Engine pre-heating remote control - do it yourself

[flumag]

After moving to the colder Boston I updated my engine preheater from 200W oil sump to 50W per cylinder and 200W oil sump. A move that should help my engie to last a bit longer. Since I dont like to plugin the pre-heater the entire time. I scanned the market for some remote switches and control systems. I decide that all the systems where to pricy ($299 to over $1000) for the value that they providing. So I decided to build one myself with some preconfigured components. After a almost full winter season of prepesting I'm very satisfied and like to share it with you. The goal was to stay below $150.

I started with KT-G2 USA 4G GSM AUTO Relay Switch 12V Remote Control Box Wireless Gate Opener 4CH Output HOG Trap System(WiFi LAN+SMS+APP). Its a 4 channel remote switch that works via text, WiFi or remote control. I used one channel for the preheater and one for the Batteryminder. You can use one for the hangar light or the electrical hangar door (to impress others if you taxi close ;-)). 

Programming was simple and I did it via USB cable from a window PC. The switch is very reliable and I get text confirmation for each action of the switch including temperature and humidity warnings. The soldering of the two cables is simple and took less that 5 minutes. just cut and connect again. See pictures below. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JRDG2MM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

KMC 16AWG Power Outdoor Extension Cord with Night Light 2 Pack - 10 Feet (16/3 Orange)

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0775NX5YH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I liked the lighted cable that you have visual reverence what line is presently active. I used two separate plugs because my engine heating is on 220V (European history of the plane and flying back and forth between EU and US). You can feed both outlets with one plug.

SIM card

T-Mobile prepaid card. $3 charge per month (including 30 texts, afterwards $0.10 per text.

 

So the spent is $145 :

$135     KT-G2 USA 4G GSM

$9.99   Power Outdoor Extension Cord

The sim card has a setup fee of approx $15. With $50 spent you cover that and a full year of use. 

 

 

Optional components:

Battery 

I used a Samsung INR18650 ($7.99). Don't sue no name batteries! You will find plenty of options at Amazon. This battery provides you a backup if the power supply is unplugged. The switch reports you unplug or plug of the power supply or los of the 110V via text message. 

Temperature and Humidity sensor

I used the original sensor for $19.90. The system is prepared for that. You just need to plug in the sensor and configure it. e.g. heat below a given temperature or heat above a selected humidity

4 channel remote control 

You can remote control the switch if you are close to ist (some feet). I'm not using that option presently. 

Here the spec of the switch:

Description
4G Relay Switch works on the basis of 4G/3G network, so it requires a prepaid pay-as-you-go 4G SIM card from your cellular provider, No minutes are used as it doesn't actually answer the calls - it recognize caller ID and then reject your phone call to turn on the switch automatically.
Its working way as same as your home wall mount manual press lights switch, the only difference is we changed manual press working way to Cell Phone wireless remote control. So the range of this relay switch is truly unlimited, You can remote control your home appliances anytime anywhere in the world!IMG_2835 2.HEIC

Specification:
Working Voltage: DC 12-24V@1-2A
Material: ABS
Input Port: YES(for Temperature and Humidity sensor, optional)
Output: 4 channel relay, NO/NC,COM
Relay Contact: 10A 250VAC, 10A 30VDC
Power Consumption: Standby status:60mA@12V, Working status:100mA@12V
Memory: Relay memory after AC power outage
Control way: Phone Call/SMS/Timer control/Ralated working/Temperature and Humidity alarm
Working Humidity: >65%
Working Temperature: -25 - +55℃
Radio Frequency: 433.92MHZ (for wireless keyfob,optional)
Relay device dimension:7"(L) x 4.75"(W) x 2.25"(H)
Package Dimension:8.75"(L) x 6.5"(W) x 2.75"(H)
4G Module Bands: FDD-LTE:B2/ B4/ B12, 3G-WCDMA:B2/B4/B5 Compatible providers: USA: AT&T, T-Mobile

In the Box:
1 x 4CH 4G GSM Relay Switch
1 x USB to micro-USB cable
1 x Internal antenna
1 x External high gain antenna 118 inch
1 x 12V 1ADC power adapter
1 x U-disk manual and software 

[Austintatious]

subscribed

 

[FloridaMan]

Looks like it’s got an ESP8266 attached. Another alternative would be a raspberry pi, a relay board and a USB modem from hologram.io. You can buy their global SIM cards too; their service is a bit cheaper than tmobile and includes data if you want to take pictures inside your hangar, monitor temperature, moisture, etc. realistically the cost would be about the same as the previously described solution, but if you’re technical, it might add some value. 

[FlyBoyM20J]

I have my Tanis heater plugged into one of these great $15 WiFi sockets:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-HS100-Required-Google-Assistant/dp/B0178IC734/

I can switch it on and off using the free Kasa app on my phone.  Only trick is, need WiFi and internet in your hangar, and have that taken care of.  Easy enough using a 3G modem and a free data SIM card from Google Fi.

That said, I have read Mike Busch enough that I think I understand him to say it's best to avoid temperature cycling the engine.  So I just always leave it powered on.

I have a Raspberry PI with temperature sensors set up so that it measures both the ambient temp in the hangar and the temp of the air under the cowl (and under the cowl cover - makes a huge difference even in the hangar).  I can graph the data at any time.  It's neat to watch.  But mostly, I want to know that the Tanis is on and doing its thing before I plan a flight.

Just my thoughts.

[Steve W]

I just steal Internet from the FBO with a directional antenna to feed my Raspberry Pi temperature monitor(and switch if I ever feel the need)

 

[FloridaMan]

16 hours ago, FlyBoyM20J said:

I have my Tanis heater plugged into one of these great $15 WiFi sockets:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-HS100-Required-Google-Assistant/dp/B0178IC734/

I can switch it on and off using the free Kasa app on my phone.  Only trick is, need WiFi and internet in your hangar, and have that taken care of.  Easy enough using a 3G modem and a free data SIM card from Google Fi.

That said, I have read Mike Bush enough that I think I understand him to say it's best to avoid temperature cycling the engine.  So I just always leave it powered on.

I have a Raspberry PI with temperature sensors set up so that it measures both the ambient temp in the hangar and the temp of the air under the cowl (and under the cowl cover - makes a huge difference even in the hangar).  I can graph the data at any time.  It's neat to watch.  But mostly, I want to know that the Tanis is on and doing its thing before I plan a flight.

Just my thoughts.

Any tricks to keeping your hotspot online? Never considered Google Fi, but that might be a better solution as the bandwidth from Hologram kindof sucks. 

[FlyBoyM20J]

15 minutes ago, FloridaMan said:

Any tricks to keeping your hotspot online? Never considered Google Fi, but that might be a better solution as the bandwidth from Hologram kindof sucks. 

I just got the most popular 4G (not 3G as I wrote, my mistake) modem from Amazon.  This one:

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-LTE-Modem-Broadband-Connection/dp/B01N5ASNTE/

I already have Google Fi for my phone, and have a data-only SIM card from Fi that runs my 3G iPad for ForeFlight.  It's awesome.  And cheap.

So, I just requested another free data-only SIM card from Google for the 4G modem and it showed up pretty much overnight.  The config for Fi for the Netgear 4G modem is simple enough...about like configuring the iPad for it.  And bingo, was online and with very strong signal even inside the hangar with no external antenna on the modem.

I then added a spare WiFi access point that I had in a box somewhere and presto - my hangar now has WiFi that's internet-connected.  A test against fast.com showed something like 50 Mbps download speed.  This is higher than I have on my cable modem in my work apartment!

I can now have a WiFi camera in the hangar, leave my Raspberry Pi up measuring stuff like temperatures, those WiFi sockets for the Tanis heater, or whatever.  And it's great to have WiFi/Internet every time I get to the hangar with a laptop or have other people there.

Yes, all this hits my Google Fi data plan but it has been a matter of about $5/month for a year now.  I just don't stream my WiFi camera for long and definitely don't watch Youtube or Netflix from the hangar.