Cabin heater that you'd leave on overnight

George Mohr

George Mohr

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Gmohr
Hi all,

Looking for a small electric heater that is safe and reliable enough to be left on in the overnight hours so that the cockpit is warm in the morning. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
George
 
One of my friends bought an oil-filled electric heater (looks like a radiator) for that exact purpose. The unit itself doesn't get above I believe 90F, so it never has any concerns of ignition unless there's an electrical short somewhere.

I have a small space heater that's electric and fan-forced. I won't run that unless I'm in the hangar at the time.
 
Personally, doesn't exist. I'm not aware of a single cabin heater I'd be comfortable leaving on overnight. Just not worth the risk to me. Many would likely be comfortable with a ceramic heater with tip-over protection, which is what Reiff recommends. As far as an "overnight" solution, the Tanis comes the closest, but at the pricepoint, etc., not an option in my mind.

With my new plane that'll have to live outside, I'll likely get a high-powered ceramic heater to start up as soon as I get to the airplane for preflight. I figure it'll take me 15-20 minutes to get the plane ready to go, and a good ceramic heater with a fan should be able to warm up the cabin in that amount of time (we're not talking about a huge space).

http://www.tanisaircraft.com/thp309...b04c8e34b78be07caac13e9bca50997347a44b01f0baa

http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Cabin Heater.htm
 
If you are renting a hangar, some of the contracts prohibit space heaters or only permit them when the hangar is occupied. Just something you may want to check.
 
I'd be okay with any UL rated heater that had a tip switch and a thermostat. Fuel leak? Not in the past 42 years so I wouldn't worry about it tonight.
 
Most of these things are designed to run in people bedrooms 24/7

I like the oil filled one, put it in the cabin and shut the door.

When I fly in cold as balls weather, part of my preheat is a little heater I put in the pilots foot well to warm up the interior, mainly my panel.
 
Thread creep from inside to outside has occurred. But as long as the precedent has been set, my hangar neighbor was taking pictures of his "invention" in his hangar today. It consists of a small electric heater, a roof flange (for pipes that stick through the roof of your house) and a length of 4" dryer hose to heat the engine prior to flight. The flange screws to the heater and the hose to the flange. The dryer hose goes up in the cowling from the bottom (he has a Cessna 172) so all that exits is hot air and the heat source is away from any fuel leak that may or may not be present. The kicker is that he uses a raspberry pi computer to turn it on and off with a text from a phone. Personally I'd hook it up to a timer the day before but he's fancy. He said that the article may come out in the EAA Magazine in February or March.
 
George Mohr said:
Hi all,

Looking for a small electric heater that is safe and reliable enough to be left on in the overnight hours so that the cockpit is warm in the morning. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
George
Click to expand...

Any small ceramic heater with a tip over switch set on a timer. Set it to come on about two or three hours before you arrive.
 
I'll have to get the name of the heater we use. In EMS, you are required to keep the cabin at a certain temp (70). The heater must have a rheostat and a bottom sensor shutoff. Makes for a warm cockpit and keeps the drugs warm.
 
Heh, when I was in EMS, it never got that cold. (Monterey) For the life of me, I don't know how medics start IVs in frigid conditions.
 
Velocity173 said:
I'll have to get the name of the heater we use. In EMS, you are required to keep the cabin at a certain temp (70). The heater must have a rheostat and a bottom sensor shutoff. Makes for a warm cockpit and keeps the drugs warm.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of some of the stuff I've seen which worked well.

One was mounting a household heating/cooling unit in a shopping cart with a sheet metal job to route the output into a big dryer hose, extension cord to the cart, hose into the cabin/cowl, that way the thing is easy to move and the actual heating element, AC compressor isn't in the aircraft.


Something like this, but a dented one or a used one off Craig's list for like half the price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/frigida...ffcode=pg199933&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2
 
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Does anyone leave a droplight in the cabin of their plane to keep the cabin and avionics from getting too cold?
 
Timbeck2 said:
Thread creep from inside to outside has occurred. But as long as the precedent has been set, my hangar neighbor was taking pictures of his "invention" in his hangar today. It consists of a small electric heater, a roof flange (for pipes that stick through the roof of your house) and a length of 4" dryer hose to heat the engine prior to flight. The flange screws to the heater and the hose to the flange. The dryer hose goes up in the cowling from the bottom (he has a Cessna 172) so all that exits is hot air and the heat source is away from any fuel leak that may or may not be present. The kicker is that he uses a raspberry pi computer to turn it on and off with a text from a phone. Personally I'd hook it up to a timer the day before but he's fancy. He said that the article may come out in the EAA Magazine in February or March.
Click to expand...

I've seen similar homemade heaters before except for the pi computer portion. Yep, he is fancy.
 
James331 said:
Reminds me of some of the stuff I've seen which worked well.

One was mounting a household heating/cooling unit in a shopping cart with a sheet metal job to route the output into a big dryer hose, extension cord to the cart, hose into the cabin/cowl, that way the thing is easy to move and the actual heating element, AC compressor isn't in the aircraft.


Something like this, but a dented one or a used one off Craig's list for like half the price.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/frigida...ffcode=pg199933&ksdevice=m&lsft=ref:212,loc:2
Click to expand...
That is similar to what I use, a small electric cube heater with a duct riveted on the front to a 4 inch flexible dryer hose. Works great. Similar to what is pictured towards the end of this thread:
https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...or-a-poor-mans-engine-pre-heater.88975/page-2
 
jc150 beat me too it.just make sure it is hung securely and dont go over a 100w bulb.
 
Does a Golden Rod Dehumidifier put out enough? 38 watts for the longest one - 36".
 
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