engine heater for the winter

[DaveB]

engine heater for the winter

[Marauder]

7 minutes ago, DaveB said:

engine heater for the winter

Reiff Turbo XP. 

[Marauder]

8 minutes ago, DaveB said:

engine heater for the winter

Tanis.

[Marauder]

8 minutes ago, DaveB said:

engine heater for the winter

Portable propane heater with home made ducting.

[Marauder]

I prefer the Reiff Turbo XP because it can heat up the engine fairly quickly. I carry along one of those small portable generators that the Cheap Bast%$ds on the site found at Home Depot. Weighs about 25 pounds and can easily be taken with me.

This gizmo ($149 on sale and is an inverter type):

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by Marauder

[kmyfm20s]

I also have the Reiff Turbo XP. Heats up the engine quicker than I expected. 

[Oldguy]

Reiff. Had it on two planes now and love it.

[carusoam]

Choices...

1) do you have electricity?

2) are you in hangar?

3) propane is great for being on the road or outside...

4) cellular remotes are good for at home in a hangar...

5) small generators open up a lot of flexibility on the road...

6) heating the oil sump is usually good enough to get fuel to evaporate and prep the oil to flow...

7) warming carbs and intake tubes is right to the point for minimum heating requirements...

8) fuel pretty much evaporates really slowly above 20°F...  below this heating is pretty much a requirement...

9) heating the entire engine is good for its long term health... add cylinder heat  bands...

10) heating the minimum amount is good enough to get started, but not so good long term...

11) See piloto’s pic for preheating around Gander... newfoundland or Greenland?

12) avoid preheating for days... this has a tendency to have moisture condensate inside colder parts of the engine...

Really cold... heating the battery may help... heating the interior is good... getting instruments up to temp is also a good idea...

Congrats to the OP for launching a wicked open ended thread! 

PP thoughts only not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[Guest]

A nice warm hangar fits the bill nicely.  In absence of that a Rieff or Tanis system and an engine blanket.

Clarence

[BDPetersen]

If time is on your side, a wrapped cowl ( high priced cover or a cheap sleeping bag) along with a heat source ( as simple as a light bulb, certainly a pad heater on the sump) will bring the engine compartment up to a cozy, uniform temp. The goal, in my mind, is to deliver heat to the heart of the engine, namely the crankshaft resting in its bearings. The quick heat from the propane blasters may get the outside of the engine hot before the core gets happy.

That’s if you have time to do your cooking low and slow. It can be as simple as an incandescent light bulb (if you can find one), a sleeping bag, and a timer.

[hypertech]

Also have the Reiff Turbo XP.  Works great.

[Steve W]

I've had the Tanis removed on my plane as part of my JPI upgrade since it's easier to use the thermowells for all the probes instead of the potentially fragile spark plug thermocouples or the nested heater and thermocouple things. I'm adding a Reiff back in, but not one of the fancy turbo XL ones, just the standard one using the original Tanis oil sump pad. Of course, it's not like it actually gets cold here.

[Jim Peace]

I bought the 7FL6 system. 

Have not used it in the winter yet but looks promising. 

 

 

[toto]

After many years of dealing with oil pan heaters, I bought one of these last year and was surprised by how well it works. 

https://www.aircraftheaters.com

[Hank]

Tanis and a cell switch. The cell switch is da bomb! I'd call the night before a breakfast run, my engine was the warmest part of the whole hangar. Even at 8° F.

[Cyril Gibb]

1 hour ago, BDPetersen said:

If time is on your side, a wrapped cowl ( high priced cover or a cheap sleeping bag) along with a heat source ( as simple as a light bulb, certainly a pad heater on the sump) will bring the engine compartment up to a cozy, uniform temp. The goal, in my mind, is to deliver heat to the heart of the engine, namely the crankshaft resting in its bearings. The quick heat from the propane blasters may get the outside of the engine hot before the core gets happy.

That’s if you have time to do your cooking low and slow. It can be as simple as an incandescent light bulb (if you can find one), a sleeping bag, and a timer.

Agree on all the points.  I always wondered about an incandescent bulb burning out unexpectedly so I now use a 60w terrarium heater in a trouble light housing.

[larryb]

I have a Reiff XL. 100 watts per cylinder and 100 on the sump for 700 watts total. With this and a blanket over the cowl I get about 80 degree rise. Roughly 1 degree F for every 10 watts. So figure out how cold it gets and how warm you want your engine and go from there.

Based on my result I really don’t see how one can get a reasonable rise on the whole engine with just a trouble light or even a 100 watt sump heater.

[StevenL757]

5 hours ago, Marauder said:

Reiff Turbo XP. 

Agree.  Add the oil cooler option for the most complete heating experience.  Second airplane on which I’ve had one installed.  Had the “other brand” on my first one, and switched to Reiff.  Their customer support is first class.

[Ragsf15e]

$30 electric space heater, dryer ducting, heat tape.  Shove ducting in cowl flap.  Cowl plugs, blankets on the cowl.  I like to put it on low the night prior to heat the whole engine to ~75.  2 hours prior works ok to get 50.  All that in very cold Spokane Wa.

Has anyone figured out a reliable and CB cell switch because that’s my biggest complaint?

Edited October 24, 2018 by Ragsf15e

[larryb]

Plenty of cheap cell switches on eBay and amazon. I bought one from reiff that was worked well. But you need to know that 2g is on the way out. I think only Tmobile supports it today. The original cell switches are all 2g devices.

[Hank]

1 minute ago, larryb said:

Plenty of cheap cell switches on eBay and amazon. I bought one from reiff that was worked well. But you need to know that 2g is on the way out. I think only Tmobile supports it today. The original cell switches are all 2g devices.

Truth, my old switch is gone. Anybidy making 4G cell switches???

[larryb]

Truth, my old switch is gone. Anybidy making 4G cell switches???

All you need is 3g

[Hank]

21 minutes ago, larryb said:

 

All you need is 3g
 

 

All I used to need was 2G. Looking for longer useful life for the next one.

[Andy95W]

7 hours ago, DaveB said:

engine heater for the winter

Is that a question? A statement?  A half formed thought?  Couldn’t think of what to say so you just cut and pasted the title of your thread?  And then couldn’t be bothered to check back in to all the responses?

[Andy95W]

7 hours ago, DaveB said:

engine heater for the winter

Yes.