UPDATE ON CHT - disturbing!
So I flew to NSW over the weekend and closely watched by CHT on climbing out. It is the single CHT digital reader type (plus EGT). On departing Essendon last Wednesday (surface temp around early 30's), I climbed out to 3,000' initially. My CHT got to 417f. Even keeping airspeed at around 95 knots I could not keep it under this. Similar conditions continued until I leveled off at 7,500' ultimately.
On return home yesterday, in very hot conditions, I tried to climb out again at varying speeds but predominantly at 85 - 90 knots. This time I could not keep the CHT from getting up to 430f. On my second leg, climbing out it got to 417f at about 3,000' so I tried leveling off for a minute or so and the CHT dropped to 405f. When I resumed climbing it stayed pretty close to that, only going to 407f. I also climbed with slightly less than full power this time and my climb rate seemed unchanged.
Full rich for most of the climb. Leaned a little as I got above 5,000' (closer to 7+ density).
Fixed pitch 0-360 engine for clarification.
So now I'm totally bewildered. Should I level off for a minute or two when climbing to cool then engine and then resume my climb? Should I use less than full power except for initial climb out? Any advice on how to manage this so I don't stuff my engine or myself is much appreciated.