get rid of Tanis and get a Reiff?

WannFly

Final Approach
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Priyo
my plane came with Tanis and as far as i know its in working condition. when i installed JPI 830, they had to take out the probes and now it needs some kind of upgraded probe. my mechanic recommends Reiff since the cost of the upgrade probe from Tanis is pretty close to the whole Reiff system and he thinks Reiff does a better job of heating in this antarctic winter (KFAR) than Tanis. i realize this could be a Chevy vs Ford thing.. but any Reiff users out there who can tell me if they are happy with it?

the way i am thinking is, the Reiff will get me a new system with their warranty and if i get Tanis upgraded probes, it will around the same money with no warranty on the actual system. however, i am wondering whats the actual difference between a $600 system (Reiff - TurboXP) vs a $850+ (Tanis).

thoughts?
 
I bought & installed a Standard Reiff system about 4 years ago and love it. I have bands on each cylinder (O-320) at 50 watts each, 100 watts on the oil sump, and I added the optional 25 watt heater for the oil cooler. I was in a hangar in Kansas for the last few years and it worked great. I'm stuck on the ramp back in Tennessee now and plan to use the traction battery in my Chevy Volt to run the heaters. The real question is how long do I need to run the heaters to actually have an effect? 2 hours+...no problem for the battery. I just don't know that I'm willing to sit around for two hours while the engine heats up. I guess I could add some forced air blowers with ducts...
They have a chart for that:
http://www.reiffpreheat.com/product.htm#Standard System



I believe the TurboXP basically double the cylinder and sump heaters. (100 watts per cylinder, 200 watts on the oil sump).

I'm sure the Tanis site has info on what they have.

Jim
 
I'm a long time Reiff user. I started with the standard bands and pan heater and found the bands ineffective in Alaskan winter temps. I talked to Mr. Reiff who sent me the higher output bands. Problem solved, and on that plane I stayed with the single sump heater. That was several years ago and the systems have evolved a little since then. For my last couple of planes I've used the "Turbo XP" package. Higher wattage bands and dual sump heater pads. It's very effective and much quicker than the lower wattage option. Size your system for the temps you'll see.
 
Installation costs? Ripping out the old system must be added to the cost of the Reiff system...
the old system is already disconnected, but is there in the plane. total diff is about 2 hours, if I go with Reiff @ $75/hr.

so the actual difference is -
Tanis = Parts 560 + Labor = about 670, the unit itself is out of warranty
Reiff = new system 600 + labor = about 750 (I may be able to sell the Tanis for few), with 5 year warranty
 
Reiff is easy to install. If you like doing basic airplane maintenance you can do it yourself. All you need is a nut driver or flat screwdriver and a few zip ties. Talk to your mechanic about it.
 
Reiff is easy to install. If you like doing basic airplane maintenance you can do it yourself. All you need is a nut driver or flat screwdriver and a few zip ties. Talk to your mechanic about it.
yah i usually work with him to learn the ropes. 3 months into ownership... not sure if i want to take on the project myself and screw 5 things up in the process
 
ha.. is it even an option? looks like a hybrid between Tanis and Reiff?
After you pull the port cylinder heaters out what is left of the Tanis system? Oil sump heaters epoxied on? If so, those suckers are not going to come off without breaking something!

Reiff is easy to install. If you like doing basic airplane maintenance you can do it yourself. All you need is a nut driver or flat screwdriver and a few zip ties. Talk to your mechanic about it.
I did mine, had it inspected & signed off by my A&P/IA. The only problem I had was my size 11 hands don't fit well into tight spaces. I ran all of the wiring under the engine for a cleaner looking install and to hopefully spare the wiring from baking in the engine heat after a summer flight.
 
thoughts?

I purchased a Hot Padd heater from Reiff. The heater could not be mounted on my engine, a Continental A65, in accordance with the supplied instructions, so I made do as best I could. The adhesive didn't cure and the pad easily peeled off. I returned the pad to Reiff for a refund, they sent it back to me with a different adhesive. Apparently, I violated the warranty by not following the instructions to the letter, (the fact that it was impossible to follow them was of no interest to Reiff). I don't know if the Reiff heater is any good or not, I do know that their product support and customer relations are terrible. I won't do business with them again.
 
CHT spark plug gasket probe is an option tho it has to be one of the worst. I would never buy them or recommend them. I would put reiff bands on and ditch the tanis bayonet CHT heaters allowing use of the bayonet CHT probes for engine monitor.

The tanis bolt heaters would work too but pricey.
 
CHT spark plug gasket probe is an option tho it has to be one of the worst. I would never buy them or recommend them. I would put reiff bands on and ditch the tanis bayonet CHT heaters allowing use of the bayonet CHT probes for engine monitor.

The tanis bolt heaters would work too but pricey.
I believe that's what my mx guy did and then recommended reiff or an upgraded probe from Tanis. Thanks all for the replies, I am going with Reiff and while she is down...might as well get a BatteryMinder installed. Fall isn't too far off

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I believe that's what my mx guy did and then recommended reiff or an upgraded probe from Tanis. Thanks all for the replies, I am going with Reiff and while she is down...might as well get a BatteryMinder installed. Fall isn't too far off

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Why would you install a BatteryMinder on the plane itself?
I never, ever put an externally sourced charge (e.g. Something other than the alternator/voltage reg) to the battery without removing it from the plane.
 
A Reiff heater was the first thing I added to my plane after buying it in Texas and flying it home to northern Nevada. It gets used 3 or 4 times a week in winter and doesn't interfere with the engine monitor probes. Highly recommended.
 
Mr. Reiff has said some rather nasty things to me and Steve on the public forums as well. Really not the way to run a business.

On the other hand, I like my Tannis very much. I used the heaters that clamp to the heads using a slightly undersized rocker cover screw.

Of course, now that I'm in a heated hangar in the south, I'll probably not use it much.
 
I don't know anything about the personalities behind the products, except to say that I wasn't too impressed with the treatment that I received from Tanis a few years ago.

I am the original owner of my Tanis system, but had the oil dump heater break (literally) after a few years. There was clearly a design defect in the part, but since it was out of warranty, I fully expected to pay for a replacement, which I ordered directly from Tanis. However, the replacement they sent had incorrectly cut threads, so it would only thread on to the sump a short way before it stopped. There was way too much hassle involved for me to get them to replace their own crappy replacement part. I think they did eventually agree to absorb shipping costs for the second replacement, but as I recall it took some arm-twisting. I was left with the impression that they were acting a little too big for their britches, to put it nicely.


JKG
 
This is in reply to post #11. One of our distributors was asked about it by their customer, and requested that we post our reply.

The only record we have for Mr. Steven McNicoll is the purchase of an oil sump heater for a Continental A65 for $99 in 1994. 25 years ago. We have no record of any dealings with him after the purchase, so we don't know the facts of his warranty claim.

1994 was our second year in business. The product and the warranty have improved quite a bit since then. At that time all of our competitors had a 1 year limited warranty, meaning it could be voided by improper installation. We had a 2 year limited warranty. In 2002 we improved it to a 2 year "no fault" warranty, meaning the product would be repaired or replaced if it failed for ANY reason including improper installation. In 2010 we improved it again to a 5 year "no fault" warranty, which we still have today and it is the best warranty in our industry by far. We do this specifically to provide good product support and customer relations.
 
Welcome to POA! It’s great to have various companies in attendance to answer (when the lawyers let you) for the many questions we have. We’ve got PSEngineering and Zephyr, just to name two that I remember off hand.
 
I love my Reiff TurboXP. It was a bit pricey I felt, but it really gets that engine hot even on really cold days, and I don’t mess around with anything other than cowl plugs. No worries or feeling guilty about cold starts is priceless.
 
FWIW, I had a Reiff Turbo XP system on my IO-400 when it was recalled. I removed the bands but left the sump pads on since I had no idea the motor wouldn't ever come home. Superior somehow removed the two well adhered sump pads from the cold air sump and returned them to me. They got the pads off and cleaned them up and they look brand new. They'll go onto my new IO-390 the day that motor arrives.

To the pricey comment? If you've ever babysat a combustion heater in -40* temps with no option to leave? Being able to plug my Reiff system into my little generator and walk away for a few hours with no concern about fire? Priceless!
 
its been 2 winters with Reiff Turbo XP system, and its just awesome. i do use insulated cowl cover as well and when its -25 ambient everything inside is around 110 degrees or more.
 
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