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Cabin heat


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Did not fix the problem. I can feel warm air coming through, but there is so little of it that it barely keeps the toes from freezing. I'm going to look for other problems in the path of the air, but i really would like to see the inside of the airbox...

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Start at the beginning. Check the intake on the cowl for alignment. Check the 1 3/4" hose to make sure it is connected from the muffler to the heater box. Remove the lower center panel and make sure the hoses are connected inside on the metal tubing. Pull the heat knob back and feel down inside the heater control box in the engine compartment to make sure the cable is not slipping and the actuation door opens and closes all the way. It has to be one of these as this is a simple system.

 

I see you already had an adjustable cable stop. Some of FD's were crimped on and some adjustable.

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I need to see the butterfly valve. I really do not believe the intake or the muffler shroud is the problem, because the carb heat works fine (100-200 RPM drop when turned on in these ridiculously cold temperatures, the drop is much smaller on warmer days). I do not see a hose issue either forward of the firewall.

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I need to see the butterfly valve. I really do not believe the intake or the muffler shroud is the problem, because the carb heat works fine (100-200 RPM drop when turned on in these ridiculously cold temperatures, the drop is much smaller on warmer days). I do not see a hose issue either forward of the firewall.

 

Anticept,

I believe you will need to reduce the flow to the window defroster and put in or check that there is a baffle in the muffler shroud.

You are describing exactly the same symptoms we had for 2 consecutive winters until I got into it.

 

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Anticept,

I believe you will need to reduce the flow to the window defroster and put in or check that there is a baffle in the muffler shroud.

You are describing exactly the same symptoms we had for 2 consecutive winters until I got into it.

 

There's almost no air going through the defroster either. I got my hand up to it, all I felt was a trickle. It takes forever for the window to defrost when I turn on the cabin heat.

 

I know you keep talking about a baffle in the muffler shroud, but are you talking about around the inlet? If not, what do you believe the baffle does? And, why does it not affect the carb heat, since it too is hooked up to the shroud?

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If I remember correct for the LS the best way to check the box is to pull the hose off the front and stick your finger in and feel what the valve is doing. With the heat control pulled you should not be able to push the flapper valve up any at all. If you can there is your problem.

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There's almost no air going through the defroster either. I got my hand up to it, all I felt was a trickle. It takes forever for the window to defrost when I turn on the cabin heat.

 

I know you keep talking about a baffle in the muffler shroud, but are you talking about around the inlet? If not, what do you believe the baffle does? And, why does it not affect the carb heat, since it too is hooked up to the shroud?

 

I had my muffler of and dismantled last annual but I don't remember a baffle inside the shroud tat goes around the muffler. I, also, would appreciate info about this.

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the parts manual does not show any baffle, but on mine , I can see 2 rivets and I guess it is for a baffle to keep the air from going around

 

th 2 red dots are where the rivets are ..and the red line is where '' I guess'' the baffle is

post-112-0-10058500-1389209219_thumb.jpg

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the parts manual does not show any baffle, but on mine , I can see 2 rivets and I guess it is for a baffle to keep the air from going around

 

th 2 red dots are where the rivets are ..and the red line is where '' I guess'' the baffle is

 

I'll have to check. Thank you for posting that.

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Thanks for the photo. The baffle in this case would be for the purpose of getting the air to go the full circumference so it gets nice and hot.

 

Still though, I am not convinced that I am missing a baffle. The air that comes through is hot, but there is so so little of it. I'll be borrowing a videoscope so I can look at the butterfly valve's operation.

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We found only one baffle did not fit the bill for us.

We added another for a total of 2. They are located within 1/4 inch of the opening. Ours are in the position marked with a yellow line,. We used 2pcs of stainless bent at a 90 riveted and used RED High Temp RTV to insure no air gaps.

 

We restricted/stopped the flow to the defroster. With no air terminal diffuser at the openings we were forced to use the POH to deflect the heat, while we made our own. The air was so hot it melted the clear plastic cover.

 

I am planning on flying on Saturday early and will measure the air temp at the opening so we can have a data point. I will try and measure the cfm also

post-456-0-66440100-1389215535_thumb.jpg

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Using a videoscope, I tweaked the cable tension a little more to get the airbox functioning properly. I'm about to go get some high temp RTV to apply to some gaps on the shroud to help build air pressure, and I'm going to fix up the rubber baffling around the inlet to help the ram air feed into the manifold shroud.

 

There's no baffle in my shroud either, but looking closer at the design, it might not be needed once I make the above changes. Ram air pressure should be more than enough to force the air into the cabin. Installing an internal baffle is going to be a last resort, because I will have to take the exhaust manifold off in order to install one.

 

Also, I noticed the hose is stiff, so I suspect that there has been heat flowing to the airbox and out of the bypass vent, but because of low cable tension, we never could get the flap to shift position and completely close the bypass vent.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cabin heat is working decently. I have not finished the induction inlet baffling fixes yet, but already I have gotten reports that it is much warmer in the cockpit. What really helped was sealing the inlet leaks at the shroud with RTV. I also fixed the exhaust system misalignment. It was an inch too far to the left, so the inlet wasn't lining up, and made oil changes really difficult. Loosened the exhaust flanges and tapped the manifold with a rubber mallet to scoot it over.

 

The shroud internal baffling will be installed at a future date. That will be much more involved to perform.

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  • 10 months later...

Hello all. I purchased a 2010 CTLS this summer. I've been on the forum a lot but this is my first post. This forum is invaluable. Thanks for all of your contributions. I'm from Iowa and I have done all the things mentioned to warm up the cabin. The screw on the cable to my heater door was loose so I corrected that as well. Now the door closes all the way. Quite a bit of cold air is coming into the cabin from the center council next to the throttle and choke levers. Any thoughts on how to stop this air flow would be helpful. Thanks again. I look forward to being part of the CT family. I've talked to Roger Lee multiple times and he has helped me with the learning curve associated with my plane. . Thanks Roger

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Thanks Jim.

I should add that I've used Kent half a dozen times or more, including for condition inspections and advice, and I will say that I know Fred G has used him and speaks highly of his as well. Kent is not only a good mechanic, he is a good person and one I call my friend.

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Two places to stop that cold air in the console. One place it forces its way in is the leather boots at the steering control rods down at the steering head on top of front strut. You could add a little foam to this area, but with the air pressure it may not stop it all. The other place to stop cold air is the opening behind the seat. Take a 2" piece of soft foam and cut it slightly larger than the opening then place it in the opening. Air does come in from behind the seats. Both of these are minor air intrusions, but if you live in really cold country may help warm up the cabin more. The two largest air intrusion points are the holes up above our heads and around the doors. All CT doors leak and some really bad. Most of it comes in from the leading edges of the door. I removed my doors and re-positioned them slightly more forward to make the door match the cabin opening more exact. This took care of a lot of it. Buy some soft 3/8" wide by 1/2" tall soft foam (not rubber) that has one side stick tape and run it all the way around the outside of your current door seal on each door. My cabin is well sealed enough that I can fly in zero F temps with just a short sleeve shirt and jeans on. I have never had to pull my heater knob out all the way. Make sure your heater hose off the top of the muffler has no holes it it. I find most do during the 5 year rubber change. Make sure the heater door opens all the way. make sure your air inlet off the front of the muffler is lined up with the cowl opening. many aren't. Seal all openings including the doors in the cabin.

 

This should make you nice and toasty.

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