Reiff vs EZ Heat

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Dan Gordon

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I have a Piper Cherokee 140 based in the Boston area with tie-down and access to 24/7 power. I need to buy a preheater system for the winter and am looking at (2) models EZ Heat bladder/sump system versus Reiff sump and cylinder system. Is the Reiff overkill or a must have versus a standard sump only system?

I will also purchase a proper cowling cover and remote relay switch to turn the heater on with mobile phone.
 
hi dan, I am in boston area too, and have an arrow ii. I went with the EZ heat Oil sump warmer. 300W. I use a jackery power carrier to provide the power for it before I want to go fly (this trick saves me a lot of dough using power from the FBO on a year subscription), I'll let it sit for 30 mins with that to warm up the oil. I change oil 2ce a year and have it analyzed, I see no up trends in anything (I see down trends due to the use of camguard, with phillips oil btw)
I had been advised that the oil is the most critical to make it more liquid and provide lubrication and not over pressure and that EZ heat will do that.
Generally I only need it late December till end of Feb, although as we both know sometimes March can be tricky as always for us :).
In extreme cold, you may want to consider blasting some warm air through cowling when very early in the day to warm up the whole block. I generally wait till 11/noon in those cases to have the sun do something for me (as well as defrost the wings etc).
As always let her warm up slowly and don't take off with oil out of green/too low. Oil lubrication is what flowers are to marriage, it will keep it going for long times... :)

cheers!
xander
 
I have a Tanis (not that I use it much anymore). I liked it because it gave a bunch of options on the cylinder heaters. The ones I ended use one of the rocker cover screws on each cylinder to pull it against the back of the flange. That and a couple of pads glued to the case and everything worked well.

A few years back I left my plane at IAD at Christmastime. My daughter needed to be taken back to KUNV (Penn State) on a short time schedule so I staged the plane at IAD (based at CJR at the time) since we lived four miles from Dulles. Asked the guy if he could either put my plane in the hangar or move it close to the building and plug in the block heater. Came out the next morning to find the plane sitting in this otherwise empty cavernous hangar... with the block heater plugged in.
 
xander75 said:
hi dan, I am in boston area too, and have an arrow ii. I went with the EZ heat Oil sump warmer. 300W. I use a jackery power carrier to provide the power for it before I want to go fly (this trick saves me a lot of dough using power from the FBO on a year subscription), I'll let it sit for 30 mins with that to warm up the oil. I change oil 2ce a year and have it analyzed, I see no up trends in anything (I see down trends due to the use of camguard, with phillips oil btw)
I had been advised that the oil is the most critical to make it more liquid and provide lubrication and not over pressure and that EZ heat will do that.
Generally I only need it late December till end of Feb, although as we both know sometimes March can be tricky as always for us :).
In extreme cold, you may want to consider blasting some warm air through cowling when very early in the day to warm up the whole block. I generally wait till 11/noon in those cases to have the sun do something for me (as well as defrost the wings etc).
As always let her warm up slowly and don't take off with oil out of green/too low. Oil lubrication is what flowers are to marriage, it will keep it going for long times... :)

cheers!
xander
Click to expand...
Thanks Xander, this is good information. The price between the (2) heaters is only $350.00. I’m wondering if the Reiff is overkill or is warming the cylinders necessary versus sump only.
 
Dan Gordon said:
Thanks Xander, this is good information. The price between the (2) heaters is only $350.00. I’m wondering if the Reiff is overkill or is warming the cylinders necessary versus sump only.
Click to expand...
you know Dan, while I am normally "cheap" (maybe thats what allowed me to afford a plane), with her I don't nickel and dime... For me it is a safety/longetivity issue and if something costs a little more I'd suck it up, otherwise we can't be an airplane owner and be solid. $350 is call it nothing in airplane parts terminology :)

On the topic of the engine heater, and going back to engine basics, it's the oil that provides lubrication that is necessary to avoid piston+/wall wear amongst other things of course. So if I'd warm up the oil to a temperature that it can provide that lubrication I do feel good about it.

I confirmed this with a number of mechanics I am in touch with and also in my own oil analysis that I don't see AL or FE appearing a whole lot nor increasing.
It's slightly dependent on the type of cylinder one may have, but lets assume the "going standard" for the sake of discussion it is the CYL compared to wall that is important (so the cyl doesn't scrape the wall or there is too much of a gap that is not filled losing compression). Ok with that in mind, so if it is cold(er), and the block warms up, there is a gap between the wall and the cylinder, which is filled buy the oil lubrication. So for me full circle, if I make sure the oil is there for that seal and lubrication.

I'd say in general Oil is the blood of your engine, its temperature, viscosity, cleanness, filter, pressure.

Since the general guidance is also lower CHT is better, I really don't see the need of warming them up, as they will do that on their own, though like said, in a graceful manner, avoid shock heating or cooling.

I am always weary of when folks/vendors say, "relative short time", some things take their time. I don't want to accelerate things unnecessarily. IT's the triangle of Good Fast and Cheap, pick 2 out of the 3, can't have all. Same line if things need to be done fast(er), its not going to be good or cheap and with engines, the wear is cumulative.

Anyways, the reiff system does look appealing, I never saw a use for it. I got the plane from down south so she didn't need any heating whatsoever, when i took her here, I went from cowl warming to the EZ heat that provided me the result I was looking for: better oil viscosity in the colder months, smooth engine starts on such days and no unnecessary wear on the engine (as indicated by the oil analysis) .

I know, so much info, what to do, what is best :) hope my personal experience helped though.
Would like to hear what you decided in the end and the reasoning and experience with it!

x
 
xander75 said:
you know Dan, while I am normally "cheap" (maybe thats what allowed me to afford a plane), with her I don't nickel and dime... For me it is a safety/longetivity issue and if something costs a little more I'd suck it up, otherwise we can't be an airplane owner and be solid. $350 is call it nothing in airplane parts terminology :)

On the topic of the engine heater, and going back to engine basics, it's the oil that provides lubrication that is necessary to avoid piston+/wall wear amongst other things of course. So if I'd warm up the oil to a temperature that it can provide that lubrication I do feel good about it.

I confirmed this with a number of mechanics I am in touch with and also in my own oil analysis that I don't see AL or FE appearing a whole lot nor increasing.
It's slightly dependent on the type of cylinder one may have, but lets assume the "going standard" for the sake of discussion it is the CYL compared to wall that is important (so the cyl doesn't scrape the wall or there is too much of a gap that is not filled losing compression). Ok with that in mind, so if it is cold(er), and the block warms up, there is a gap between the wall and the cylinder, which is filled buy the oil lubrication. So for me full circle, if I make sure the oil is there for that seal and lubrication.

I'd say in general Oil is the blood of your engine, its temperature, viscosity, cleanness, filter, pressure.

Since the general guidance is also lower CHT is better, I really don't see the need of warming them up, as they will do that on their own, though like said, in a graceful manner, avoid shock heating or cooling.

I am always weary of when folks/vendors say, "relative short time", some things take their time. I don't want to accelerate things unnecessarily. IT's the triangle of Good Fast and Cheap, pick 2 out of the 3, can't have all. Same line if things need to be done fast(er), its not going to be good or cheap and with engines, the wear is cumulative.

Anyways, the reiff system does look appealing, I never saw a use for it. I got the plane from down south so she didn't need any heating whatsoever, when i took her here, I went from cowl warming to the EZ heat that provided me the result I was looking for: better oil viscosity in the colder months, smooth engine starts on such days and no unnecessary wear on the engine (as indicated by the oil analysis) .

I know, so much info, what to do, what is best :) hope my personal experience helped though.
Would like to hear what you decided in the end and the reasoning and experience with it!

x
Click to expand...
Thank you for your thorough explanation and your logic behind your choice. This gives me a lot to think about. The A&P at my airport recommended the EZ Heat and or the Reiff. The flight school planes that he maintains use the EZ Heat. Your point regarding cylinder head temps is well taken.

This plane lived its life out of MA in a dry warm climate.
 
Alaska for me. I’ve got Reiff’s highest power cylinder bands and sump heaters on both planes. I use a generator more often than not and I want to preheat in less time. Mission accomplished. Reiff is clearly the popular choice here in the north.
 
My experience with the old plane with just an oil heater was that when the cowl was blanketed and the cooling ports stuffed, the entire engine was well warm enough. Easily in the 50's or 60's.

I'm planning to do the same with the new one.
 
I just use a space heater with temp control and over heat protection. I keep an engine cover on and the heat low. I've been doing this for long time now. This is assuming you use a small sized heater and have room to stick it in somewhere.
 
I have radiant floor heat (powered by a ground-to-water heat pump) in my hangar now. The great thing about having that big concrete slab at 55 degrees or so is that the room recovers quickly after the door is closed.
 
xander75 said:
hi dan, I am in boston area too, and have an arrow ii. I went with the EZ heat Oil sump warmer. 300W. I use a jackery power carrier to provide the power for it before I want to go fly (this trick saves me a lot of dough using power from the FBO on a year subscription), I'll let it sit for 30 mins with that to warm up the oil. I change oil 2ce a year and have it analyzed, I see no up trends in anything (I see down trends due to the use of camguard, with phillips oil btw)
I had been advised that the oil is the most critical to make it more liquid and provide lubrication and not over pressure and that EZ heat will do that.
Generally I only need it late December till end of Feb, although as we both know sometimes March can be tricky as always for us :).
In extreme cold, you may want to consider blasting some warm air through cowling when very early in the day to warm up the whole block. I generally wait till 11/noon in those cases to have the sun do something for me (as well as defrost the wings etc).
As always let her warm up slowly and don't take off with oil out of green/too low. Oil lubrication is what flowers are to marriage, it will keep it going for long times... :)

cheers!
xander
Click to expand...
Which jackery model? TIA
 
I went with the Reiff standard system. 50 watt band heaters clamp around the cylinders and a 100 watt aluminum HotStrip element epoxied to the oil sump. I also use moving blankets to cover the cowl and prop. I turn the system on from home when I go to bed and everything is toasty when I’m ready to fly.
 
Randomskylane said:
Which jackery model? TIA
Click to expand...
This one (jackery 500 explorer), multi purpose, small and light providing good energy.

If you wanna go more, put a solar panel on it and you can litterally warm up your plane for free!
I am so green, that's why I fly a plane that uses 100LL :) Joking aside, power service cost 250/yr and you only need it few months where I am (MA), it pays itself back rather fast.
Plus can use it to keep the fridge running when there is a power outage as it is portable/light enough, and you can use it as a electric boost and you can use it in case you need to land somewhere you don't want and have power for your phone, warm up a meal, its part of my survival kit!

ps look out for sales discounts and a possible tax credit (if you add solar).
x
 
I just watched a Wings webinar this morning given by the former owner of Tanis. (Hartzell bought Tanis). He naturally recommended Tanis over the other sump only heaters. He emphasized to avoid corrosion it is critical that the cylinders be heated to a significantly higher temperature than oil to avoid moisture condensing in the cylinders. Thier claim was if you only heat the sump, the moisture will immediately condense on the cylinders because they are much colder than the oil. He stressed - the cylinders must be at a higher temperature than the oil. It was very interesting and worth the time. There is another one scheduled for 10/18. I will look for the link. If you are considering a heater it is worth watching. Here is a link to their technical data page with some of the explanations and one of the graphs he presented. The scale is cropped off the temperature but you can see the cylinder head temperature is much higher than the oil temperature. He said several times this is critical to avoiding corrosion.

1696727929986.jpeg

www.tanisaircraft.com

Why Tanis - Tanis Aircraft Products

Why Tanis? Because only a preheat system from Tanis will thoroughly heat-soak your engine! We proabely preheat your engine with multipoint heat.
www.tanisaircraft.com www.tanisaircraft.com
 
Jim_CAK said:
I just watched a Wings webinar this morning given by the former owner of Tanis. (Hartzell bought Tanis). He naturally recommended Tanis over the other sump only heaters. He emphasized to avoid corrosion it is critical that the cylinders be heated to a significantly higher temperature than oil to avoid moisture condensing in the cylinders. Thier claim was if you only heat the sump, the moisture will immediately condense on the cylinders because they are much colder than the oil. He stressed - the cylinders must be at a higher temperature than the oil. It was very interesting and worth the time. There is another one scheduled for 10/18. I will look for the link. If you are considering a heater it is worth watching. Here is a link to their technical data page with some of the explanations and one of the graphs he presented. The scale is cropped off the temperature but you can see the cylinder head temperature is much higher than the oil temperature. He said several times this is critical to avoiding corrosion.

View attachment 121216

www.tanisaircraft.com

Why Tanis - Tanis Aircraft Products

Why Tanis? Because only a preheat system from Tanis will thoroughly heat-soak your engine! We proabely preheat your engine with multipoint heat.
www.tanisaircraft.com www.tanisaircraft.com
Click to expand...
Here is the link to the webinar on pre-heating 10/18.
https://www.faasafety.gov/SPANS/event_details.aspx?eid=124367&caller=/SPANS/events/EventList.aspx
 
Consider how it will be used is important too.

Some can be ON continuously; others are best turned ON some time before flight.
 
I don't disagree with what Tanis and others say if you going to heat it full time.
Depends on where you live and how your plane is stored whether you need a full blown heater system. imho

We are not allowed to leave our heaters plugged in full time at my airport, at least inside the hangars. You can call ahead and they will go into your hangar and plug it in for you before you get there.
I have the heating pad only and only use it a couple hours before flying the plane. So I feel there isn't enough time for corrosion of the cyls?
I also fly the plane almost everyday, so for me I think I am fine with just a sump heater.
 
I have used both,prefer the reiff system. Airplane seemed to start easier with the reiff.
 
When I was in the cold north (well, Northern Virginia), I started with a 7 day timer to which I plugged in a cheap line voltage thermostat. On any Friday, Saturday, or Sunday early morning (1AM) that was below 45 degrees, the heater was activated.

Later I replaced that with a GSM Auto. Of course, I learned that a metal T hangar is impervious to cell phones with the door shut, so I had to poke an external antenna out the eaves.
 
Reiff with bands and sump pad has worked for years for me on many different planes. With a cowl and prop insulated cover I saw nearly 100 F in the morning when the OAT was about 4 F. Others may do the same, don’t know.

in a hangar use a garbage can heater and blankets overnight or the Reiff

All heaters are use when needed or you’ll condense like crazy quickly. Use a cheapo remote wifi outlet for on/off or a cell solution which is more $
 
I have a sump heater pad and an insulated cowl cover. And a hangar.

I put a remote thermometer in the oil door. After overnight, it typically reads about 80F in the cowling.

Without the cover and/or outside, I would probably put on the bands.
 
I have the Reiff Hotband XP with no sump heater. Unlike Tanis, the hotband provides heat to the core of the engine and allows the entire engine to come up to temp together and 'heatsoak'. It has worked great for me.
 
Regardless of OAT, oil type and pre-heat system, anyone operating

the aircraft should be aware that if the oil does not readily drip from

the stick the engine should not be started!
 
I just got a webinar notification from FAASafety.gov. The Webinar is "Tips to Preheat Aircraft Engines" presented by EAA.org.
Wednesday, January 10, 2024, starting at 19:00 Central Standard Time (17:00 PST; 18:00 MST; 20:00 EST; 15:00 HST; 16:00 AKST; 18:00 Arizona; Thursday, January 11, 2024 01:00 GMT)

From the description on the link above:
"Prof. H. Paul Shuch discusses why, wherefore, and how to preheat your engine, review products on the market that will help you to do so, and even learn how to build your own budget pre-heater. Don’t let low temperature starts ground or damage your aircraft!"
 
Preheating addresses two systems. Heating the oil improves flow and promotes oil pressure in minimum time and warms crank, rods, and cam. Heating cylinders promotes quicker ignition and warms cylinder bore, heads, and pistons. A good preheat systems does both. Parking outdoors in Alaska for 25 years without power service taught me a lot about preheating aircraft engines. These days I have a heated hangar but my planes both have full Reiff Turbo XP systems installed.
 
FWIW, Continental cold start instructions say NOT to leave preheaters on continuously and cite corrosion as the reason. But what do they know, right?
 
I am pleased with my EZ-heat. Plug it in the day before the flight and the engine will be toasty warm.
 
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