O300 New Design Cylinders- Continental Motors

[cessna170bdriver]

ECIs have exhaust valve rotators which keep valves from sticking when using 100LL, bayonet sockets for cylinder head temp probes, and with RealGasket push rod tubes do away with the leaks there. My ECI nickel carbide steel cylinders broke-in in 3 hours and after 275hours, virtually no oil consumption and all compressions are high 70s.

This is very typical customer report on ECI cylinders,

I'll go so far as to swear by the ECI nickel carbide cylinders. I bought that particular type because I know my flying can be sporadic. I'm in the middle of an annual inspection and did the cylinder leak test yesterday. Five 78/80's and one 79/80. COLD. That's the WORST I've seen in 7.5 years and 300 hours, even after sitting for 13 months at one point. Probably the best $4200 (late 2005 prices) that I've ever spent on the airplane. It may just be my style of engine operation, but by the time I had that many hours on two Superiors, one had already required valve work. (Aryana, you got the good one... )

[KS170A]

Someone in NC has them now Miles. I sold all 6 for $300. That one cylinder did look really good compared to the others.

Took me a couple seconds to figure out what kind of crazy exhaust pipe you had on that thing!

[GAHorn]

It's a one off Super Bartone Powerflow unit.

When it rains out here in Half Moon Bay, CA piping some warm air into the engine cowling really cuts down on condensation and surface corrosion on the cylinders.

I live in what is considered a relatively dry area... central Texas, where it's semi-arid. I have two used cylinders sitting on my hangar floor, one is plain steel, the other is channel-chromed. After 10 years the channel-chrome has absolutely no rust in it's bore. The plain steel has an even coating of rust which will require grinding/chrome-plating before use (if it's salvageable at all.) It's been interesting to watch the degredation of an unprotected steel cylinder.

I'm not sure piping air, warmed or not, is good for an engine. I guess time will tell. I can only imagine an increased volume of air will expose it to more possibilities.
I close my exhaust with "Dixie" cups when the engine is inactive to reduce airflow thru the cylinders. (Perhaps an opposing argument might be that I capture "stagnant" air...but I'm aware of what ambient has done to that cylinder sitting on the floor.)

The "B" type club recommends opening the oil filler cap to allow hot gases to escape after each flight, until the engine cools down. Again, my active imagination sees hot (relatively dried) air floating upwards ...sucking cool, moisture-laden air into the engine thru the breather, thereby increasing the possibility of internal condensation.

I close my throttle and plug my exhausts when not flying. It's worked out OK for me for the last 40 years.

[cessna170bdriver]

... The "B" type club recommends opening the oil filler cap to allow hot gases to escape after each flight, until the engine cools down. Again, my active imagination sees hot (relatively dried) air floating upwards ...sucking cool, moisture-laden air into the engine thru the breather, thereby increasing the possibility of internal condensation.

Gettng a bit off topic, but...

Actually the air in crankcase right after shutdown, even though hot, is quite moisture laden; think sauna... That said, I'm not sure opening the filler cap will change that much, and will leave the crankcase open to dirt contamination. If you really want to go overboard, set up a nitrogen bottle to provide a slight purge.

...I close my throttle and plug my exhausts when not flying. It's worked out OK for me for the last 40 years.

Certainly can't hurt. Even when I lived near the Gulf Coast I never had a cylinder to rust while it was mounted on the airplane. Of course, I seem to have flown more often in those days. Which brings us back on topic; now that I don't fly as regularly I'm glad I have the Nickel+Carbide™ coated cylinders.

[GAHorn]

Yeah.. the key word I used was "relatively". I guess that depends on the local atmospherics. Certainly the byproduct of fossil fuel combustion includes water vapor.
I have a hydrometer. I think I'll check the relative humidity of the crankcase after next flight just to satisfy my curiosity.

[T. C. Downey]

Actually removing the filler cap from the 0-300 does allow quite a bit of moisture out. try it your self, you might like it. put it back on before leaving the aircraft.

[hilltop170]

Arash-
Once or twice a year I see the condensed water vapor inside my cowl in Central Texas like you describe. I know that is a continual concern where your plane is located and is a much more severe problem there. I never thought about running a forced air heater inside the cowl when that occurs. Its an interesting fine line you are walking with your cowl heater. Higher temps raise the dew point so there is no condensation but warm humid air is more corrosive than cool humid air. Apparently you have seen less corrosion problems with the warm air. There is always something new to learn in aviation. Thanks for sharing, I would have never considered that.

Now all you need is a temp/dewpoint switch to automatically turn it on and off!

[n2582d]

Why not use a dehumidifier? I bought a Sears unit which I used in Indonesia for a number of years to keep stuff from getting moldy. Worked well but the room it was used in was a lot smaller than a hangar.

[DaveF]

Many new dehumidifiers have a 3/4" garden hose fitting output.

[n2582d]

Yeah, for a hangar you would have to have one with a hose attachment. Where you are at the problem might be that the temperature is too cool for the dehumidifier to work. There are models designed for colder temperatures. Here's a Consumer Reports video on dehumidifiers.

[Waterboy]

Well I chose to go with Continental Cylinders with the new style push rod tubes. My engine should be back from the shop in the next 2 weeks. I will report in with an update once its all back together.