Preheating on the go

[sufferingcadet]

I'm getting a preheater so I can try to fly during the brutal winter in upstate NY.  What do I do for preheating once I arrive at my destination?  Do FBOs usually have preheating? Do they charge for it?  Is there such thing as a portable battery powered preheater that you can carry with you?

[Hank]

Your best bet will be an oil sump preheater and 100' extension cord. Electricity is sometimes available overnight, or for an hour or so just before departure. Tanis and Reiff are popular brands, I'm sure there are others

For the ultimate in convenience, see the Vendor forums, there are two companies selling cell-controlled switches you can plug your engine heater into; I use a Switch Box from Phillip.

[carusoam]

For portability without electricity in the field...

Search for Red Dragon Preheater...

Include small bottle of propane and 12 volts in your thought process...

An ordinary 12V source to jump start a car would be a handy idea

Flame Engineering is the company..

This is what I was saving for while I had my C.

Many FBOs have one these on a cart with 12V batteries and gas grill sized propane tanks...

For ultimate frozen tundra style pre-heat...see Jose's (Piloto) photos from Greenland...

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

I'm getting a preheater so I can try to fly during the brutal winter in upstate NY. What do I do for preheating once I arrive at my destination? Do FBOs usually have preheating? Do they charge for it? Is there such thing as a portable battery powered preheater that you can carry with you?

When I lived in upstate NY, what FBOs would do varied. All charged for warm hangar access and some charged for power access or to do a pre-heat on the ramp.

My suggestion is to look at an installed electrical pre-heater like a Tanis or Reiff system and purchase a portable generator like a Honda EU-2000i. It is not very practical to carry around a portable propane pre-heater.

[Marauder]

And get a nice insulated cowl cover.

[sufferingcadet]

I'm liking the red dragon preheater.  Is flying around with a propane tank in a seat ok, or is it like flying with a bomb on board?

[sufferingcadet]

The Honda EU-2000i idea looks good too.  I guess the question is safety of carrying a propane tank in flight vs a 5 gallon gas can.

[Marauder]

The Honda EU-2000i idea looks good too. I guess the question is safety of carrying a propane tank in flight vs a 5 gallon gas can.

The generator will run up to 9 hours on the load you would be running. And it will do that on 1 gallon of gas.

[Guest]

The generator will run up to 9 hours on the load you would be running. And it will do that on 1 gallon of gas.

Will it run on 100LL?

Clarence

[takair]

I had been using a homemade propane powered unit for a while. Worked well with a camping size bottle, but I never really dared to leave it unattended. Recently I bought a Harbour Freight Tools $99 generator to power my sump heater. Very small and portable. I live 5 minutes from the airport so I can set it up and leave for a few hours. It Is small enough that I can take it with me. So far it is the best compromise in preheating that I have come across.

[John Pleisse]

Cruiser should chime in here. He was recently charged $35 to plug his preheater cord in at a well-known national FBO. He was livid.

[John Pleisse]

I like the generator idea, but even Reiff's highest wattage heater will take a good two hour run (I am not a fan of contact electrical heaters that use that much power). Tanis...6 hours.

[carusoam]

Starting a cold generator that uses 100LL...

Think preheater for your preheater.

My lawn tractor (aka tug) uses a propane torch when the engineering side of my brain overcomes the safety/finance side of my brain...

My tug has an intake pipe after the carb similar to an O360. I have learned soooo much on MS....

Heating just the intake pipe doesn't help get the oil flowing... (Bad financial decision)

Reasoning: auto gas evaporates at lower temps better than 100LL for the same reason 100LL doesn't knock/ping under high engine loads (roughly typing)

[yvesg]

This is my setup. I can carry this with me wherever I go. Never had issues with the propane tank. If I would start over with something new I would do the same except now they have similar heaters with integrated batteries. I like the 35000 BTUs it provides. It is also very useful to unfreeze fuel caps stuck in ice, static port plugged with ice... thick ice on the frame or wings... try to do this with a Tanis heater!

I often fly around when the OAT is -25 C, very few others can do the same. My record is -30 C many years ago. With my setup, 30 minutes preheat is usually enough to get me going.

And I forgot to say... my Mooney Caravan handle is Olaf!!! (From the frozen movie)

Yves

[Cruiser]

Outside temperature was 19°F with a steady wind blowing. 

A commercial grade propane powered pre-heater warmed the cowling and external engine compartment to 100°F after 20 minutes but on start-up the engine oil was only 45°F.

 

I am not a big fan of hot air pre-heaters, they just can't penetrate the engine internals and normalize the temperature in the short time they are used, but it is better than nothing.

[Marauder]

Will it run on 100LL?

Clarence

I wish. It will run on regular unleaded with an octane rating of 86 or higher and with less than 10% methanol.

Not sure what issues LL would cause and a $1000, I have never been to try it.

[Marauder]

I like the generator idea, but even Reiff's highest wattage heater will take a good two hour run (I am not a fan of contact electrical heaters that use that much power). Tanis...6 hours.

I have the Reiff Turbo XP but you need a good cowl cover to retain the heat. For security, I keep the generator cabled to the nose wheel. I have a non tip ceramic heater as well that I will run inside the cockpit but only when I am there watching it.

[M20F]

Reiff System + Cowel blanket for me, never had an issue finding a place to plug in while traveling. A lot easier to put on a cover and plug in than mess around with forced air heaters.

[Cruiser]

Reiff System + Cowel blanket for me, never had an issue finding a place to plug in while traveling. A lot easier to put on a cover and plug in than mess around with forced air heaters.

 

me too, but when you come back after 3 hours to find the engine ice cold because there was no power in the outlet, I am not very smart.

[kmyfm20s]

Costco had some brand of generator that was powered by Honda is was around $500 and 2000W. Is was around 30 lbs as I remember. My Yamaha generator does just fine on 100LL. Being 85 in San Diego this week I'm looking for an engine cooling unit:)

[aaronk25]

Rieff turbo 600w is the largest preheater avail but even at that it's 1-2 hours to get to 40s from zero f. Wonder if the generators warm cooling air and exhaust were ducted up the cowl flap. See pic. If that would help. The generators exhaust is pretty clean but there is some moisture from condensation, but if your gonna fly the plane that will evaporate off. Maybe with both options 30 min preheat??? it's on eBay....

[M20F]

me too, but when you come back after 3 hours to find the engine ice cold because there was no power in the outlet, I am not very smart.

Get an extension cord that has the little light in the plug so you can see you have power coming.

[Seth]

http://aerothermheaters.com/

 

This is a system I also researched when looking at solutions for my former Mooney - I have a Tannis system installed on my airplane that I plug in so I no longer needed a portable solution - the Tannis and Reiff systems are great.

 

The link above is for Aerotherm Heataters.  they hang below the prop, you plug the cowl with two hoses (one forcing air in and one sucking the air out, and it keeps warm air blowing around the engine compartment.  It works on many aircraft and is portable.  It does need electrical power to run - either a long extension cord or a portable generator.  The high end versions take less time to warm, thus, your automobile may be able to serve as the portable generator (if you have the correct plug installed).  

 

Very cool.

 

-Seth

[BorealOne]

I fly routinely in -30C temperatures this time of year in remote areas of the Canadian North.

 

My kit is accordingly pretty extreme - full covers, an Aerotherm, a Tanis and a 100' extension cord. Most of the remote fields that I fly to have 120V receptacles near the tie downs, but occasionally you have to dig them out of the snow. My extension cord has a lighted indicator that tells me whether or not the power is on at the receptacle, which is an important consideration. Ask me how I know...

 

I find the combination of Tanis, cowl, spinner and prop covers is sufficient to guarantee an easy start, so I run the Aerotherm inside the plane to blow warm air (it's thermostat controlled) under the instrument panel so the gyros don't complain and the LCD screens don't ghost in the cold. 

 

Funny enough, while remote strips in little villages have ample 120v receptacles, YZF (Yellowknife) only has them at the FBO, which will charge $50 night for the privilege of plugging in. So, I also keep a Honda EU2000i generator handy. It puts out 2000 watts and can easily run both the Tanis and the Aerotherm for 7-8 hours. Just fire it up the night before and you're good to go in the morning. It's much smaller and lighter than a propane rig.

[jlunseth]

Flying in the midwest, I have never been charged to plug in and don't feel the need to carry a generator.  I do carry a 100' extension cord.  I also call before I go to make sure there will be electricity.  Most of the small rural airports will have an exterior socket somewhere on the building, it is a matter of where it is and whether the authority that runs the airport minds if you use it.  I have never had a problem with that, they are used to people needing to plug cars in.

 

It does take a couple of hours for the engine to warm.  I can typically coax it into starting at an oil temp of as low as 20F, but after that the chances are slim, and I really don't like to have to do the coaxing either, I would just as soon the engine had gotten preheated.