<< Jerry Hey wrote:
  > >>
  > >>  I would appreciate the comments of pilots who are

flying without a

  > >>  thermostat.  Do you have adjustable cowl flaps for exit

air or for

  > >>  intake air?  If you do, is adjusting them a constant

chore?   If you

  > >>  don't have adjustable cowl flaps, then do you find

times on cold

  > >>  days when your operating temps are too low?  I am

sitting on the

  > >>  fence as far as a thermostat is concerned.  It offers a

lot of

  > >>  convenience but is also something that could fail.   I

have 250,000

  > >>  miles on my Nissan and my wife has the same on her

Mitsubishi and we

  > >>  have not had any thermostat problems.      Jerry

 I don't fly a rotary but I run the hell out of one with a 160

degree Robert

 Shaw thermostat. I drill two 1/8" holes in the housing to be

sure that air

 bubbles can escape on fill up. On hot days it runs 175 or 180

degrees. On

 cool days it runs below 160 degrees. With the thermostat

closed, it can over

 cool through the two holes. Two years ago at the national

championship race

 at Mid Ohio, the air temp was 51 degrees at the start of the

race.

With 1/3rd
 of the radiator taped over, it didn't get above 150 degrees.

The

oil temp was
 also 150.

 I have never seen a failed thermostat, and I have been looking

for a long

 time. I have seen many people not get all of the air out of

the system, and

 suffer dearly for it.

 Lynn E Hanover--

Thanks for your comments, Lynn     Exactly where are the bypass

holes

that you drilled?   Flying at near zero outside temperatures at
10,000 ft  is not so unusual.  Because overheating is such a

threat

in aircraft installations (small rads, small inlets and outlets,
tight plenums) we never worry about the engine  being too cool.
Anybody care to comment on the effects of operating below the
recommended temperatures?
Jerry Hey

        You can purchase FAIL OPEN thermostats,
Virg

Don Dunbar wrote:

Hi Jerry
Some year ago I came across many diesel engines with in line thermostats
that went in the rubber hose.
They where light weight made of brass and where made in Germany.
One could have a valve to open but that would be going backward.
There is also the problem of the water travelling to fast and if my memory
serves me it is around 20 ft per second.
Regards Don

 
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