I have a couple of spots on the wings where the fluid takes ages to come through.
On one wing is it about 20cm and nothing comes out there. On the other wing it is about 60cm on which the fluid comes out below the leading edge centreline but not above it.
Normally these spots clear up after a few mins but today I ran it for more than half an hour – using up maybe £70 of fluid – and it still didn’t clear them.
I am wondering whether it is caused by airport personnel pushing the plane around, with greasy gloves, but that doesn’t happen where I am based; they seem to use just the tug.
What is the best way to clear this? I tried an avgas soaked rag while running the system (on the ground, obviously 
) but it didn’t shift it. Next, I might try making a suction adapter for a Bosch battery powered hoover
Like most of these, the battery lasts only a few minutes but it may work.
@Peter I think regular use is the solution. On the DA42 the system was tested pre take off, although not the windscreen as it unhelpfully resulted in goop reducing visibility. Would not want to use your DIY hoover solution.
The DA42 also had the characteristic of not quite removing ice from the outer panels, creating a nice ice ridge on the leading edge ahead of the ailerons, not ideal. IIRC there was a flap restriction when the wings were contaminated with ice, which in turn increased the LDR.
Wisdom from the Cirrus Pilots Forum (You’re welcome )
To unblock:
Take a clean terricloth towel like a face cloth (not a microfiber doesn’t hold the juice) and sloppy wet it in a small bucket of TKS fluid
Rub all the panels like you are applying hard wax. Slop then and rub in fluid this may refresh the membranes and is not a bad practice if you think you may actually encounter ice soon after TO.
Run the thing every month for 10-15 or all panels streaming…
To keep shiny:
There are products and processes for cleaning almost every part of your Cirrus, but very little has been shared on how to keep your ice panels looking shiny and new. An easy and inexpensive way to keep your ice panels looking like new is to use a fine Scotchbrite 3M 7447 pad with isopropyl alcohol and polish in a lengthwise/linear motion.
Thanks
I tried the “hard rubbing” (on the plane, I mean) but it didn’t do anything.
That’s why I think a “vacuum device” would unplug the holes. They are supposed to be tapered, after all, so any debris should just pop out.
Looking at where the blocked up areas are, it is pretty obvious that dirty/greasy gloves, used the push the plane around, is the culprit. Need some more stickers!
Running for 10-15 mins a month is probably a great idea but pretty expensive in fluid.
I must be lucky. I run my 15 year old TKS system every 30 days (in practice, often more like every 40-50 days) and it only takes 4-5 minutes for ALL panels to start oozing nicely. Then I switch off again. Never do any rubbing of the panels. Plus I don’t use the high price OEM TKS fluid, but use home-brewed fluid.
Peter wrote:
Looking at where the blocked up areas are, it is pretty obvious that dirty/greasy gloves, used the push the plane around, is the culprit. Need some more stickers!
If you are sure it’s greasy dirt, dissolving it might help indeed, but I would not recommend avgas – it’s too non-polar. I’d use a moderately polar solvent like isopropyl alcohol.
Peter wrote:
Running for 10-15 mins a month is probably a great idea but pretty expensive in fluid.
Only if you use the branded TKS fluid. Even if you decide to stick to the real McCoy in flight, you can certainly use plain ethylene glycol on the ground. For the composition of your fluid, check the MSDS.
Nearly all my panels start oozing perfectly within 10-20 seconds if the system has been recently used. In flight, after some weeks or months of non-use, it takes a few mins.
Except for the two patches… I will try IPA; thanks for the suggestion. But I still think that some sort of suction may help, if the IPA doesn’t dissolve whatever it is.
Peter; your TKS was retro fitted, but I notice from your report that it was done very very meticulously indeed. However, is there a pointer here as to what might have caused the problem ? Your after installation tests show it working 100%.
The dirty glove syndrome seems favourite to me.
Is there a cheap, but safe, flushing fluid that can be run with impunity (on the ground) through the system? Fill the tank.
Not sure that using a fluid internally would make much of a difference. If whatever clogs the panel can be dissolved by that fluid, applying that fluid from the outside should do the trick – I would make sure it is compatible with the internal materials, obviously
If it needs to be pressed through the holes, then a pressure differential between the inside and outside is required. Given there are lots of other holes offering less resistance, there won’t be much pressure regardless of fluid used.
Perhaps a small version of this
would do the trick?
Would have to be a small version, there are tiny ones for card tricks which may be a bit too small.
Differential pressure – indeed the existing fluid will tend to take the easy route through the good section (sounds like say 95% of it). Could one hold (stretch) by hand (or tape) a plastic sheet over a high percentage of the good area to encourage the flow (pressure) to the effective area. Clearly one does not want to be experimenting and trying fixes willy-nilly (meaning without due consideration), but things are worth considering. Another thought is to apply low air pressure (whatever is appropriate and safe) at the tank end – guess after the pump. A feed of air pressure would avoid the mess of fluid / cleaning solution) all over the place. What is the safe working pressure of these systems ?
