Larry Olson
Kitfox Series 6 - 1st Flight Oct 2021
Tri-gear, smooth cowl
912 ULS
I have the heater installed on my new Kitfox 4 build, and here is what I did. As the heater core has 1" fittings, I ran through the firewall, through the heater core, back out through the firewall and then to the radiator. I am using a thermobob, but rigged up something that doesn't allow the thermostat to close completely, so I'm not using the bypass line. JImChuk
A bit further along. JImChuk
Just an update on the effectiveness of my heater setup.
I flew in 35 deg. cool morning autumn air and was pleasantly surprised that it really did a nice job. I have a valve on the engine side of the firewall connected to a choke-style on-off knob. The 4 high-speed computer fans do a nice job without too much noise or amp. draw. The electrical switch is just on-off with all four at full power when on. You can vary the amount of coolant flow to vary the heat output. I thought about some kind of air diverter, but the center console does a nice job dispersing the heat in the cabin.
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"Somebody said that carrier pilots were the best in the world, and they must be or there wouldn't be any of them left alive." Ernie Pyle
Brett Butler
Flying: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
+1 for the thermobob.
I'm in Canada and use of an oil T-stat as well as coolant t-stat is pretty much mandatory.
Priority one is making sure oil and coolant temps are above minimums.
The thermobob bypass line goes to my heater core. Kitfox uses a Setrab 50-616-7612. PWM controller on the fans adjusts the temp (no isolation).
I have seen situations where using the heater cools down the bypass enough that I can run out of heat from the engine so that needs attention in flight.
Seal up the tail which sucks the heat out like a vacuum. I am aware of some that use an insulated divider behind the seat to keep the heat in too.
🇨🇦CANADA
Flying | SS7 | G3X | Edge 912