Ok, so how *do* you hotstart your IO-540?

I know that hot starting IO-540s is a subject for considerable debate. I
was taught a method that I was told worked 100% of the time[1], and up
until yesterday it had. But yesterday, after flying for an hour and then
sitting in the hot sun for half an hour waiting for customs, I couldn't
restart the Lance and had to have it towed back to the tie down area.

So what would you do in that situation?

[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"Zero Tolerance" in this case meaning "We're too stupid to be able to
apply conscious thought on a case-by-case basis".
-- Mike Sphar

"Paul Tomblin" wrote:

I know that hot starting IO-540s is a subject for considerable debate. I
was taught a method that I was told worked 100% of the time[1], and up
until yesterday it had. But yesterday, after flying for an hour and then
sitting in the hot sun for half an hour waiting for customs, I couldn't
restart the Lance and had to have it towed back to the tie down area.

So what would you do in that situation?

Good question. I've had one of the beasts for a month now, and it's a crap
shoot every time.


[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.


Haven't tried that, yet. How long do you leave the pump on?



Here's another method from one of the Cessna Pilots Ass'n forums:

Hot start:

Throttle in 1/4" from idle.
Mixture cutoff
Fuel pump on
Mixture full forward until fuel flow just registers (about a long
one-one-thousand)
Mixture cutoff
Fuel pump off
Crank - after about six to ten blades (3-blade prop) it will fire -
immediately come foreward to full rich.

Shorten or lengthen the priming time from one to three seconds depending on
time since shut-down.


--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

In article ,
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

So what would you do in that situation?

[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.

The PA32-300 I fly can be fun to start when it is hot.
It depends upon how long it has been sitting since it was shut down.
For a short duration, what you described above may work.

The first thing I do is park the aircraft so the nose is pointing into
the wind. After shut down, open the oil door atop the cowl.

Flooded procedure has been my most successful procedure.

Something else to try is...
Throttle full forward
Mixture closed
Fuel pump ON for 30 seconds (no fuel goes to the engine but passes
through the fuel line to the engine then back through the return line to
the tank; this cools the fuel line and purges any bubbles in the line;
that's the theory)
Normal start procedure

One of the things I learned when flying an IO-320 in a homebuilt
amphibean was that there were "sweet spot" throttle and mixture postions
(right combination of air and fuel) where the engine would start up
immediately. These were learned through trial and error.

In a previous article, "Dan Luke" said:
"Paul Tomblin" wrote:
[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.


Haven't tried that, yet. How long do you leave the pump on?

Until it's started. Because the mixture is still at cut-off, no fuel is
flowing.

Hot start:

Throttle in 1/4" from idle.
Mixture cutoff
Fuel pump on
Mixture full forward until fuel flow just registers (about a long
one-one-thousand)
Mixture cutoff
Fuel pump off
Crank - after about six to ten blades (3-blade prop) it will fire -
immediately come foreward to full rich.

Shorten or lengthen the priming time from one to three seconds depending on
time since shut-down.

That's how I cold start it - the only difference with hot starting is that
I don't do the "mixture full forward until the fuel flow just registers".


--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
So I was reading Twelfth Night ... and would you believe that the I LOVE YOU
hoax is the exact same trick Shakespeare uses to point out what an arrogant,
self-absorbed fool Malvolio is? -- Julia McKinnell

john smith wrote:


The PA32-300 I fly can be fun to start when it is hot.
It depends upon how long it has been sitting since it was shut down.
For a short duration, what you described above may work.

The first thing I do is park the aircraft so the nose is pointing into
the wind. After shut down, open the oil door atop the cowl.


With the Continental 520 in my Bo you want to park facing downwind so
the wind can blow up into the cowl flaps to help cool the fuel pump.
The fuel boiling in the engine driven fuel pump is what causes the hot
start problems.

On 7/16/2007 4:36:02 PM, Newps wrote:

With the Continental 520 in my Bo you want to park facing downwind so
the wind can blow up into the cowl flaps to help cool the fuel pump.
The fuel boiling in the engine driven fuel pump is what causes the hot
start problems.

First thing I do when I jump out of my V35 after landing knowing it is going
to be a short stop is to open both cowling covers. Always garners different
observations; some who understand and some who think the aircraft has an
engine problem.

Of course that is not an option for aircraft with covers that are screwed on.

--
Peter

"john smith" wrote:

Fuel pump ON for 30 seconds (no fuel goes to the engine but passes
through the fuel line to the engine then back through the return line to
the tank; this cools the fuel line and purges any bubbles in the line;
that's the theory)

Are we talking about Lycomings or Continentals here?

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

Not the IO-540, but I have found on our IO-360 that a 'flooded start' works
best anytime the engine is being restarted within 2 hours of shutdown.
Specifically, no fuel pump. mixture to cut off, throttle full, crank.
Advance mixture, retard throttle when engine begins to fire
"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
I know that hot starting IO-540s is a subject for considerable debate. I
was taught a method that I was told worked 100% of the time[1], and up
until yesterday it had. But yesterday, after flying for an hour and then
sitting in the hot sun for half an hour waiting for customs, I couldn't
restart the Lance and had to have it towed back to the tie down area.

So what would you do in that situation?

[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"Zero Tolerance" in this case meaning "We're too stupid to be able to
apply conscious thought on a case-by-case basis".
-- Mike Sphar

For our Aztec... and it's worked 100% of the time for previous and current
owners... honest

Throttles full open
Mixtures full rich
Electric pumps on JUST until you see FF register then quickly off, mixtures
full lean, throttles 1/4" open... quickly!
Immediately crank, watch, and listen
It will crank quickly at first, then start to slow.. as it slows be ready...
the engine is just about to fire
When it fires, immediately richen mixture no more than 1/2 rich... 1/3 is
probably better, remember everything is HOT, no need for a ton of fuel!
Hand quickly goes back to throttle to juggle if the engine stumbles.

Remember once it catches and you richen the mixture, your engine driven fuel
pump is pumping fuel. Don't let it flood your engine only to have it die
but now in a flooded condition.

The goal is to NOT flood it. Once you do, you sit and wait. If you prime
it very little, you have a second chance to repeat the procedure. If you
prime it too much, you have to sit and wait. For our 12v battery and long
cables the flooded engine start method just takes too much out of the
battery.

POH says Throttles open, mixtures full rich, boost pumps on, crank until it
fires, throttles to idle, boost pumps off. Great way to kill a puny 12v
battery at the end of 12 feet of cable.

Jim

"Paul Tomblin" wrote in message
...
I know that hot starting IO-540s is a subject for considerable debate. I
was taught a method that I was told worked 100% of the time[1], and up
until yesterday it had. But yesterday, after flying for an hour and then
sitting in the hot sun for half an hour waiting for customs, I couldn't
restart the Lance and had to have it towed back to the tie down area.

So what would you do in that situation?

[1] Leave the throttle, mixture and prop alone from when you shut down.
Turn on the fuel pump, and crank. When it catches, quickly advance the
mixture to full, and once it stops spluttering lean it out.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"Zero Tolerance" in this case meaning "We're too stupid to be able to
apply conscious thought on a case-by-case basis".
-- Mike Sphar

I've used that method on Archers (O-360) and found that it worked great.
Doesn't do squat in our Aztec though ;(
Jim

"pgbnh" wrote in message
. ..
Not the IO-540, but I have found on our IO-360 that a 'flooded start'
works
best anytime the engine is being restarted within 2 hours of shutdown.
Specifically, no fuel pump. mixture to cut off, throttle full, crank.
Advance mixture, retard throttle when engine begins to fire