Message-Id: <3.0.3.32.19981031105532.00751094@olsusa.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 10:55:32 -0500
To: lancair.list@olsusa.com
From: CavittP@aol.com (by way of Marvin Kaye <marvkaye@olsusa.com>)
Subject: Heat-muff/alternator/header wrap
Mime-Version: 1.0

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That darned heat-muff really presented an obstacle.  I have a B & C 40 amp
alternator (the smallest rating I could get away with) installed on my O-320.
When I went to put the muff on the exhaust, the alternator interfered.

So...  I put a big dimple in the muff and wrapped it with header wrap.  I have
a small 1" cooling port on the front of my baffling dedicated to blasting the
back of the alternator.

First flights were with no wrap on the exhaust pipes, but high oil temps were
a problem until I did the wrap on the entire exhaust system.

At first I used the header wrap obtained from O.R.W., but this stuff starts to
poop out after about 100 hours.  It flakes and breaks.  A friend put me on to
header wrap gotten through J.C. Whitney.  This was the ticket.  It lasts at
least twice as long (I now have over 360 hours on my plane).

The hot tip on installing the header wrap is to soak it in water before
putting it on.  This makes for a tight fit when it dries.  Someone suggested
that once it is installed that I should spray it with high-temp paint, but I
haven't done this and the wrap seems to be holding up just fine.

You can use hose clamps to secure the stuff, but I've used safety wire and it
works well.

Pete Cavitt - N320PL
619-283-7473