With winter almost here and after almost getting screwed while camping at Morning Shadows (24 degrees) I decided I needed something cheap I could take with me to pre-heat my engine. I had an old coleman Black Cat tent heater I usually pack along so I bought a 8" to 6" heater tube reducer and then a 6" to 4" reducer. (couldn't find a 8 to 4 reducer). Then bought a 2" extendable heater duct. Works great and only weights about 3lbs and fits inside eachother so not too much added space over the tent heater I already pack. P.S. Thanks Rob for saving my bacon at MS.


Coleman Black Cat tent heater


All fitted together


Packed inside eachother. Simple and lightweight.

good idea, thanks for sharing

Nice work. I saw and old Westinghouse dryer that was rigged-up to do the same but your is much more legit.

Very nice. And far less susceptible to throwing sparks than a camp stove, I suspect.

Craig

That is exactly what I need as my hanger has no electricity, time for a trip to Lowes and Gander mountain.

Yes, it is a flameless catalytic heater so no sparks. It will run for 7 hours on one camping sized propane bottle. Word of caution, these things will put out 3000BTU so make sure you're not directing it at anything that will melt. Mine has an adjustable temp knob on it.

Maybe Rob will chime in with the set-up he has. His doesn't require electricity either.

bmurrish wrote:Yes, it is a flameless catalytic heater so no sparks. It will run for 7 hours on one camping sized propane bottle. Word of caution, these things will put out 3000BTU so make sure you're not directing it at anything that will melt. Mine has an adjustable temp knob on it.

Maybe Rob will chime in with the set-up he has. His doesn't require electricity either.

did you mean 30,000 btus?

Tim

It's listed as 3,000 BTU. Only designed to heat a small tent.
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5038A800&categoryid=3000

Bigger is better, some times. http://www.campingcomfortably.com/zodi- ... -case.html This one is 20,000 but requires 12 volts. I like the two heat tubes, one for each cowl flap. If it is colder that 25 deg. I wonder how long it would take 3000 btu to get the engine warm enough.

Here is one that is kind of spendy but you can probably cook with it http://www.ultimategear.com/airpreh.html

This is what I used in my hanger for five years http://www.flameengineering.com/Engine_Preheaters.htm 48,000 btu. At 30 deg I heated for 15 minuts.

I always pre heat when less than 40 deg.

Tim

Great idea. I have a couple of homemade heater also. The only issue I have had with any made with the disposable propane bottles is that that don't work very well when it gets very cold. If you have this problem extend the top a little down over the tank a little some so it heats the bottle enough for it to burn better. When the tanks are cold you will notice that they spit and sputter.
WW

This was my first attempt. I used stuff I had around. I bought the same sheet metal Bill did. The heater is a Mr. Heater. Like Bill said, it is a heater/cooker. Two problems, it is to hot even on the lowest setting, and to heavy.

The one I have now is a cooker that fits on a small propane bottle like in Bills picture. It cost $29.00 and has a base the bottle fits into to stabilize the unit. It does the job. Light, small, cheap.

My engine does not like to start when the temp gets below 28F. It will spit, sputter, then quit. If I keep trying, it eventually floods. I have been a engine guy my whole like life. I think I know engines well enough that I am not making some basic starting mistake.

That being said, If I preheat for as little as 10 minutes, it starts right up. I don't plan to fly in weather below 25 F. It could happen if I stay at my vacation place in central Oregon. We regularly get night temps into the teens.

Who else has a temperamental engine like me? Any thoughts on starting other than heat, or a squirt of starting fluid.

Cheers...Rob

I went and bought one of the Coleman heaters they are pretty trick.
If you put a clamp around the knob and squeeze it seems to double the heat.

bmurrish wrote:Yes, it is a flameless catalytic heater so no sparks. It will run for 7 hours on one camping sized propane bottle. Word of caution, these things will put out 3000BTU so make sure you're not directing it at anything that will melt. Mine has an adjustable temp knob on it.

Maybe Rob will chime in with the set-up he has. His doesn't require electricity either.

Great to see you in person and that great looking 180 at Meadowlake airport . Made it home to Nevada last night . Lots of Snow when I showed up on Thursday . Not too bad a day on Sat.

Fly safe -Blue skies and Tailwinds
Bill Reid

Well i tried the Coleman heater today and I like how compact it is and that it doesn't need electricity but it is a bit slow, so i am going to try MAPP gas tomorrow. That should kick it up a notch...

You can buy a refiller valve on ebay in the camping section to refill the green bottles so you always have full supply and don't have to buy new ones. I use the same coleman heater setup you have and it works great.

182 STOL driver wrote:Great to see you in person and that great looking 180 at Meadowlake airport . Made it home to Nevada last night . Lots of Snow when I showed up on Thursday . Not too bad a day on Sat.

Fly safe -Blue skies and Tailwinds
Bill Reid

Bill,

Was a pleasant surprise to have you show up at my hangar. It is always nice to be able to faces to names on this site.

Bill

Mongo wrote:Well i tried the Coleman heater today and I like how compact it is and that it doesn't need electricity but it is a bit slow, so i am going to try MAPP gas tomorrow. That should kick it up a notch...

Mongo, did you build the chimney like I did? Mine gets pretty hot, especially if I plug the openings and throw a sleeping bag over the cowl.

Yeah I built a chimney, but they only had the model under your with a bit less BTUs.

Toss the goofy hose, and just chuck the little cat heater under your cowling.

If it's really cold, toss the thing under your cowl when you shut down and let it heat up the bottle for a couple hours before lighting it. It will NOT heat up a cold engine, at least not if it's cold enough to need an overnight heater at all. My standard drill is to chuck the thing under the cowl when I land for the night, then start up and re-warm the engine if the CHT is on the peg at bedtime (gets dark early here), then light the heater and let it run overnight. I've used it down to about 50 below with no problems. It will make a LOT of ice, so have everything where you want it to start when you shut down, and be aware that you may not have things like a throttle and mixture for a few minutes in the morning.

All the plastic will come off with a little creative prying, making for a smaller lighter package - and less melted plastic junk eventually dripping on your engine.

Just for comparison sake.....BTU's and Watts........a 3000 btu heater makes around 1000 watts ( actually a little less)
That's not very much heat if it's really cold out........but way better than none at all.