Cold oil - pressure
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Hi,
My piston-Duke has been stuck at Courchevel for weeks, awaiting a co-pilot that will join me from there. In the meantime, I sometimes fire it up to make sure it's okay (and just to listen to the music of the engines). This morning I fired it up at -10 C, and while it needed some persuasion to start, it finally did. I deliberately didn't warm it up with the heater, nor did I pre-oil it.
What I've learned about engines (perhaps more applicable to older radial engines?) is this:
Oil pressure when starting a very cold engine should be rather, high, when the oil is thick and sluggish. And to avoid oil pushing past seals and/or bursting lines, it's good to keep RPM low to keep pressure as low as possible. This is an interesting balancing act between the engine stalling from being at low RPM when cold and not yet running perfectly, and too high RPM when the pressures are too high.Is this not applicable in the piston Duke?