homemade engine preheater 10 lb - that travels with you

[A2022]

2KW diesel heater that runs on very well on avgas. use the ships fuel and battery power to operate the diesel heater. total weight for everything = 10 lb.

 

[Racerx]

Runs on non GMO 100LL? Nice!

 

[moparrob66]

Awesome! I would have thought the 100ll would run too hot. Looking forward to before/after times and temps!

 

[TOTE]

How has the flexible tubing held up to the heat? I had a small propane pre-heater setup that used that hose, but it kept melting near the bends and I moved to a more rigid option. Wondering if yours was anything special or if the heat coming out is just lower?

 

[ArrowFlyer86]

2KW diesel heater that runs on very well on avgas. use the ships fuel and battery power to operate the diesel heater. total weight for everything = 10 lb.

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Neat!
Question: where'd you get that thermocouple thermometer and the probes?

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Cool! I love a good homemade system.

Did you consider putting something permanent on? My Reiff system only weighs about 8.5 ounces and works REALLY well.

 

[A2022]

well, the heater is really not homemade. it's a 2KW Chinese diesel heater. I have to give them credit. it works.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

well, the heater is really not homemade. it's a 2KW Chinese diesel heater. I have to give them credit. it works.

You get credit for all of the stuff around it though. Most of us aren't manufacturing parts from raw materials at home.

 

[A2022]

Cool! I love a good homemade system.

Did you consider putting something permanent on? My Reiff system only weighs about 8.5 ounces and works REALLY well.

I have the Reiff sump heating pad, 100W x 2. the diesel heater is only needed when there is no electricity at some far off cold lonely airport. I do not have a priming system.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

It uses ship’s power to run the blower?
12 or 24v?
Can it run for….an hour without dragging the battery too low?
Do you have to be there to start it, or could you put it on a timer?

 

[A2022]

It uses ship’s power to run the blower? Well, I suppose.
12 or 24v? I normally run 220 or 221V, whatever it takes.
Can it run for….an hour without dragging the battery too low? No. the battery will be totally dead, and you will be stranded and freeze to death at the remote airport.
Do you have to be there to start it, or could you put it on a timer? I normally start it by messenger pigeon. Place some seeds on the start button and release the pigeon when you crawl from the igloo.

 

[mondtster]

It uses ship’s power to run the blower?
12 or 24v?
Can it run for….an hour without dragging the battery too low?
Do you have to be there to start it, or could you put it on a timer?

Just set it up to run off a drill battery. That way there is no concern for the ship battery and starting. I’ve run one for several hours preheating off an M18 battery.

The one I have would need human intervention to start it. I personally wouldn’t leave it unattended but I think the risk of fire would be fairly small.

 

[Randomskylane]

$105 for the vevor is unbelievable
12v
Remote operation would require a switcheon type system but having a container of fuel sitting out for weeks/months seems unwise

Solar power should keep the battery topped off

 

[Kiddo's Driver]

It uses ship’s power to run the blower?
12 or 24v?
Can it run for….an hour without dragging the battery too low?
Do you have to be there to start it, or could you put it on a timer?

Some models run on 12Vdc only. The two I have can run on 8Vdc-32Vdc. I run them off of my Chevy Volt's 12Vdc battery, which is constantly topped off by the 360Vdc traction battery. I also run an inverter off it to run the Reiff engine heater, a small heater on the floor under my instruments, and a battery charger for the plane. I don't have a hangar, so when it's cold, the plane gets COLD.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

It uses ship’s power to run the blower? Well, I suppose.
12 or 24v? I normally run 220 or 221V,

I must misunderstand the title then, “travels with you” -
I thought it meant “travels with you, and can be used…away”

 

[David Loftus]

Did you consider putting something permanent on? My Reiff system only weighs about 8.5 ounces and works REALLY well.

I have the Reiff cylinder and sump heaters, total power requirement around 300W. I carry a 600W pure sine wave DC/AC converter to connect to a rental car battery along with a 25' extension cord. Works perfectly away from my hangar. Fits in a plastic shoebox and weighs less than 10 lbs

 

[A2022]

engine preheat from the aircraft fuel tank test 4, for one hour using aircraft electrical power. 236 mL (8 fluid oz) fuel burned, AMAZING, check my math. the more I use this system, the more I like it. carbon monoxide = 19 ppm max, holding it in from of the exhaust (hot). a fan was used to simulate wind, and the heater was not affected in any orientation with the simple air inlet. a zip tie will keep the oil door closed in the wind. I am focused on the wind, because I have been there before, and you will have wind (many trips to Kansas). I would feel comfortable enough after starting this system to walk back into the FBO on a windy day to have a coffee. That's the GOAL!

Steps:
1. place heater on floor under fuel cap.
2. siphon fuel to cup and then connect fuel line to heater and move heater to final position. you will spurt some fuel making the connection, then mover the heater.
3. remove fuel bung from tank and place in cup and close lid and place cup at wingtip in the support base.
4. connect duct work and electrical power (cord over the propeller) and press start

times at 12C OAT:
1. glow plug raises to temperature and fuel begins pumping at 75 seconds after pressing start
2. heater starts and raises to full power 210 seconds after pressing start
3. upon shutdown, the unit will cool for 220 seconds after pressing off

 

[A2022]

....more

 

[Racerx]

OK....but how do you run it for an hour off ships power if it would kill the battery?

 

[Kiddo's Driver]

I love what you are doing. I've been lurking around the CDH pages on Facebook for a while. They start pulling their hair out when people talk about using gasoline. A small contingent points to some manuals that say half gas and half diesel are okay to burn. You've gone full gasoline.
Probably starts great on cold mornings!
Have you considered carrying a quart of the cheapest transmission fluid you can buy and using it as fuel?

 

[A2022]

I love what you are doing. I've been lurking around the CDH pages on Facebook for a while. They start pulling their hair out when people talk about using gasoline. A small contingent points to some manuals that say half gas and half diesel are okay to burn. You've gone full gasoline.
Probably starts great on cold mornings!
Have you considered carrying a quart of the cheapest transmission fluid you can buy and using it as fuel?

I don't carry any oil or fuel in the cockpit or baggage area for numerous reasons.

 

[A2022]

complete setup time for the preheater, including siphoning fuel = 194 seconds at a relaxed pace.

 

[A2022]

OK....but how do you run it for an hour off ships power if it would kill the battery?

oh yes, your battery will be totally dead (killed it), and you will be stranded at a remote airport and probably freeze to death.

 

[A2022]

a custom base...

quick and dirty print, but with a perfect line fit and printed in 1.5 hrs. I'll add a heavy soft natural rubber base for grip.

 

[A2022]

-6C this morning but warming to 6C where I was going. so, that's good enough for me for a bike ride. I used my "take with you" preheater this morning but could not get it to start after 3 attempts. then I noticed a kink in the fuel line. after straightening that, it started fine. that was 3 hours test running preheater on the aircraft battery and the engine started fine. a very nice day riding the bike and working the body. I was sweating at the end of the ride. rock on with some nice tunes...

this heater uses 30 Watt-hr for 1 hour of operation. if you have a 12V system, 30/12= 2.5 Amp-hrs. my one and only Concorde battery is rated for 24 Amp-hrs. there is always someone out there with a marginal system, so I will always tell you, "it will kill your battery".

I lost my red flash bike taillight last week, so I went back to try to find it by the log. nope, it wasn't there. then I rode 2 miles away and realized I didn't have my eye protection, so I rode back to look around. nope I couldn't find it until I looked under my helmet. I had smashed them on my head under my helmet. so, the message is, when you are older, you will spend a lot of time riding around looking for things you misplaced.... it's just like being in the hangar trying to find your coffee cup....

 

[A2022]

Spring is on the way...

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Spring is on the way...

Sigh... Why do people always say this, when it should be clear by now that this is only First Spring, and invoking the name of the Great And Real Spring is only going to bring upon us Second Winter?

 

[Randomskylane]

Spring better start soon, my oil tank is at 1/3rd!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Sigh... Why do people always say this, when it should be clear by now that this is only First Spring, and invoking the name of the Great And Real Spring is only going to bring upon us Second Winter?

Ugh. I hate it when I'm right.



This is why my snowblower doesn't come off the tractor 'til May 1st. It's not gonna be my fault!

 

[A2022]

It’s been a while since I flew without a bicycle onboard. With the weather cool and expected to drop further next week (-13°C low forecast), I decided to get up in the air. I pulled out my engine preheating gear—one runs on grid power, the other on ship’s power and fuel. Both worked flawlessly. I installed the cowl inlet air dams in about five minutes. It felt great to be back in the air, with an OAT of -10°C at 4,000 feet. After the flight, I stopped by the local airport engine shop to test fit a printed part on a crankshaft flange. It’s great having a shop onsite, and they seemed busy with plenty of engines in progress.

Flying without a bicycle on board feels strange, but the airplane must have been ready to go because it fired up after just one blade.

 

[GeorgeC]

Interesting! We were just talking about those heaters in the preheating off base thread.

@A2022, did you have to change the flow rate of the pump or the nozzle/injector?

If you're running 100LL, I would be interested to see if the combustion chamber eventually gets gunked up with lead.

 

[A2022]

No changes have been made to the diesel heater; it’s stock and running on 100LL siphoned from the fuel tank.

 

[A2022]

A 45-minute preheat from the aircraft’s main battery shows no negative impact on starting. It’s equipped with a Concorde 24 amp-hour battery.

works well see photos

 

[A2022]

A 90-minute preheat using the aircraft's main battery shows no negative impact on starting. It’s fitted with a Concorde 24 amp-hour battery.

works well see photos

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

This showed up on my YT feed after seeing your post.

Different model heater plus using autogas, but not happy results. Toward the end he discusses his theory of the more volitile gasoline expanding beyond the combustion chamber “wick” used for diesel, and some of the combustion occurring in the heat exchanger or other parts of the heater.

His combustion body burned cooler with gas and the exhaust was much hotter, plus higher CO.

I’m thinking now… I was going to copy your setup. It really looks slick.

 

[flyingron]

I wouldn't touch a Vevor anything since I used one of their ladders and had one of the extrusions fail on me and pitch me 8' to the deck (fortunately, it was the plywood deck so it wasn't as bad as it could have been). I shipped the bloody thing back to Amazon and told them they were lucky they were getting off with just refunding my money. I should have sued them for my injuries.

 

[A2022]

well, it seems to be working fine. I suppose you could turn on the camera system to monitor the aircraft on your cell phone from the FBO if you were concerned about it.