I didn't expect to see an RPM drop necessarily (because of the CSU), but regardless of that ongoing debate my point was that I don't notice any change in performance and since attitude + power = performance I was wondering about the drop in power. As a practical solution I tend to use the carb heat quite liberally and leave it on for at least 20 seconds, to detect an increase in peformance when it is returned to cold.
More generally, given the high susceptability of a 182 to generate carb ice I am basically wondering about the merits or not of using it even more/more often. If there is no appreciable power drop why not use it, for example, constantly when in cloud (a time when carb ice is both more likely and more dangerous)? Is the lack of filtering a real concern here?