Oil pan heater - leave on?

saddletramp

saddletramp

Line Up and Wait
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saddletramp
Probably a silly question but here it goes.

I have an oil pan heater that is attached to the bottom of my oil pan that gets very hot. When I plugged it in this fall to warm the oil for an oil/filter change I was amazed at how hot the oil was. In fact, after leaving it plugged in overnight when I touched the pan to check the temperature it burned my finger! The oil drained right out in less than 30 minutes.

My 182 is stored in an unheated but insulated hangar. Our average temps this time of year are usually in the 30's but presently it's around 10 degrees with 8" of snow on the ground.

Is it wise to keep it plugged in? I'm hoping it will drive some moisture out. I also have a thick blanket over the cowling with the intake holes stuffed with remainder of blanket.

What say you?

PS - I don't have an AOA installed & so far so good.
 
I wouldn't, and I don't on my plane, don't know of anyone who leaves that stuff on 24/7, hence the market for those cell phone power switches and whatnot.
 
Before I got a heated hangar I used the Reiff HotStrip. It has a thermostat so much reduces the overheating possibility.
 
Simple visual. Take your freezer at home and look inside. Dry with a little frost. Unplug it and stick a heater inside. Open the door a little later. Every surface will be coated with water and you'll have a puddle in the bottom waiting to evaporate and rain down again. Which do you prefer for the days your engine won't run?
 
As long as you spray it down with ice-cold water to ease starting you should be ok...

Oh, and pick up an AOA setup from a guy on some islands...
 
It depends on what the temperature is on the top part of the engine. If the temperature inside the engine is above the dew point (inside engine case humidity) then you will not have any water form. Some pilots will place a blanket on top of the cowel to try to keep extra heat inside on top part of the engine if using a simple oil pan heater. I know pilots that leave them in plugged in 24/7 during the cold winter months with no known problems.

I do not thinks anybody really knows if it helps or hurts leaving leaving the oil pan heater 24/7. My guess is that if you fly the plane at least once a week and leave the oil pan heater 24/7 it probably helps. If you fly less than that it probably hurts the engine. If you can remotely turn on the warmer 4-6 hours pre Flight that would be the best. The question is if you decide that you can not fly is it better to leave the warmer on till you can fly or turn it off and risk internal engine water damage.

There are some good professional engine heaters that warm each cylinder individually which is the gold standard.
 
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