Cabin Heat for Aerovee

[XenosN42]

Hey Mike,

I spoke to the guy, Dave Edwards, that fabricates these cabin heat muffs Monday afternoon. He was very helpful and answered all my questions.

He only sells his products though Aircraft Spruce, Wicks or Leading Edge Air Foils. The current price on ACS is $173.85.

Dave says that you'll need an 8 inch straight section of exhaust pipe without welds of any kind. He can custom make shorter or longer sections if needed.

[pappas]

I'll take some pics of my heat installation in a few days and post them

Lou Pappas
Waiex B Turbo

[pappas]

I took a few pics the other day but can't figure out how to post them here. Try the link below to a Google pictures album with the pics.
Hope this gets you there!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eUubScGvzNmiCSFS6

[mike.smith]

I didn't realize you have the turbo. I think that means you have the exhaust/heat from all 4 cylinders to work with (it all goes to one outlet). Since the standard exhausts are separated by a fair distance, pulling heat off of both gets problematic in terms of space and complexity.

[pappas]

Mike,
I do have the turbo, but if you notice, the heat muff is mounted on the exhaust pipe from the #4 cylinder and does not receive the exhaust heat from more than that one cylinder. I did not mount the muff after the confluence of all the exhaust pipes. But, if one did...it would most likely be even better! It seemed to fit better for my application on the #4 exhaust pipe. But there are choices.

I was flying over Prescott, AZ yesterday at 7700 feet. The outside temp was 29 degrees. The cabin was very comfortable even though I do not yet have a baggage sling installed, (just finished sewing one up and will install this week). I could feel a lot of cold coming from behind me off the open rear fuselage. Also, the forward spar tunnel was radiating a lot of cold. I will probably glue up some light insulation there.

Of course, here in AZ, cold is not usually our problem. The 112-degree heat in July and August, well....that's a different story entirely!

Lou Pappas
Waiex B Turbo

[mike.smith]

Thanks for the correction. It was hard to see where the muff was attached, but now I get it. Regarding air coming into the aircraft, I have found most of it comes in from the wing roots. I tried making "witch's hat" boots to close up the holes and go around the aileron and flap pushrods, but they never seemed to work very well. Currently I have two towels stuffed between my seat upholstery and the side of the fuselage. Keeps the air from blowing directly on my legs.

[sonex1374]

Mike's comment about the air blowing up around the sides of the seat cushion is worth noting for those that are still building. You can cut down a significant portion of the draft by applying stick boots that fit tightly around the sticks as well as widening the seat cushions to form a good seal against the fuse sides. Air can still get into the cockpit but it blows into the baggage compartment, and not on your hips and kidneys. This helps immensely!

Jeff

[pappas]

On my first Waiex, the Legacy model, I got a lot of air in from the wing roots. I also made up conical fabric seals similar to the stick boot. That worked really well. Making the upholstery fit closely to the fuselage sides worked as well.

The B model seems to have fewer wing root air leaks. Maybe because the flap mechanism is behind the seats.

[frkatck@yahoo.com]

Check this web site. Looks like a good product
https://customweldingproducts.com/products/

[mike.smith]

I called Dave at custom Welding Products in Las Vegas. He makes a line of heat muffs that he markets through Aircraft Spruce. The aerovee exhaust pipes are aviation non-standard so I asked if he could make up a muff for the turbo on my Waiex B. Sure enough, it was in the mailbox a week later.

I measured today, and it looks like 8" is the max length that will fit on the #4 exhaust pipe. Is that the length you have?

On the A/C Spruce web site I don't see any way to ask for the custom 1-3/8" diameter end caps. They only show the smallest openings at 1.5". How did you get the right diameter?