[skyfarer]

I'm a brand new Bravo owner, and have some high CO levels on climb. About 100ppm, not a lethal dose for many hours, but still too high for my comfort level.  Closing the cowl flaps causes the CO to drop to a reasonable 1-10ppm. I read here on MS that mouse boots could be an issue, so I looked inside my wheel wells and while they aren't completely torn, they do have some holes and could definitely be replaced.  Anybody have a source for them?  I have a message in to LASAR to see if they have anything.

Cheers,

Jeremy

[PT20J]

I believe Aero Comfort makes them. https://aerocomfort.com/mooney/

[Ragsf15e]

3 hours ago, skyfarer said:

I'm a brand new Bravo owner, and have some high CO levels on climb. About 100ppm, not a lethal dose for many hours, but still too high for my comfort level.  Closing the cowl flaps causes the CO to drop to a reasonable 1-10ppm. I read here on MS that mouse boots could be an issue, so I looked inside my wheel wells and while they aren't completely torn, they do have some holes and could definitely be replaced.  Anybody have a source for them?  I have a message in to LASAR to see if they have anything.

Cheers,

Jeremy

Nothing wrong with fixing those, but 100ppm seems pretty high and your current socks aren’t terrible… have you had a good look at the exhaust system? If there’s a pretty good leak in there, it’ll come through the firewall as well.  What does it do after landing?

I don’t have a Bravo, but I’ve got a good Sensorcon detector and it helped alert me to a significant exhaust leak.  I was seeing ~50 on the ground and ~30 in the air.  You should be able to get your air number down close to 0.

[carusoam]

+1 for what Rags said above…

Update the rat socks and keep looking for the source…

Moving the sensorcon around the cabin may help point to where the CO is entering the cabin…

 

Odd sources found over the years… missing fasteners in the belly panel, anything leaking under the cowling, and unsealed wires entering at the back of the cabin…

Broken exhaust parts are the worst…

Best regards,

-a-

[larrynimmo]

If you look this up, you can easily make these yourself

[skyfarer]

9 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

What does it do after landing?

 

 

It's pretty normal after landing. Normal being what I've observed in the 182 and 172 I flew before the Mooney: 0-40ppm.

My pre-buy mechanic did see evidence of a leaking exhaust gasket on one cylinder, it was in Maxwell's shop so they were supposed to have put on all new exhaust gaskets.

Just before I took delivery, new carper and seats went in. There were some panel upgrades too, so it's plausible that there's a firewall hole where some cables/hoses were re/moved and it's not sealed back up.  I haven't looked there yet, but that's what I'll do next before I go changing out mouse boots.

 

Thanks for the reply @Ragsf15e !

[skyfarer]

8 hours ago, carusoam said:

Odd sources found over the years… missing fasteners in the belly panel, anything leaking under the cowling, and unsealed wires entering at the back of the cabin…

Thank you @carusoam, this is exactly what I find valuable on MS, owners who have seen a thing or two over the years and can share their experience.

[M20F-1968]

I have a pair that I have not used.  They are left over from my rebuild.  I'll take pictures of them when I am next at the hangar (likely this Sunday) if you would like.  You can reach me here, or at my cell phone (617) 877-0025 or at my e-mail:  john.breda@gmail.com

Thanks,

John Breda

 

[Mooneymite]

Color me skeptical that mouse boots have anything to do with CO readings.  The area between the belly skins and the fuselage floor is basically an open vessel.  Lots of openings.

Look at the tape inside the cabin under the carpet, behind the side panels and under the rear seat cushion.....  It is the cabin that must be sealed, not the belly area.  In cruise flight, your Sensorcom should read zero, or very close to it.  You might get some CO on the ground especially if taxiing in a tailwind....

Edited March 31, 2022 by Mooneymite

[MikeOH]

Just piling on… 100ppm is NOT normal. I see under 10 ppm in flight; 0 most of the time. Only time I see more is on the ground and then only if the wind direction is right.

You need to hunt this down.

[A64Pilot]

Often air and of course CO comes in from behind as in from the tail one area.

Sounds crazy but you can take a shop vacuum cleaner hose through the vent window and seal it and with the vacuum set to blow find leaks that way. Works better than you might think

I never see or haven’t so far seen more than single digits on my Sensorcom, and I know it works because it will detect the CO from my breath, and I’m not a smoker.

[GeeBee]

By the way, re: LASAR, their phone tree is a little outdated about Covid and leaving a message. Just call and talk to Dan or Heather like we did in the past.

 

[PT20J]

I used to get 10 - 50 ppm during run up and climb. Replacing the door seal with careful attention to placement to ensure a tight seal — especially along the bottom edge — was most effective.

Skip

[Ragsf15e]

If you haven’t already, try turning on your heat and holding your detector near a vent.  Even with the heat off, you could get some leakage if that’s the source.  100ppm in cruise is a significant exhaust leak somewhere because if it’s going out the pipe in cruise most of it shouldn’t come back in.  During ground ops or climb a better seal is necessary due to the vagaries of the airflow.

[Fly Boomer]

My Google Fu is on the fritz this morning, but I finally found thread by @larrynimmo.  Here is a link:

 

[LANCECASPER]

I needed to replace the mouse boots on my Acclaim, so I talked to Hector at AeroComfort. He said they made some for Mooneys so he sent me a couple of them. It turns out that the newer Mooneys have a lot more going on in the landing gear area with the inner doors, etc/., so the boot needs to be much more compact. Mooney gave me their drawing and Hector made a couple out of leather.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wiypp8stlwbj9n1/mouse_boot.JPG?dl=0

 It turns out that Mooney had done some testing and leather works much better than what they had been using (kind of a rubberized canvas). The picture in the link shows a contraption they made a few years ago to test what they had been using vs. leather. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c8vu32sknid2pyh/mooney_mouseboot_experiment.JPG?dl=0

So both mouse boots got replaced at a recent visit to the Mooney Service Center in Kerrville.

Hector is now working on little mouse mittens and hats  . . J/k