[Bulk] Heat treating aluminum header?

[Karl G. Mueller]

Jon,

The problem with the aluminum being heated and cooled every time
you run the engine acts like an artificial aging (hardening). In time the 
material will get very brittle and therefore break very easy. Here is a little
trick you can try that I know works: If you have a self cleaning electric oven
at home, put the header in the oven run the cleaning cycle. Do that at night
before you go to bed and the next morning you header will be annealed.
It has to cool of slowly.This is the opposite process of hardening. This makes
the aluminum more flexible and less prone to breakage.

Karl G. Mueller
kgamueller at rogers.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JonLowe at aol.com 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 8:39 PM
  Subject: [Bulk] Heat treating aluminum header?


  After many many flights, I had an aluminum header break for my OS 1.60.  I had it welded up by a very good welder, but the header broke again after one flight in an area removed from the weld, but close enough that it would have gotten pretty hot.  I suspect that the heat treat of the header got changed.  Any ideas on how to try to heat treat a second pipe that has benn welded to try to at least get more than one flight?  I've odered a new header, but it is not here yet.

  Thanks

  Jon Lowe
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