glacier wrote:Not to burst anybody's bubble, but I did not find the red dragon to be all that great. I used one for a few years when I was getting started, the plane came with one when I bought it.
Anything much below about -20F involved using the heater directly on the propane tank to get pressure up. Preheat the heater, great fun.
The adjustable regulator is nice, but you are always having to readjust to compensate for lowering tank pressure as the tank cools off from it's own evaporation cooling and/or just being in the cold. This mean lots of fussing to try and keep the output at a reasonable and effective level.
Even more fundamentally, the fan and relatively small diameter duct and scat tube don't move enough air for the amount of heat involved, which means the air temp is hot. Hot enough to melt things. One example is the liner in control cables. I did not do that personally but was with someone who did, he could not move his mixture cable after pre heating in a remote location.
As the battery gets drained and the voltage goes down, the fan goes slower and the airflow decreases, which means the output air temp goes up, unless you adjust the regulator to reduce the flame.
I eventually switched to a larger propane heater that moved much more air. Larger diameter burner and ducting. Bigger fan. Same BTU rating, just more air. Much nicer, but it requires 120 V AC power. And if you have AC, then just use an electric heater. So this option was nice if I did not plan ahead and needed to preheat relativey quickly. I haven't used this heater in years now, it is just easier to plan ahead and plug in an electric heater.
If I am remote and away from power, I mostly use a Honda 2kw and a hairdryer. Its the same weight/bulk as a red dragon plus battery plus propane tank. Winterizing the Honda takes a little bit of research but its easy they'll run in weather as cold as anyone wants to fly, down to -40. The hairdryer gets it done pretty quick, and maxes out the Honda's continuous output rating.
As much fuss and babysitting as the red dragon takes, I'd rather use a Northern Companion MSR stove for a lightweight remote no power deal. I've used them at -30F and -40F, cold enough that the puddle of white gas or av gas is hard to light in the primer cup when getting it started. It sucks and so does the whole process from there on forward, but to me it sucks less than using the red dragon in the same conditions. And I have more confidence in the whole process eventually resulting in a running aircraft engine. No battery to die, no propane tank that might not put out much pressure in the cold.
Not bursting any bubbles here, I totally agree with you that the Dragon sucks. I too used one for a couple seasons when I first moved north. Then discovered Whamo catalytic sand never looked back.
Now, I have a Northern Companion if stuck out, but engine mounted Tanis or Reiff gets it done mostly.
Of course, now I am in a heated hangar.....
MTV
So keep an eye on the unit if you are using a smaller battery.
