Not enough heat in Twin Comanche for cold Canada

[Gus Ziegler]

Flying a 1969 Twin Comanche (SN:30-1787) at 160kts and +23F/-5C (this is not cold yet for Canada) makes it uncomfortably cool in the front and cold in the back seats. It warms up during approach and gets hot during taxi in. Our AMO has duct taped closed the fresh air inlet on the tail plane but not much help.

Wondering if someone has improved there PA30 or PA39 to get a better cabin temperature in below zero degree fahrenheit.

Thanks
Gus

[GMTW]

Gus;

How hot is the air coming out of the hot air ducts? Do you think you have a lack of heat or an excess of cold air leakage into the cabin. My PA 39 has a janitrol that had a faulty duct switch that limited the amount of heat it generated, I've fixed that and it's warmer, but I still have a draft coming from the headliner I have to work on. I had a early PA30 that was cozy so I know it can be fixed.

John

[Gus Ziegler]

Hi John,

It has a new janitrol heater about a year olds. Lots of hot air both in flight and on the ground. Draft is our problem and it is not coming from the door. It is coming from the headliner and the rear of the cabin. This is a later PA30 and has the third window on the side and the cabin is open to the baggage compartment so I guess more space to heat.

Gus

[Kristin Winter]

Gus,

I have a 1969 Twinkie. Is your headliner pressurizing? Those overhead venting have tubes running to them that can leak, though it sounds like an attempt was made to cut that off at the source. I would test that by flying and opening an overhead vent in the back and see if there is flow. You need to block the airflow into the headliner area. Insulation may be an issue as well. You will need to check that and also make sure that the front vents up by the window is shut off at the source. Other places where you can get leakage is around the spar. Removing the under wing root fairings and stuffing with insulation there can help. You also need to make sure that the heater is adjusted to max and it helps to insulate the ducting from the heater to the cabin.

Those are my tips from my northern flying days.

[GMTW]

Gus;

It would appear we both have the same problem, I covered the air intake on the tail as well and the head liner still seems to leak cold air around my head. I'm going to try to track the source today. I've also insulated the heater hoses in the nose and that helped a little. If you find the source let me know.

John