Preheater

[theamherst]

I know that it has been discussed every year, but I was just wondering what the most cost effective, low hassle, best functioning way to preheat is. I'm up in the Seattle area and it's been cold and clear. I'd love to go flying, but I hate to crank the thing up when it's 25 degrees.

Thanks

[907Pilot]

More or less, as a rule of thumb I only use one if the temperature has been below 25F in the last 48 hours.

Is it that cold there?

Edit: It looks like this is subject of the day here, so I thought I would share my set up. Seems like everyone who sees it says it's a great set up. I have a space heater (we always called this style a "salamander" as a kid, I have no idea why. It's the sideways cylinder type), with a 3 foot section of chimney pipe. When I bought it, I took the chimney pipe and "sized" it so that it fit in the gap between the heat outlet and the housing, then used aluminum tape and taped it to size. I then went to an army surplus store and got a section of 8" tubing that they use for those big space heaters. The chimney pipe goes into the space heater, the tubing goes (loosely) over the chimney pipe. It sucks in enough cold air to make the output not ridiculously hot (don't want to crack anything), and leaving it on there for 30 minutes gets the whole thing nice and cozy. The whole thing cost me maybe $300, and it only takes 30-45 minutes to get nice and warm.

[hicountry]

I usually preheat if the hangar is below 40F. I have the Reiff oil pan and cylinder heaters but this is what I normally use. It is a 1200 watt heating element and blower form an old clothes dryer that I saved many years ago with a piece of scat tube..air is quite warm but not hot enough to damage anything. My wife suggested a cheap Wal Mart hair dryer could do the job as well. My investment was about $2..been using it for years.

[Sullyco]

Hicountry, You have a Reiff heater with the bands, and the pad on the sump.. and You use that set up instead.. Can I ask why ?

[amacbean]

We keep the plane in our unheated hanger, so when it's cold (like it is now - 19 degrees) we use the Reiff heater on the engine. Our hangar isn't next door and I didn't like driving all the way to the hanger just to plug in the airplane, and then wait while it warms up. Also we often go pretty early in the morning and there isn't always someone at the airport we can call to walk over to the hanger and plug it in for us. We thought about using those temperature activated plugs or a timer, but why heat it up every day if we're aren't going to fly it? So we bought the GSM Auto Remote control that turns on when you call it. It works via cell phone sim card, so no need for a phone line at the hangar. We got an at&t pre-paid sim card that costs us $20 every 6 months, but all we do is call the hangar and it turns on the Reiff heater and a small space heater we put in the cabin. It's all programmable so ours stays on for 5 hours after the call then turns off. If you want to set it up differently you can. All sorts of delay options and timer limits, etc. Best thing since sliced cheese. I love it. Their customer service sucks rocks (I had a small question once, they never answered my emails), but the device works great!

[mtv]

First question: Do you have electricity available?

If not, you'll need to do something with combustion heat. Think Red Dragon, or Northern Companion style.

If so, then there are a number of options you could use. At the temps you're likely to see there, I wouldn't spend as much as a Reiff or Tanis system costs. The EZ Heat systems work fine for this, are relatively cheap and are thermostatically controlled. Here's a link: http://www.e-zheatproducts.com/shop/

Get an insulated engine cover and one of those and you'll be good to go. Plug it in the night before or use a remote switch as described above.....

A lot of folks simply use a pad heater stuck to the oil pan. Be careful doing so. This is essentially what the EZ Heat system is, but with thermostatic control. The problem with a Wal Mart silicone heat pad is that they aren't thermostatically controlled and they can "burn" your oil inside the pan due to too high a heat.

These are the safest, easiest kind of pre heater....no moving parts, slow heat so thorough, easy to install.

MTV

[stewartb]

If it was me and the temps are occasionally 25* I wouldn't bother. I won't hesitate to fire my plane up without heat in mid-20s temps. Use a multi viscosity oil and learn how to cold start your engine.

Any discussion about preheat and the appliances folks use to do it needs to include a discussion about adequate time to get beneficial results. Most guys who preheat don't do it long enough. If you're impatient or don't have access to electricity the choices for heat are very different than guys who leave their stuff plugged in all the time. Lots of variables. What works for me may be unnecessary for you and vice-versa. Personally I have Reiff fixtures on my planes but I also have at least four other preheat-specific heat options in my shed. I prefer electricity and direct and SAFE application of heat with Reiff or Tanis systems but sometimes those aren't practical. I have a Red Dragon and will never use it on an airplane again. Little Buddy warm air heaters are a great choice. Oil pad heaters have served me well and I've used several that had no thermostats. Still do on some equipment. Never a problem. Choices, choices. All require time.

[courierguy]

On a related subject: I am remote switching about 2600 watts via cell phone for my crane pre heating needs, the BEEPER BOX (Reiff) is working great. It's rated for 1800 watts, but I use an additional Grainger supplied relay and now have my truck engine, truck tranmission, crane hydraulic tank, and most important truck cab pre heated when I show up with no wasted power when I have no work by keeping it all plugged in all the time.

As for the airplane, the best thing about pre heating mine (the hangar stays in mid 40's at worst/lowest so no big deal) is that once started I am ready immediately for takeoff, no sitting there waiting for the gauges to go green, after the runup I'm gone.

[sburg58]

So where can a person purchase one of these, GSM Auto Remote Control Units? It would save a lot of travel time and car gas for us.

[rjb]

http://www.gsm-auto.com/
starts you off with the basic unit.

You'll need a sim card as well: there is a link on the site. I also purchased an unlocked cell phone so that I could get the sim card activated.

You need to provide the wiring to an ac outlet and to what you are turning on/off. I found it difficult to connect heavy gauge wire to the receptacles: seemed to me, they were more suited for 16 gauge than 12 gauge. All that cord is heavy and the unit itself is light so screwing the unit down to a wall would be a good thing.

[OregonMaule]

Light 7 lbs, cost $400, doubles as a great tent heater if you carry a Honda generator




Good day

[tcraft]

I have the reiff system as well and like it the best, I have had the pad systems in the past and they worked okay it just took so long to see the results in the cylinders. with the reiff heater the whole engine is covered.
Have mine set up on a timer so it is ready to go the day I intend to go fly, I don't leave it plugged in all the time so if due to weather I cannot fly it's not generating moisture.

[buzzlatka]

19.99 at home depot. Put an old blanket on top and leave it running all day/night.

[stewartb]

If I wasn't using a Reiff system I'd still be using this. A Little Buddy 900w electric heater that's got a small fan, no plastic parts to melt, and no tip switch so it can me mounted any which way it fits, as it was on my 180's motor mount for several years. Simple to set inside a Cub cowl, too. Great little heaters for about $100 if you can find them. Tough as nails. Sorry for the lack of rotation. I'm apparently not authorized to turn a photo on this site.



I posted some pictures of a couple of my home made combustion heaters in the gallery as well. Alaska requires heaters. Necessity is the mother of invention. Fun stuff to tinker with.

[hicountry]

Hicountry, You have a Reiff heater with the bands, and the pad on the sump.. and You use that set up instead.. Can I ask why ?

This setup will actually heat the motor and oil up faster as it warms the whole engine..this I have done many times on my current plane and my old '52 C-170. 45-60 minutes no matter how cold it is and I'm ready to fly. I will use the Rieff heater plugged in all night if I'm going to fly early in the morning and don't want to wait for the dryer heater.
HC

[L-19]

Hicountry, You have a Reiff heater with the bands, and the pad on the sump.. and You use that set up instead.. Can I ask why ?

This setup will actually heat the motor and oil up faster as it warms the whole engine..this I have done many times on my current plane and my old '52 C-170. 45-60 minutes no matter how cold it is and I'm ready to fly. I will use the Rieff heater plugged in all night if I'm going to fly early in the morning and don't want to wait for the dryer heater.
HC

The 7GCBC I just purchased has a Reiff system already, bands & sump. The other plane I use a EZ Heat & Kennon blanket, leave it plugged in most of the time. How long do you leave yours plugged in for at a time? Their site shows a test 540 oil temp of 110 degrees after 12 hours, whithout a Tstat like the EZ Heat, I assume it will keep climbing.

[hicountry]

Hicountry, You have a Reiff heater with the bands, and the pad on the sump.. and You use that set up instead.. Can I ask why ?

This setup will actually heat the motor and oil up faster as it warms the whole engine..this I have done many times on my current plane and my old '52 C-170. 45-60 minutes no matter how cold it is and I'm ready to fly. I will use the Rieff heater plugged in all night if I'm going to fly early in the morning and don't want to wait for the dryer heater.
HC

The 7GCBC I just purchased has a Reiff system already, bands & sump. The other plane I use a EZ Heat & Kennon blanket, leave it plugged in most of the time. How long do you leave yours plugged in for at a time? Their site shows a test 540 oil temp of 110 degrees after 12 hours, whithout a Tstat like the EZ Heat, I assume it will keep climbing.

I never leave it plugged into the Rieff heater for over 10 hrs..that oilpan heater gets really HOT!
The longest I've ever had the dryer heater on was about 2hrs..and I have a separate 800 watt heater I use to heat the cabin. My timer is big enough to use both the cabin and the engine heater.

[L-19]

Thanks thats what I thought. Does your system have the oil cooler heater option? Doubt it's necessary if I use a blanket, should warm up everything pretty well.

[stewartb]

Reiff sump elements are thermostatically controlled. They won't get too hot. Which system do you have? My first Reiff was the standard system and I wasn't happy with it. I upgraded to the Turbo XP package and it was much, much better for my use, which is limited to a couple of hours on a portable generator while parked outside in Alaskan winter weather. Something for guys to consider when shopping for Reiff systems.

In an test I did a few years ago I used my Turbo XP system on a cold soaked 0-320 Lycoming in 18* F temps with insulated engine and prop covers installed. After exactly two hours the oil temp registered 90* and the cylinder temps were about the same gauging by touch at the heads. That's pretty darn good in my opinion. Better than anything else I've ever tried. Which explains why my Little Buddy now lives in the shed.

[L-19]

Reiff sump elements are thermostatically controlled. They won't get too hot. Which system do you have? My first Reiff was the standard system and I wasn't happy with it. I upgraded to the Turbo XP package and it was much, much better for my use, which is limited to a couple of hours on a portable generator while parked outside in Alaskan winter weather. Something for guys to consider when shopping for Reiff systems.

In an test I did a few years ago I used my Turbo XP system on a cold soaked 0-320 Lycoming in 18* F temps with insulated engine and prop covers installed. After exactly two hours the oil temp registered 90* and the cylinder temps were about the same gauging by touch at the heads. That's pretty darn good in my opinion. Better than anything else I've ever tried.

I didn't know that there was a Tstat, thank you. As to which model it is I'm unsure, it was already installed, I see the Turbo system is 100w bands & 200w sump, twice the standard system. I'll look & see next time I'm at hangar. Might have to get the Fluke out & see how many amps it's drawing to figure it out.