LYCOMINGOPERATOR’SMANUAL SECTION3
O235ANDO290SERIES OPERATINGINSTRUCTIONS
WARNING
REFER TO THE PILOT’S OPERATING HANDBOOK OR AIRFRAME
MANUFACTURER’S MANUAL FOR ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS ON THE USE OF
CARBURETOR HEAT CONTROL. INSTRUCTIONS FOUND IN EITHER PUBLICATION
SUPERSEDETHEFOLLOWINGINFORMATION.
F. UseofCarburetorHeatControl–Undercertainmoistatmosphericconditions(generallyatarelative
humidity of50% or greater) andattemperaturesof20°t o 90°F it ispossib le for icet o form inthe
inductionsystem.Eveninsummerweathericemayform.Thisisduetothehighairvelocitythrough
the carburetor venturi and the absorption of heat from this air by vaporization of t he fuel. The
temperatureinthemixturechambermay dropasmuchas70°Fbelow thetemperatureoftheincoming
air.Ifthisaircontainsalargeamountofmo isture,thecoo lingprocesscancau seprecipitationinthe
formofice.Iceformationgenerallybeginsinthevicinity ofthebutterflyandmaybuilduptosuchan
extentthatadropinpoweroutputcouldresult.Ininstallationsequ ippedw ithfixedpitchpropellers,a
loss of power is reflected by a drop in manifold pressure and RPM. In installationsequ ipped with
constantspeedpropellers,alossofpowerisreflectedbyadropinmanifoldpressure.Ifnotcorrected,
thisconditionmaycausecompleteeng inestoppage.
Toavoidthis,allinstallationsareequippedwithasystemforpreheatingtheincomingairsupplyto
thecarburetor.Inthiswaysufficientheatisaddedtoreplacetheheatlossofvaporizationoffue l,and
themixingchambertemperaturecannotdroptothefreezingpointofwater(32°F).Theairpreheateris
a tube or jacket through which the exhaust pipe from one or more cylinders is passed, andtheair
flo wing over these sur faces is raised to the required temperature before entering the carburetor.
Consistentlyhightemperaturesaretobeavoidedbecauseofalossofpowerandadecidedvariationof
mixture. High charge temperatures a lso favor detonation and pr eignition, both of which are to be
avoidedifnormalservicelifeistobeexpectedfromtheengine.Thefo llowingoutlineisthepr oper
methodofutilizingthecarburetorheatcontrol.
(1)Ground Operation – Use of the carburetor air heat on the ground must be held to an absolute
minimum.Onsomeinstallatio nstheairdoesnotpassthroughtheair filter,anddirtandforeign
substancescanbetakenintotheenginewiththeresultantcylinderandpistonringwear.Only use
carburetorairheatonthegroundtomakecertainitisfunctioningpro perly.
(2)TakeOff–Setthe carburetorheatinfullcoldposition.Fortakeoffandfullthrottleoperationthe
possibilityofexpansionorthrottleicingat widethrottleopeningsisveryremote.
(3)Climbing–Whenclimbingatpartthrottlepowersettingsof80%orabove,setthecarburetor heat
controlint hefu llcoldposition;however,ifitisnecessarytousecarburetorheattopreventicingit
is possible for e ngine roughness tooccur dueto the overrich fuel/air mixture produced by the
additional carburetor heat. When this happe ns, lean the mixture with the mixture contro l only
enoughtoproducesmo othengineo peration.Donotcontinuetousecarburetorheatafterflightis
outoficingconditions,andreturnmixturetofullrichwhencarburetorheatisremoved.
(4)Flight Operation – During normal flight, leave the carburetor air heat control in the full cold
position.Ondamp,cloudy,foggyorhazydays,regardlessoftheoutsideairte mperature,bealert
forlossofpower.Thiswillbeevidencedbyanu naccountablelossinmanifoldpressureorRPM
orboth,dependingonwhetheraconstantspeedorfixedpitchpropellerisinstalledontheaircraft.
RevisedSeptember2008 35