Exhaust wrap?

Hi all,

Do any of y'all have any long term experience with wrapping the exhaust pipes to help keep the temperatures down in side the cowl, reduce heat transfer to wires, hoses, oil, other engine components? I've heard that the increased temperature of the pipes causes them to deteriorate faster than non-wrapped pipes. Others say not so - the deterioration is caused by moisture trapped under the wrap. What is your personal long term experience?

Thanks!
Hofacker

Can't see cracks.....

I've had it on cars before (hot headers next to the starter cause problems) and I don't think they rusted any faster one way or the other. Personally, I preferred cast iron headers on my street cars (if available) just because of the rusting problem with tube headers, but stainless and ceramic coated headers are commonly available now. For an aircraft application I would just make the exhaust out of stainless & wrap it.

I'm currently wrapped on my Tango, but I'll probably go to a ceramic coating when the wrap fails.

I have been using the wrap on my stainless exhaust system for years with good results. Just be sure NOT to use it on mild steel exhaust systems, and when you do install it, be sure to paint it with high temperature paint to help seal it against oil leaks and to help it last longer.

is there damage being done to your cowls? Is the engine running hotter then you would like?

Insulating the exhaust manifold will keep the steel at a higher temperature. If the steel is not designed for high temp, than it will not hold up. I have seen photos of car manifolds that were wrapped, and the steel was in bad shape.Think about using a stainless steel alloy.

I have a smoke system on my Aircamper, and I wrapped the exhaust to increase the temperature for better smoke. The pipes are outside the cowling, therefore, also reasoning better exhaust scavanging.

I'm on the side of avoid it unless you have something driving the need, then consider dedicated sheet metal heat shields before wrap. It's a band-aid, and not a designed-in solution. As others pointed out, if you are wrapping tube material that isn't intended for the resulting higher temperatures, you will just be damaging the exhaust system in this attempt to "save" something else. Another down side is it's metal-impregnated fiberglass (at least the stuff that I ran across) - meaning HEAVY. Airplanes and adding weight don't go together well. If you see some at the auto parts store, pick up the package and see how much weight they cram into that little roll of product. Then ask how much you need that weight under the cowl.