It's getting cold in Wisconsin and it's going to be a month before I can fly.

What's the hive mind opinion on whether to plug in the oil heater? I can see where it might prevent moisture from getting in during the daily warm/cold cycles. I can also see where the warmer temp might facilitate more rapid corrosion.

Thoughts?

This subject is always hotly debated so I can only tell you what I do and what has worked well for me in the past. Then let others chime in...

I have a Reiff pre-heater that has both heaters on the oil pan and bands around each cylinder. It works great and I plug it in the night before any flight when temps start to dip below about 38 degrees. Not that I would not start my engine w/o it at 38 degrees, my phylosophy is I have it, so I use it when I can. I do not leave it plugged in continously.

don't know the particulars of you humidity and warm/cold cycles, but have you considered desecant plugs and some bunched-up rags in the exhaust pipe to stop air flow?

denalipilot wrote:don't know the particulars of you humidity and warm/cold cycles, but have you considered desecant plugs and some bunched-up rags in the exhaust pipe to stop air flow?

Considered and discarded this time. Unfortunately I'm a new owner and this is the first time I've had to deal with these issues. As such, I only became aware that I should be thinking about it when I was already 1,600 miles away. I'm very comfortable asking someone to go plug in an extension cord (though since I asked the question, I've become pretty well convinced not to do it). I think it would be too much to ask to have them track down desiccants. Hopefully I won't ever be in a position again where I don't fly for this long (2.5 months), but if I am I'll pickle.

I am trying to fly every week and am in the "do not leave heat on all the time" camp, unless I was flying every day... heat generally speeds up chemical reactions. Picked up a GSM switch where I can turn each outlet on/off seperately with a text message.

The GSM switch has about a 1kw maximum. Tanis systems burns about 250W. Most space heaters are 1000-1500W. I searched and finally found a ceramic space heater with thermostatic control for the cabin that burns 600W which I put on the floor under the instrument panel. Makes it easy to turn on the night or morning before a flight. Nice to take the chill off the seats and instruments, and all under 1kw. Costs 7 cents to turn it on (cheap pre-paid text message plan). Been using it the last couple of weekends and it has been working gerat for my needs.

I took the GSM switch, as it came from eBay, apart and found that while the relays were big enough for the load, the guage of wire that feeds them was inadequate. I replaced all the wires with appropriate gauge. Old wires on the left side, new big wires in the foreground.


20130831_130611 by scottf, on Flickr


Load testing my GSM switch with my toaster oven...


20130831_135522 by scottf, on Flickr


Power draw (watts) of the Tanis system on a Lycoming O-320.


20130831_105850 by scottf, on Flickr

scottf wrote:I am trying to fly every week and am in the "do not leave heat on all the time" camp, unless I was flying every day... heat generally speeds up chemical reactions. Picked up a GSM switch where I can turn each outlet on/off seperately with a text message.

Care to recommend the switch? I can think of about ten purposes for one.

rw2 wrote:It's getting cold in Wisconsin and it's going to be a month before I can fly.

What's the hive mind opinion on whether to plug in the oil heater? I can see where it might prevent moisture from getting in during the daily warm/cold cycles. I can also see where the warmer temp might facilitate more rapid corrosion.

Thoughts?

For reference.......
Mine is water cooled motor and it stays plugged in from the beginning of Oct to June.... Oil temp stays at 140f and water is around 120f... A motor can not sweat = create condensation if it stays at a constant temp. It is the cooling down and heating up that causes water/ moisture on the inside of the case...... I also run Amsoil, which is a sythentic and not know for great rust prevention.. I check the motor several times a year and pulling the valve covers have exposed absolutely NO signs of corrosion at all.... IMHO... YMMV...

I use a cell phone switch as well, leave the planes plugged in all winter, but only turn the heaters on the night before flying. I also put an old sleeping bag (with zipper removed) over the cowls and tuck it into the air inlets. This helps save energy as the heaters have thermostats. Gets the whole engine warm with just a sump heater. I'm in the high desert, so humidity is rarely an issue, still, not covering the cowl will allow the rocker covers to be exposed to cold air and this will allow any moisture in the air within the engine to condense on the inside surfaces - - not good for Mr. Motor.

bumper

rw2, where at in Wisconsin? I recall you saying sw and building a private strip.
46tcrft

rw2,

I was in your situation last year with a new (to me) plane. I'm in one of the t-hangers there at LNR and I picked up one of the sitchboxbox control units I saw advertised on Vans (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=105344). The URL is http://switchboxcontrol.com/the-switch-box/. I had to get an external antenna and mount it above the beam on the door so the unit could get some cell signal in the metal hanger but other than that it works great. I did the research and was not at all comfortable leaving the plane plugged in all the time. This approach works well; I just call or text the unit an hour or so before I'm ready to fly and it's ready to go by the time I'm ready. I have a Reiff Turbo XP unit that I installed last year (cylinder and oil pan) and that helps it heat up quickly. I've even connected a small ceramic heater to the second outlet so I can warm up the inside of the plane from the second outlet. I've had several interactions with Phillip at Switchboxcontrol and he's always been very responsive and helpful so I definitely recommend the unit and the support. The SIM cards are for T-mobile so make sure you have *some* coverage where you are; LNR I think is technically not covered but it still works. Cost is about $10 every 3 months; the manual explains how it works and it's supported by my experience unless you prefer to use the text feature a lot instead of calling the unit. There are even apps for iOS and Android. Check it out and if you are in the area sometime PM me and I'll demonstrate it for you!

-Aaron

rw2 wrote:

scottf wrote:I am trying to fly every week and am in the "do not leave heat on all the time" camp, unless I was flying every day... heat generally speeds up chemical reactions. Picked up a GSM switch where I can turn each outlet on/off seperately with a text message.

Care to recommend the switch? I can think of about ten purposes for one.

Search ebay for "quad band gsm remote control" and you should find something that will fit the bill... if you are handy with electronics you can save yourself a few hundred $$... otherwise I would just buy a purpose built one. In the US you will need a quad band unit though since we use a different GSM band than most of the rest of the world. Mine works in an all metal hangar with no external antenna, but obiously that will vary widely.

For text-only plans for these things, I would recommend Lycamobile. They are a euro company that recently came to the US, piggybacking on T-Mobile's towers. They have a pre-pay plan where you basically put in $10 into the account, no contract, no monthly fee, and 7 cents per text message... and they will mail you a sim card to plug in the unit.

Interesting discussion. Just a few years ago, high-tech pre-heat was using a propane burner..... now it's all about using wireless-remote to switch on the elctric heat.

Don't worry Hotrod, some of us are still old-school high tech. I went all day yesterday smelling the singed hair on my hand from lighting my whiz bang pre-heating system!

I have a Reiff standard system on my O-360, which I've had since I bought the airplane 9 1/2 years ago. It consists of heated bands around the bases of the cylinders and an aluminum heated pad glued to the pan. I have been using a thermostat on it, so that it comes on around 40F and goes off about 45F ambient temp. A couple of years ago, I added a small heating pad option to the oil cooler.

I just got into a similar conversation on another forum, so I recently looked at the Reiff website. They are now offering a cellphone switch for $89, so I think I'll get that and do away with my thermostat. Although I don't pay extra for the electricity right now, I can see that coming in the future.

I have an automotive interior heater mounted under the passenger seat, which I also plug in during really cold weather, so that the interior is pre-warmed--much better for the instruments and for my old bod, to have the cabin pre-warmed.

I also have a set of Kennon covers for the cowl, prop blades, and spinner, which makes a huge difference in the efficiency of the Reiff system in really cold weather, even inside my unheated hangar. An aside: I also have a bunch of other Kennon items, a windshield cover, reflective window covers, pitot and AOA probe covers, wing covers/spoilers, cowl plugs. Both the AOA probe cover and the cowl plugs had to be custom made, so I provided patterns, and they made them for the same prices as they normally charge. They even made me a large "stuff sack" for my cots, since I couldn't find one large enough at the usual camping supply places. Good people to deal with.

My set-up will completely warm my engine and the interior in below zero weather in about 10-12 hours.

Cary

46TCRFT wrote:rw2, where at in Wisconsin? I recall you saying sw and building a private strip.
46tcrft

Currently at 93C. The private strip is on hold until I return to the US full time.

sophis wrote:I was in your situation last year with a new (to me) plane. I'm in one of the t-hangers there at LNR and I picked up one of the sitchboxbox control units I saw advertised on Vans (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=105344). The SIM cards are for T-mobile so make sure you have *some* coverage where you are; LNR I think is technically not covered but it still works. Cost is about $10 every 3 months; the manual explains how it works and it's supported by my experience unless you prefer to use the text feature a lot instead of calling the unit. There are even apps for iOS and Android. Check it out and if you are in the area sometime PM me and I'll demonstrate it for you

We'll be in the area from mid-Nov until end of Dec. Then getting the hell out of there and back to warm and sunny Mexico for the rest of the winter!

Maybe we'll be able to finally meet during that window?

Are you aware of any reason I couldn't swap out a Verizon SIM card? We're in the hills south of KLNR and really the only thing that has coverage is verizon. Once I do get my strip put in I'd want to be able to continue to use the device. It's too expensive to justify otherwise.

RanchPilot wrote:Don't worry Hotrod, some of us are still old-school high tech. I went all day yesterday smelling the singed hair on my hand from lighting my whiz bang pre-heating system!

I'll have to dig up the photo I have of La Naranja Danzante in the midwestern plains with a sawhorse under her butt so the propane heater could shoot into the cowling properly...

If the switch runs on GSM such as T-mobile uses, you can't change to a card for CDMA such as Verizon uses. If you're old enough to remember this, it would be like trying to run a Lionel engine on an American Flyer track.

Cary

Cary wrote:If the switch runs on GSM such as T-mobile uses, you can't change to a card for CDMA such as Verizon uses. If you're old enough to remember this, it would be like trying to run a Lionel engine on an American Flyer track.

Cary

This is true - Verizon and Sprint in the US do not use GSM so they are out as far as cell phone switches to my knowledge.

Wouldn't worry about it for a month. Add some ASL Camguard and call it good.