Jump to content

Oil Dipstick Heater


rangermb

Recommended Posts

I read somewhere they are not good to use.   Oil gets warm but cooks a little, and the engine stays cold.  The real purpose of preheat Is to warm the crank and case so the bearing clearances don't get too tight.  


 


IIRC lyciming does not recommend them either.  


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Automobile oil dip stick heaters are very popular in Canada. You see a lot of cars at night at the motels plug in. Besides their simplicity of use warming up the oil directly is more effective than blowing hot air from the outside. Before start you want to make sure the oil is ready to lubricate to avoid bearings wear. Also when you heat from inside the heat is better confined to the engine moving parts (cranckshaft, connecting rod and pistons) than to just cylinder heads when hot air is applied externally.


 


José

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As jetdriven has said, these oil dipstick heaters are a definite no-no for aircraft engine preheating. The tolerances in aircraft cylinders are much less than in a car because of the differential metals used, so the goal of engine preheating is not only to warm the oil but also to increase those tolerances back to normal levels and avoid damaging cylinders during a cold start. The oil dipstick method only heats the oil, so you're only solving half the problem (and with modern multi-viscosity oils, not even the most important half).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote: Jeff_S

As jetdriven has said, these oil dipstick heaters are a definite no-no for aircraft engine preheating. The tolerances in aircraft cylinders are much less than in a car because of the differential metals used, so the goal of engine preheating is not only to warm the oil but also to increase those tolerances back to normal levels and avoid damaging cylinders during a cold start. The oil dipstick method only heats the oil, so you're only solving half the problem (and with modern multi-viscosity oils, not even the most important half).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From Lycoming SI1505:


 


The use of a heated dipstick is not approved because heat is not distributed throughout the engine, and concentrated heat may damage non-metal engine parts. Proper pre-heat requires a thorough decongealing of all oil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.