Hi Doug,

Well, the Texas heat is still with us, but only in the upper=20 90's, not triple-digits. We had about 50 days this summer = in the=20 triple-digit territory and I'll have to say that I gave out before my = cooling=20 system did. Highest coolant temp I saw on the water was = 220. But=20 with a 23# cap and running an ethlene-glycol mix, I felt = ok. I=20 don't think I could say that if it went much higher. Keep in = mind that=20 this is during climb out where I'm pushing it pretty hard. Oil = temps=20 will sometimes hit 230, but that is after the first cooler. The = second=20 cooler brings the temps down another 10-20*. These are = worst case=20 readings, temps in cruise climb and cruise are lower, of=20 course. I measure water temps coming out of the engine and = again=20 after the radiator, and oil temps after the oil/air exchanger and = again after=20 the oil/water exchanger. Overkill, but I had the extra channels, = so I=20 used them for this.

All in all, I'm happy with my cooling system and don't plan on = making any=20 changes. It has more reserve than me or my pax. I have = noticed a=20 lot of buildup on the radiator fins (not bugs). That can't help = the=20 temps any. I need to keep an eye on that.

One addition that I may consider before next summer is to add = water spray=20 to the main radiator to use if things start to get out of hand. = A quart=20 reservoir would probably be sufficient.

The only other issues has been a small but nagging oil leak, and = tuning=20 the EC-2. I finally figured out that I had a wiring error = on the=20 EC-2 PCM (Programming Control Module), which prevented the auto-tune = feature=20 from working, and a defective PCM. Having corrected = both of=20 those, I am still working with Tracy to try and figure out why = the EC-2=20 MAP table gets corrupted mysteriously and without warning. = I'll=20 post something for the group after we find and fix the problem. = This=20 only seems to be a problem with fiberglass a/c, so you RV types have = nothing=20 to worry about.

I've burned the packing out of the Hushpower II muffler many = hours=20 ago. It had been nice an quiet... for the first 30=20 minutes. Not sure if there is an answer for that one unless I = want to=20 install a turbo-charger.

The real "jewel" has been the c/s prop. This allows me to = cruise at=20 around 10.6 gph at 4200-4500 rpm, 153 TAS. Until recently, I had = been=20 cruising at 5200 rpm, burning 14-15 gph. Speeds are about the=20 same. Keep in mind that I normally fly at 3500-5500 msl. I = anticipate lower fuel burn at higher altitudes. I'm = planning a trip=20 to Galveston in October and I can try out this theory then.

Mark

On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM, <DLOMHEIM@aol.com> = wrote:

Howdy Mark...the majority of the nasty high temperature days = should be=20 over in your neck of the woods now so I was wondering how your = cooling=20 faired this summer, etc.? Have you pretty much=20 gotten any "bugs" worked out of your installation so it = has=20 basically become more automotive like (a simple turn key=20 operation)?

Thanks for the update.

Doug Lomheim

RV-9A / 13B

Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall = trends and=20 hair styles at=20 = StyleList.com.