Makeshift engine heater?

[gismo]

What Ted said.

I've also heard that having only the oil sump pad can have the same effect, as it doesn't keep the entire engine warm - Water vaporizes out of the oil and then condenses in the cold top end.

Ted (and anyone else who cares to answer, I suppose ), what do you think about unscrewing the dipstick for additional ventilation? Good idea? (I would think so, but alas, I don't know it all any more. )

I would expect that a sump only heater left on full time won't cause problems as long as an engine cover/blanket is used and the airplane is in a hangar (out of the wind). This is assuming that the result is every part of the engine reaching a temperature above the dewpoint inside the engine. I would also expect that a sump only heater won't cause corrosion damage without the cover/blanket if it's only used for several hours before a flight.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

The engine dehydrators will do this for you.

Hmmm. Maybe I should start a "makeshift engine dehydrator" thread.

It depends on what kills them. Preheating will save the cold-star wear. Dehydrator will save corrosion. Pre-oiler would theoretically save wear prior to oil reaching the components.

Something else would probably kill it first.

Hmmm... I wonder if helicopter-parenting the engine would make it last a lot longer but cause it to fail spectacularly in a sudden and unpredictable manner... Y'know, like crankshaft failure or something.

Ok, I'll write it when I get a chance here. Make sure to request it to get stickied.

Sigh... So far, my record on sticky requests is .000. Maybe someone else should make the request.

 

[jhausch]

Maybe we should do like them truckers and just leave her idlin'

 

[flyingmoose]

I am sure there worries come from those that use the thermostat cubes and turn the heaters on and off. The flying club I was in (same field) had a policy that the airplanes were plugged in anytime it was expected to drop below 50 degrees. Of course with 30+ people sharing 2 airplanes they flew about 250 to 300 hours a year. I was actually ready to purchase either a Tannis or Reif and have it installed this past fall at annual but on their recommendations did not do so. Had not thought about your casserole analogy. Maybe I will spring for it this winter since flying will be a bit slower.

Yea I am curious as to there theory about not using the "Tanis" also.

Were you apart of DPC? Sound awful familiar, I was just talking with them not to long ago about joining.

Anyway, I really like the Tanis set up, but I like yours also. Our previous CAP plane had one like that.

 

[Ted]

Hmmm... I wonder if helicopter-parenting the engine would make it last a lot longer but cause it to fail spectacularly in a sudden and unpredictable manner... Y'know, like crankshaft failure or something.

Unlikely with the current cranks. This has to do with why Continentals and Lycomings both have SBs out regarding cranks. Old Lycoming cranks years ago would often last something like 8,000 hours (we're talking about way before the crankshaft issue, as in before you were born). Occasionally, they would snap after a number of hours/years. That's very rare, though, and most were taken out of service for other reasons by that age.

The current cranks are significantly improved, and so that shouldn't happen... Assumig process control, etc are all they should be. The infamous crank issue notwithstanding.

 

[N801BH]

Maybe we should do like them truckers and just leave her idlin'

That's funny right there... I don't care who you are..

 

[tmyers]

Yea I am curious as to there theory about not using the "Tanis" also.

Were you apart of DPC? Sound awful familiar, I was just talking with them not to long ago about joining.

Anyway, I really like the Tanis set up, but I like yours also. Our previous CAP plane had one like that.

Matt,

I think the A&P's I spoke to were more concerned with the on off cycle and the generation of moisture in the engine. Their comment was "If you really want one I will ...."

Yes I was in DPC, great bunch of guys but I quickly found out that if it was a nice day and I wanted to fly there were 30 others that wanted to fly also. Scheduling an airplane could be a bit of a challenge. There were a couple gentlemen that used to schedule every Sunday for months in advance to go fly actual or simulated IFR. They seldom went but tied up the schedule for weeks at a time which was against club rules but happened anyway. Once I needed to go to TN and asked if they would consider rescheduling. You would have thought I had asked for their first born child, they were highly insulted. So I drove. Guess what they didn't fly that day either. I think they have moved on though. The Archers are well maintained and I heard that they just had NuLites installed in the panel. The airplanes are kind of ratty inside if I remember right. Very well instrumented though. Both have 430W's. 06W has altitude hold which is nice.

I may think about a partner in the future with the Arrow, I am just very wary of who that might be. I see airplane partnerships as being a lot like a marriage, so it is in the back of my mind if I found the right person.

 

[proppastie]

I have used 2 small $15 electric heaters stuck in the front air inlets.

 

[N801BH]

....
....Yes I was in DPC, great bunch of guys but I quickly found out that if it was a nice day and I wanted to fly there were 30 others that wanted to fly also. Scheduling an airplane could be a bit of a challenge. There were a couple gentlemen that used to schedule every Sunday for months in advance to go fly actual or simulated IFR. They seldom went but tied up the schedule for weeks at a time which was against club rules but happened anyway. Once I needed to go to TN and asked if they would consider rescheduling. You would have thought I had asked for their first born child, they were highly insulted. So I drove. Guess what they didn't fly that day either.
.

I have never been around flying clubs since I have always owned my planes... But... You would think they would structure the "want' list to have a way to recoup rental losses caused by people who reserve planes and then don't fly them.

 

[rowerwet]

as a mechanic I've seen many chewed up cam shafts from rust pits on tappets caused by rust on the tappets, the water issue in an engine is real. The possibility of ruining your engine starting with cold oil is also very real, but not as much of an issue using multi-weight oil, but even they have issues at below freezing temps.
hot air/heated hangar heating is best for long term, keep that engine at 50 degrees F and it will be much happier starting and running, and long term. The downside is that hot air pre heating will have the outside of the engine to hot to touch and the oil still a cold jelly.
Add a sump pad heater to any engine and you get rid of the very real issue of oil starvation at start up, add the cylinder head or cylinder base heaters and you take care of most of the problem of condensation, and some ring/cylinder wall wear at start up.
Save some money on the extra (cyl head, or base) heaters, put a blanket over the cowling, and plug the cowling holes and you will take care of heating the top of the engine.
you need the sump heater more than any other heater if you can't store the engine in 50 degree or warmer air, just don't leave it plugged in for weeks in a cold hangar without running the engine. The worst thing you can do is let your engine sit, the second worst is start it with very cold oil. The only time it makes sense to plug in the sump heater without a cover is for the hour or two out on a ramp or overnight away from home.
Sump pad heaters don't warm 6-12 qts of oil that fast, make sure you give them time to warm it all up, it will take a few hours.

 

[wabower]

When we day-tripped a lot, we bought a fitted and blanketed cowling cover for the engine. It was amazingly effective at maintaining acceptable temps on the coldest of days.

For preheating in the hangar we turned it over and laid it on the top of the cowling and used a milk-house heater set to "low" with a fabricated plenum that attached to two insulation-wrapped pieces of dryer hose of sufficient length to position the heater away from the plane. Sponge inserts on the end of the hose plugged into the cowl flap openings to move air through the engine compartment. I'd stop by the hangar on the way home and set the timer.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

Wayne's Blanket gave me an Idea....heat always moves from warm to cold so if the engine is the coldest material in close proximity (as in as the sun comes up and ambient air is warmer than overnight temperatures) you need only put a heading pad of heated blanket in the engine compartment, close it and plug it in. The heat will be attracted to the cold engine.

If however the ambient air is colder than the engine much of the heat would go into the air so a blanket draped over the cowling would ensure more of the heat transfer directly to the engine.

$19.99 heating pad from cvs and a $6.99 moving blanket from harbor freight would do a good job if you have electric. On the flight line over night travels is another matter.

 

[Tim]

These work great to 40 below.

 

[patrick wentworth]

Any reason we could not rig an oil heater and cycle it from the quick drain back through the dipstick, like this? Might be a way to remove the vapor/gas and keep the whole block up to temp with an immersion heater set to a low temp. Seems like the whole thing could be rigged with low energy use since we do not have to heat much volume and pump could be slow.
If we were to pull the oil just after landing the vapor could condense out in the cycling tank instead of the crankcase.
Trying to think out of the cowl here

[/url] recycle and oil heater by Oclipat, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[N801BH]

Geez people....

Heat Rises....

Put one of these on the bottom of the motor, get the thermostatically controlled units, anything more the 200 watts will work great... And ALOT cheaper then the "other" brands....

http://www.archeat.com/FAAApprovedAircraft.htm


Lay an old blanket, comforter etc,over the top of the cowling, and some inexpensive plugs to close off the nostril holes and you can keep the ENTIRE motor at around 100 degrees for a few cents a day... It ain't that hard to do.

 

[Pa28-140]

I had a ceramic space heater rigged with a dryer vent connection and metal dryer hose that I used to keep the interior toasty. The dryer hose was put in through the vent window of my Cherokee. Worked fine for years. Moved the safe ceramic heater over one day with my foot and it burst into flames. Needless to say, I don't do that anymore.

 

[Geico266]

I've run one of these 24/7 below 40F for 15 years. Set it with the oil temp gage from my Dynon (or a thermometer) and set it so the oil is about 60F. Perfect!