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Not a crash, but still a dumb stunt

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Posted

Hi all,  was working on my heater in the Kitfox today, I've been changing out the fans, trying to get more air flow though the heater core each time.  This was to be the third attempt.  The last two fans  I used were advertised to move about 75 CFM each.  They were about 3 1/2" diameter.  I bought a larger one that is about 4 5/8" diameter, and claims to move 350 CFM.  So this afternoon, I pull the heater core out, make a new shroud that will hold the new larger fan, and after about 3 hrs, had it back in place.  It's a real pain getting it out and back in front of the panel.  Tried it out, and was thinking, humm it doesn't seem to move much more air then the others did.  Went back to the garage, and see sitting on the shelf, another fan, the same size as the one I just put in.  Tried it on a battery, and it sounded like a vacuum cleaner going, and blowing like a banshee.....  I had grabbed a different fan by mistake that was the same size as the new one I had bought but ran way slower.   At that point, I said that's it for tonight, I had one other project I had planned to work on, but I'll sit here and lick my self inflicted wounds and give it another shot tomorrow... Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed....  JImChuk 

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Posted



But all that Extra hands on learning you get out of doing it twice ha. Been there.;)

 

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Posted

Wouldn't mind twice, but this was third time with one more to go for sure.   :-(  

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Posted (edited)

Nice to be reminded I'm  not the Lone Ranger in this department, I'm feeling It Jim.  Hope the new fan cuts the muster.

Edited by wypaul
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Posted

Well I got the right fan in on this attempt.  Not sure how it's going to do though, that heater core really restricts the air flow.  I think it does do a good bit better then the two smaller fans  I had in there so maybe it will be enough.  Maybe I can try it out later today.  One thing about it, if I have to change it out again, I'll know just what tools to bring over to the plane...JImChuk

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Posted (edited)

I highly recommend https://fortressclothing.com/ I have the base layer bottoms and quarter zip T base layer that I wear flying in the winter. it's the BOMB! I learned about it on Shark tank. None of the sharks bit, but I could see immediately how awesome it was. The website is kind of clunky but customer service was great.  I also have a second set of the same underwear bottoms with a crew T top that I wear under my water ski and kayak drysuits. The awesome thing about it is it works if you are active or just hanging around in the cold. To me it is a real advancement in cold weather clothing.

Edited by ChrisBolkan
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Posted

Well I flew for about 1.4 hrs today in 30 F temp.  Right leg got plenty warm.  I do have some pretty good drafts coming through in places, if I close them up, it should be good.  I ordered a speed controller for the fan today, once things are sealed up, I'll have to have a way to regulate the heat.  JImChuk

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Posted

The brushless motor I run does not like the speed controller, burned out the first one.  I have been running the new one with out it and it is holding up.  First one ran about a year is all.

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Posted

I highly recommend https://fortressclothing.com/ I have the base layer bottoms and quarter zip T base layer that I wear flying in the winter. it's the BOMB! I learned about it on Shark tank. None of the sharks bit, but I could see immediately how awesome it was. The website is kind of clunky but customer service was great.  I also have a second set of the same underwear bottoms with a crew T top that I wear under my water ski and kayak drysuits. The awesome thing about it is it works if you are active or just hanging around in the cold. To me it is a real advancement in cold weather clothing.

apparently the sharks have better heaters in their private jets so they figured there’s no need for warm clothing.

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Posted

@1avidflyer I don't know what your installation looks like, but in case you have mounted the fan directly onto the heater core, try to move it away from the heater a few inches (with a duct going from the fan to the heater of course. The reason for this suggestion is, that a fan mounted directly onto the heater core will only use a small circular area of the actual heater core and the rest will be more or less unused. by adding some distance between the fan and the core you allow the turbulent air of the fan to cover more of the heater core and therefore more heat is transferred which should help to boost your heater's efficiency. 

i've done that for cooling equipment in server rooms a couple of times to optimize the cooling efficiency of poorly engineered cooling solutions, so i guess it probably also works on a smaller scale and for heating ;) 

cheers

Pascal 

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Posted

Thanks for the advice Pascal.  It does make sense. The fan is almost as big as the heater core, and I'm also limited by how much room I have there.  Warming up now anyway, so maybe I'll remodel things over the summer.  JImChuk

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Posted

Oh yes, Pascal's second law of fluid mechanics!?!

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Posted

it's no coincidence i was given this name when i was born :P

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