Received a wide band air/fuel oxygen sensor kit from Better Parts Solution (BPSX), www.betterpartx.com, to try out for mixture monitoring. Talked to a Sonex builder that has an air/fuel instrument installed and he was very positive about its usefullness. Should help optimize fuel economy. The kit has a small bare PC board display that will need a clever idea for mounting. Image one shows the parts powered up. The display reads 19.0, its upper limit, in 100% air and no fuel. The ideal mixture should be about 14.7:1 which can be adjusted with the mixture control. The down side of this is that the sensor won't tolerate leaded fuel for long. It may need to be replaced about every 80-100 hours running 100LL. Sensors run about $50. My engine is setup to run auto gas, so I shouldn't have a problem if running premium pump gas. Recent info suggests Shell may have a lead-free replacement for 100LL on the market in 2-3 years with license agreements for other fuel manufacturers to produce it. Encouraging news.
Drilled a 5/8" hole in the left exhaust extension tube because it is the cheapest to replace if the instrument proves a waste of time. Took the kit included 18m1.25 "bung" nut to a local shop to have it welded to the pipe. Painted the nut/weld area with high temp exhaust paint.
Bought an automatic reset fuse for the panel 12 volt outlet and installed in the in-line fuse holder.
