Originally Posted by
riff_raff
While I can appreciate the common practice of flushing RR 250 turboshaft engines operated in a marine environment with distilled water on a regular basis to comply with OEM warranty requirements, I don't see how it really reduces surface corrosion of compressor blades. Even after the compressor blades are washed with distilled water, in a marine environment they will still be exposed to more salt air unless the engine volume is purged and sealed.
A more serious problem presented by introducing water into the internal space of a shut-down turbine engine is migration of water past the seals and into the engine's lube system, where it will cause corrosion of bearings, shafts surfaces, etc. The labyrinth seals used in most turbine engines quit working when the flow of bleed air stops.
Can we use WD40 to rinse the C250B on the Bell 206? the idea is to spray the WD40 on the same procedure as to rinse the compressor, but without starting the engine, then storing the helicopter and making the normal procedure of compressor wash with water and ardrox and then starting the engine before the flight.