Pre-heaters???

J

jworth94

New member
Just curious what the membership thought about pre-heaters. Do you use them? If so, at what temps? Is there a brand that works better for our planes? Tanis, Reiff?

Jon
 
I highly recommend the Reiff, I normally see a CHT rise of 50F above ambient with cowl plugs and 60+F with a sleeping bag over the top cowl, EGT is 30-40F above ambient.

Tom-
 
Hi Jon, I've used the Tanis heater on 3 of my planes and have installed a dozen or so they work great, Haven't had any experience with the Reiff system but it looks like it would be good also. At a quick glance looks like the Reiff system maybe a little less money and maybe a bit more work to install. Yes preheat is well worth the money, I also have a small electric heater with ducting that blows warm air under the cowl and these work but they don't heat the cylinders like the Tannis or Reiff will, also have a Red Drangon which is great if you don't have 110 VAC available but it requires a LP gas cylinder of some type and 12 VDC if the aircraft has electric system then its not a problem.
 
Kahlanikid, Tom and MnFlyer,

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Here's another question... Do you keep the preheat on all the time when temps are cold? Do you use a thermocube? Another method?

Thanks for the input.

Jon
 
Hi Jon, I now of some guys that plug their heat in in Nov and leave it till Mar, I don't but I lucky in that its only about 150 yards from the house to the hangar so I just walk down there and plug iy in an hour or so before I want to go fly. Sometimes think about just plugging it in and leaving it but I don't want to spend the money on the electricity which in our area would only run about $15.00 / month.
 
Jon:

I have the E-Z Heat oil pan heater that was very easy to install and use it any time the temperature drops below 40 degrees. My plan is to upgrade to include the Reiff cylinder heat system soon. I usually plug the heater in about 5-6 hours before I fly. I don't have any personal knowledge but have red that leaving the plane plugged in all the time is a bad idea due to rust.

Joe.
 
I don't think I'll keep in plugged in, although it's tempting. I live about 35 minutes from the airport which will force me to come up with a solution for the pre-heating time. Any ideas??

Based on what others have said and due to a potential cost savings, it looks as though I'll go with a Reiff system. I'm still mulling it over though.

I appreciate the comments and ideas from everyone.

Jon
 
FYI-

I leave my Reiff plugged in all winter, the general consenus from reading the Tanis and Reiff websites is that the concern about leaving it plugged in full time was when only using a sump heater the warm air then condensed in the colder engine and caused rust but that full time preheating is OK when using an entire engine pre-heater system. I open my dipstick and allow any warm air to escape.

I'll know the results when I reach OH, or earlier if I was truly wrong.

Tom-
 
Hi I agree with Tom, that leaving a Tanis or Reiff compete heat system on all the time isn't going to cause any more rust than leaving the engine set all winter, I to have researched this and there is some very good information about this on their web sites.
If my hangar wasn't just a short walk away I'd leave mine on all the time also.
 
I've heard both sides of the 'always on' argument. I guess I still haven't decided what to do.

In researching this topic I did find a device whereby you could activate a heater via a pager. Anyone have any experience with those products??? One would incur the additional expense of that unit, as well as the monthly pager fee, but it would be handy nonetheless.
 
since I only fly on the weekend I have my heater on a timer set to turn on at 2 AM Saturday morning and turn off at 10 AM. Samething for Sunday. I disconnet from the timer if I think that I won't be out to the airport the next weekend. I have an insulated cover for the cowl, prop and spinner and when I arrive at the airport the entire engine is heated to ~75F.
 
Mark,

That's a good idea. I hadn't thought of that.

What type of preheater do you use?

Do you think with ANY preheater system you'd still need an insulated cover, cowl plugs, etc....?

Jon
 
Hi Jon, a cowl cover helps big time in that it holds the heat in, but I would/will not pay $300 / $400 for the covers I've seem offered. I use an old blanket if its really cold throw on a second one, seen posted some were where a guy purchased a inexpensive sleeping bag had his better half do a few mods to it and it worked great (mainly removed the zipper and added Velcro). If you only need a cover while in your hangar preheating a blanket works good, if you fly off and land some where for a few hours than an insluated cover works better to retain the heat.
 
Got a well-worn horse blanket from a farm in the valley.

I use two cheap hair dryers; one in the oil door, aimed at the crankcase; the other in the right air intake for the cylinder heads. A piece of aluminum keeps the cowl from melting and also directs the hot air back to the cylinders below. About one hour in the coldest weather I want to fly (around 10 F.)

Regards,
 
MnFlyer

I do have a Bruce's custom cover for my cowl, it's not insulated though. Do you think that would be good enough for inside the hanger?

Jon
 
Jon:
The insulated cover came with the airplane so I use them. I have the pad type heater on the oil sump only. In the hanger I think all that is really need is to cover the air intakes unless it is really cold. The advantage of the instulated covers it that it does a better job of keeping the entire engine warm and not just the sump were the heater is. I think the real key is to get the oil warm so it will flow and to heat the engine enough so that it will start easily. As far as avoiding rust, we all know that nothing beats getting out and flying.
Mark
 
Robert,

Thanks for the insight. I like the idea of the horse blanket. I'm not sure if I can find a well-worn one or not. Anyway, that's an option.

Mark B,

That's a good point. I'll try to get something insulated.

Jon
 
Using the full (four cylinders and sump) Reiff system I always have a +40F rise above ambient with just cowl plugs, when I drape a ($19.95) sleeping bag over the cowl I see +60F increase over ambient. The CHT is 20-30F above ambient indicating the entire engine is warm. There is never an oil temp indication from pre-heat because the sump heater is limited to 90F well below the gauge limit.

I like Mark's system but one should only use it with strong expectations of flight due to the fact that condensation will increase during the cool down cycle.

Tom-
 
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