TKS Preflight check
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- marioair
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TKS Preflight check
A couple of questions.
1) the startup checklist prompts to switch the toggle switch to check for the annunciation-and then immediately to check it has come on
However it takes awhile for it to come on. Should the second step in the checklist not be moved further back?
2) when purging the system on the ground I find i get fluid Dripping out of the left engine spinner but not the right engine. Which is expected behaviour?
1) the startup checklist prompts to switch the toggle switch to check for the annunciation-and then immediately to check it has come on
However it takes awhile for it to come on. Should the second step in the checklist not be moved further back?
2) when purging the system on the ground I find i get fluid Dripping out of the left engine spinner but not the right engine. Which is expected behaviour?
- UTMark
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Re: TKS Preflight check
The digital checklists in the G1000 (if you load that as part of the NXi update) have a different order and do move that second step further down as you suggest.
I haven’t looked for the TKS drip before on preflight but I’ll look.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I haven’t looked for the TKS drip before on preflight but I’ll look.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
KSPK, Spanish Fork, UT
N100DA DA-62 62.078
N100DA DA-62 62.078
- marioair
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Re: TKS Preflight check
Thanks.
Because each side does something different I don’t know which is correct. Also the checklist says to check panels but doesn’t specify the engines. I assume the actual leading edges of the prop get covered by centrifugal force
Because each side does something different I don’t know which is correct. Also the checklist says to check panels but doesn’t specify the engines. I assume the actual leading edges of the prop get covered by centrifugal force
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Re: TKS Preflight check
When doing the Deicing test, moving the toggle switch to the annunciator test takes around 2 minutes before you get the “De-Ice Pressure Low” annunciator. I believe it also checks your fluid level too. If it’s below the 2.6 gal point I believe you also get the deice level low. Once I get the avionics master on I usually flip that test switch since it takes the whole 2 minutes for the warning to come on.
When I test the pumps I usually do it on max. During the test I can see and hear the fluid coming out the left prop hub location. During walk around afterwards I see the tell tale sign on the ground underneath the horizontal stabilizer, fluid dripping down the vertical stab, under both main wings and the pool under the right prop hub.
I was getting that annoying low pressure warning this Fall. During my 300 hr I had them check the sensors in the tail and they were working. Finally after early October the fluid was cold enough to not get the low pressure warning after the 2 minute mark. So I truly believe now how sensitive the sensors are to the fluid viscosity.
When I test the pumps I usually do it on max. During the test I can see and hear the fluid coming out the left prop hub location. During walk around afterwards I see the tell tale sign on the ground underneath the horizontal stabilizer, fluid dripping down the vertical stab, under both main wings and the pool under the right prop hub.
I was getting that annoying low pressure warning this Fall. During my 300 hr I had them check the sensors in the tail and they were working. Finally after early October the fluid was cold enough to not get the low pressure warning after the 2 minute mark. So I truly believe now how sensitive the sensors are to the fluid viscosity.
- Colin
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Re: TKS Preflight check
Thanks for the tip on the ANNUN TEST. I asked my mechanic why it never did anything when I tried it and he was unsure.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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- marioair
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Re: TKS Preflight check
another question on pre-flight TKS check
should you expect to see any fluid from the props?
i get drips from the RH engine spinner area but not the LH engine
(I know it'll only actually cover the leading edges when its spinning, but how do you know if the lines to the prop have been purged?
should you expect to see any fluid from the props?
i get drips from the RH engine spinner area but not the LH engine
(I know it'll only actually cover the leading edges when its spinning, but how do you know if the lines to the prop have been purged?
- Chris
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Re: TKS Preflight check
My DA42 drips TKS from both spinners during an on-ground check. IIRC my RH spinner usually starts dripping before the left.
- Boatguy
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Re: TKS Preflight check
I've read every TKS/De-Ice thread I can find on DAN and would like help clarifying two things:
1) Pre-flight
As I read them, the checklists call for running the de-ice system for every pre-flight. That seems a bit extreme. Is that actually what owners are doing? Or do you only run the de-ice system during pre-flight when you believe there is a chance of encountering icing conditions? In the hangar, tie-down, run-up?
2) Assuming that most people are not running the system at every pre-flight, the AFM recommends running the system once a month. Is that SOP? My hangar neighbor says running it on the ground makes a pretty big mess in his hangar. Do you run it in the air? Does that allow for check the panels?
Net, net, what is the best practice?
1) Pre-flight
As I read them, the checklists call for running the de-ice system for every pre-flight. That seems a bit extreme. Is that actually what owners are doing? Or do you only run the de-ice system during pre-flight when you believe there is a chance of encountering icing conditions? In the hangar, tie-down, run-up?
2) Assuming that most people are not running the system at every pre-flight, the AFM recommends running the system once a month. Is that SOP? My hangar neighbor says running it on the ground makes a pretty big mess in his hangar. Do you run it in the air? Does that allow for check the panels?
Net, net, what is the best practice?
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Re: TKS Preflight check
I have TKS on my G36. CAV Ice recommends running the system every 30-45 days. I do this for about 5 minutes each time, and almost always do it in-flight. It keeps the membranes in the panels wet. If they dry out, it's a very costly fix. If you run them on the ground, it will take a long time for the outer most parts if each panel to get wet and weep. If this is done on the ground in a warm climate, the TKS fluid will be so thin that it may never fully wet the outer most parts. I've done it on the ground 2 times, both in the winter, but I live in the Sierra Nevadas so it's cold here (in the winter, close to 100 degrees in the summer). I can see the fluid covering the wings when I run the system in flight. If I knew I was going to be flying into potential icing I would be more diligent about checking on the ground before the flight. But the important thing is to run the system for a few minutes every month or so. I do it on the outbound flight so that I don't have to deal with a lot of fluid on the hangar floor. But it does drip a little for a week after.
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