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dwight(at)openweave.org
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 Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: Gretz GA-1000 Pitot Experience? |
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I've not heard much talk about the new Gretz GA-1000 pitot (and the
archives show only three hits for it, one the new product announcement
from Warren about it). Has anyone installed it yet? Has anyone flown
one yet? How about in conditions where the pitot was needed? I like
what I see on the website ... but if someone could give me some real
world feedback I'd appreciate it before I plunk down my money. I've
already spent more on pitots than I would ever want to (it is a long
story .. so you don't want to ask).
-- Dwight
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Tim(at)MyRV10.com
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:52 am Post subject: Gretz GA-1000 Pitot Experience? |
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I've got one installed and flying. It seems to work fine.
The thermostatic control works as advertised. Somewhere in
my pitot static system I have something causing an airspeed
error of -1 to -2 kts, but that's pretty minimal. I had
lots more until I got new static ports installed.
The pitot tube isn't shiny and pretty, but it isn't awful
either. The grey makes it not all that visible in the big
scheme of things.
The one thing I can't give any help on is how it performs
in ice, to melt ice. I know the thermostatic thing works,
but it only gets to around 100 degrees or whatever. A
normal pitot goes up to something near 400 degrees from
what I understand. I would think that at 400 degrees,
the other ones might outperform it a lot in getting RID
of ice, but the idea in IMC is to turn it on to prevent
ice. I would think that at 100 degrees, it still should
do that job adequately, but it would be interesting to see
the testing. It is nice to be able to turn the pitot switch
on though and not worry about what happens if you leave
it on. The thermostatic control will keep it warm but
not hot, and it won't draw much power unless it's
heating....so the theory is nice.
Tim Olson - RV-10 N104CD - Flying 145 hours
do not archive
Dwight Frye wrote:
| Quote: |
I've not heard much talk about the new Gretz GA-1000 pitot (and the
archives show only three hits for it, one the new product announcement
from Warren about it). Has anyone installed it yet? Has anyone flown
one yet? How about in conditions where the pitot was needed? I like
what I see on the website ... but if someone could give me some real
world feedback I'd appreciate it before I plunk down my money. I've
already spent more on pitots than I would ever want to (it is a long
story .. so you don't want to ask).
-- Dwight
|
| | - The Matronics RV-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV-List |
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retasker(at)optonline.net
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:38 pm Post subject: Gretz GA-1000 Pitot Experience? |
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The ability to melt ice is not related to the temperature the pitot
stabilizes at, it is related to the maximum energy (current draw) the
pitot tube can consume.
The certified pitot tube gets so hot because it is just a big heater
with no thermostatic control - it gets hotter and hotter until the
radiated heat (which increases with temperature) just balances the power
into the pitot.
With the Gretz tube, he has it thermostatically controlled so as soon as
it heats to about 100 degrees it "throttles back" on the current draw to
just keep it at 100 degrees. If the ambient temperature was lower it
would still regulate to 100 degrees, but it would draw more current to
keep it there. If you spray ice water at it, it will draw still more
current to keep it at 100 degrees. The limit occurs when it has the
internal heater full on 100% of the time. The only way to really
compare to a standard pitot would be to measure the current draw when
the Gretz pitot is first turned on and hasn't had a chance to heat up at
all. That current is probably the maximum it can ever draw and will
give you the maximum power capability (current x voltage) which can then
be compared to a standard pitot current draw.
The real beauty of the Gretz pitot is that it only draws the amount of
current you need to keep the pitot warm, unlike the standard pitot that
draws maximum current all the time.
Dick Tasker
Tim Olson wrote:
| Quote: |
I've got one installed and flying. It seems to work fine.
The thermostatic control works as advertised. Somewhere in
my pitot static system I have something causing an airspeed
error of -1 to -2 kts, but that's pretty minimal. I had
lots more until I got new static ports installed.
The pitot tube isn't shiny and pretty, but it isn't awful
either. The grey makes it not all that visible in the big
scheme of things.
The one thing I can't give any help on is how it performs
in ice, to melt ice. I know the thermostatic thing works,
but it only gets to around 100 degrees or whatever. A
normal pitot goes up to something near 400 degrees from
what I understand. I would think that at 400 degrees,
the other ones might outperform it a lot in getting RID
of ice, but the idea in IMC is to turn it on to prevent
ice. I would think that at 100 degrees, it still should
do that job adequately, but it would be interesting to see
the testing. It is nice to be able to turn the pitot switch
on though and not worry about what happens if you leave
it on. The thermostatic control will keep it warm but
not hot, and it won't draw much power unless it's
heating....so the theory is nice.
Tim Olson - RV-10 N104CD - Flying 145 hours
do not archive
Dwight Frye wrote:
>
>
> I've not heard much talk about the new Gretz GA-1000 pitot (and the
> archives show only three hits for it, one the new product announcement
> from Warren about it). Has anyone installed it yet? Has anyone flown
> one yet? How about in conditions where the pitot was needed? I like
> what I see on the website ... but if someone could give me some real
> world feedback I'd appreciate it before I plunk down my money. I've
> already spent more on pitots than I would ever want to (it is a long
> story .. so you don't want to ask).
>
> -- Dwight
>
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