Stop testing pitot heat by just touching the tube, you're gonna cook a $4k probe someday

Tessa Foster · 2026-10-09T04:50:03.458554+00:00

I've watched three guys in my hangar do the old palm test on a pitot tube and call it good. That tells you almost nothing. The probe can heat up on the ground and still fail in flight when airflow pulls the heat away. The right check is a current draw reading against the manual spec, usually something like 6 to 9 amps depending on the probe, and a look at how fast it warms up with an infrared gun. Last spring a guy brought in a 172 out of Fort Collins and swore his heat worked because it felt warm. Draw was 2 amps. Element was half dead. If you're not clamping an ammeter on it, you're guessing. What's your go to method for checking pitot heat without pulling the whole mast?

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Stop testing pitot heat by just touching the tube, you're gonna cook a $4k probe someday | Avionics Technicians - Free To Speak