I'm looking for the best way to pre-heat my engine. My plane kept at an airport with no services so I can't just call somebody to have them plug it in prior to my departure. I'd like to be able to keep it plugged in so it's ready to go when I am. I'm concerned that if I do it that way that it might possibly accumulate moisture, but maybe that's not an issue if it's constantly being heated instead of the heat being applied only occasionally. Thoughts?

We have beat this subject to a pulp. Whipped this horse to death. Do a search. Here is one of several.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4489&p=55954&hilit=engine+heater#p55954

That's an interesting thread. However, I'm looking to have my plane all warmed up without anyone having to visit it and preheat it prior to my departure. I want the luxury of getting to the airport and going flying, rather than having to wait while my plane preheats.

Pundy wrote: I want the luxury

Well then here is the luxury...
http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Beeper%20Box%20pg%201.htm

There is also a digital timer, but I think the beeper activated setup is what you are asking for.
Matt

That's very cool, but there's no cell service at my strip.... And I'm concerned about condensation on any system that heats the plane and lets it cool. Does anyone feel that's a real concern?

Pundy wrote:That's very cool, but there's no cell service at my strip.... And I'm concerned about condensation on any system that heats the plane and lets it cool. Does anyone feel that's a real concern?

At work we keep our planes (with either the Tanis or the Reiff) plugged in constantly all winter.

I use a Tanis system to heat my Maule M5 180C. When the weather turns cold I plug it in and leave it on 24 hours a day. Just as the instructions say to. It uses very little energy and I am always ready to go. I have been doing this for five years. Remember to use engine blankets. In my case an old kid's GI Joe unzipped sleeping bag on the cowl and foam in the air ducts works just fine.

Since the engine is an open system it will be necessary to run it on a regular basis to truly remove all moisture but I am sure you already knew that.

I also leave a small space heater on low in the cockpit. I have found that warming the instruments to be as valuable as warming the engine. You know, all those little gizmos spinning round and round like to be warm to!

Peter Tanis wrote a nice little article on this subject. Here is the link:
http://www.tanisaircraft.com/article_info.php?articles_id=4

We have a Reiff oil pan and cylinder system on a timer followed by a thermostat switch. Between the hours of 04:00 and 17:00 if the temperature drops below 40 degrees the heater kicks on. We fly pretty regularly (at least once a week) and have not noticed any issues caused by condensation. My father takes it one step further and uses a dehumidifier on his engine year round. He made it from plans and it works very well. He leaves this running all the time as the little pump is very cheap to replace if it ever burns out...it's simply an aquarium air pump found at Wal Mart.

The plans for the dehumidifyer can be found here: http://www.barkeraircraft.com/files/Eng ... rt_Avi.pdf

Some plans to a relatively inexpensive heater can be found here. These work very well, are portable, and can be made in less than 1 hour.

http://www.eaa863.com/Document_Download ... umentID=61 Scroll about halfway down...

once&futr_alaskaflyer wrote:

Pundy wrote:That's very cool, but there's no cell service at my strip.... And I'm concerned about condensation on any system that heats the plane and lets it cool. Does anyone feel that's a real concern?

At work we keep our planes (with either the Tanis or the Reiff) plugged in constantly all winter.

Probably more of a concern in eastern seaboard climate than in bone-dry interior Alaska.

Pundy wrote:That's very cool, but there's no cell service at my strip.... And I'm concerned about condensation on any system that heats the plane and lets it cool. Does anyone feel that's a real concern?

Get an undocumented worker to live in your hangar. Have him plug it in for you.

Tim

You know winter is upon us when the annual engine pre-heater thread appears.

I have an E-Z Heat heater - just a pad on the oil pan basically but it does have a thermostat built in so you can leave it plugged in. It's worked well for me but so far I haven't strayed too far in my winter flying - you'd obviously need a generator to make it work off the grid.

I have a tanis on my 182. Its been great!

Now have an oil pan heater on the 180. No Cylndrs are get warm with that. Thinking about the Reiff as it was recomended over the Tanis.

Any thoughts to that?

Cold here in Truckee this am. Your correct Vick! Here comes old man winter. Next weekend is going to get mcuh colder.

I have an EZ Heater & like it. I keep the engine blanket on & everything is fairly warm when I wana go.

The timer & temp s/w is a neat idea. But if your worried about moisture I would worry about that heating & cooling cycle drawing in some condensation. If you fly regularly it's really not an issue then.

used to use a tanis, worked o.k...am lucky enough now to have a radiant heat tube, set at 45, keeps hangar at 55 or so...best thing i've found so far...runs about 75 per mo in winter.....jo

I would rather have the heat on ALL the time than have it on a timer. On a timer, the case of that engine is going to be cooling, heating, cooling, heating.....and making moisture.

That said, as long as you fly it REGULARLY, as in AT LEAST once a week AND you get engine temperatures up above about 180 or so, and keep them there for at least a half hour, it should cook off most if not all the moisture.

Also, use CamGuard in the oil to help prevent corrosion.

MTV

mtv wrote:I would rather have the heat on ALL the time than have it on a timer. On a timer, the case of that engine is going to be cooling, heating, cooling, heating.....and making moisture.

That said, as long as you fly it REGULARLY, as in AT LEAST once a week AND you get engine temperatures up above about 180 or so, and keep them there for at least a half hour, it should cook off most if not all the moisture.

Also, use CamGuard in the oil to help prevent corrosion.

MTV

I was just researching this subject yesterday, and came across this supplier of remote turn it on devices www.gms-auto.com

Not for my plane, that is kept in my radiant floor heated hangar close to my house (only the best for the plane of course), but for my crane, kept 20 miles away in town. Right now I use a timer and a thermo cube so the engine heater won't come on, even though the timer says to, if it is warm enough. I am cheap enough (I'd rather buy more mo-gas for the plane then give it to Idaho Power), that a few days of needless warming when it is not being used during times of slow crane work, make me want a more tightly controlled way of pre heating, and this gms outfit seems to be a good way to go. If the crane could fit in the hangar and if the road down the mountain to town wasn't scarey as hell already even in a car, I'd just keep it home!

We use the gms auto and it's fantastic. We just call the cell number of our unit, and it turns on the Reiff pre-heater. Then 1 hour later, it turns on the space heater in the cabin. It's all programmable. Now when we get to the airport the plane is warm and toasty and ready to go!

amacbean wrote:We use the gms auto and it's fantastic. We just call the cell number of our unit, and it turns on the Reiff pre-heater. Then 1 hour later, it turns on the space heater in the cabin. It's all programmable. Now when we get to the airport the plane is warm and toasty and ready to go!

Thanks for the feedback Allen! That is exactly what I want to be able to do: start the engine heater, and then 10 minutes or so before I arrive start a cab heater. Cool, pun intended.

denalipilot wrote:

once&futr_alaskaflyer wrote:

Pundy wrote:That's very cool, but there's no cell service at my strip.... And I'm concerned about condensation on any system that heats the plane and lets it cool. Does anyone feel that's a real concern?

At work we keep our planes (with either the Tanis or the Reiff) plugged in constantly all winter.

Probably more of a concern in eastern seaboard climate than in bone-dry interior Alaska.

True. But a constantly-warm engine is dryer than a warm cold warm cold warm cold engine.

Edit: Never mind I see MTV already commented.