I wasn't sure whether Phiggs was being ironic or not! Indeed there is a vast body of literature on vapour lock in aero engines and those of us flying on mogas in hot climates are well advised to be conversant with it.
As far as carb heat goes, I pretty much subscribe to the BPF philosophy, modified for the dusty Australian situations as described by Tankengine. One of the problems we have in much of Australia is getting people to believe that carb ice is possible in what often look like benign conditions. I've noticed that CASA have had a number of campaigns on the topic and one of their more useful charts (which I'm sure has equivalents in other countries) is:
http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_asset...cing_chart.pdf
It's well worth staring at and explains, for example, why partial application of carb heat is usually a bad idea: it's quite possible to push the temperature UP into a severe icing regime.
Having said that, I think we're all agreed that a working knowledge of the fuel/air induction system in your aircraft is a good thing. While all my carb ice problems have been fairly easily resolved, juggling the mixture and carb heat did once get me out of a wasp-induced induction block.
On a slightly different note, I was surprised to see Vilters' insistence of a fully stabilized approach and decision height of 200' in an SEP. All I can say is that, with the tubulence and crosswinds we often get in these parts (and lots of other places), we might never land on that basis. And, of course, there's always the possibility of livestock intrusion or other runway incursion. It's certainly a good idea to go around early if you know you have to do so but it's a dangerous mindset to assume you're prematurely "committed" in an SEP.
Finally, I smiled when looking at the source of this carb heat "trick" discussion. Step Turn, isn't this "trick" the sort of non-POH procedure you've been deprecating in other contexts?