engine preheaters

[MikeW]

I'm looking for an engine preheater for remote use (no electricity), and the only one I've seen so far is propane powered. Does anyone know of a heater that runs off avgas or white gas, blazo fuel, something like that. Thanks


Mike

[a64pilot]

I've known people to make their own preheater out of a camp stove that will burn AV gas, but I have not done so myself.

[N949JH]

I've been using a Northern Companion heater up here in Alaska for the last 6 years and love it. It takes longer to heat your engine than the "forced air" variety but you can't beat it for simple, compact, and reliable. And when sheep season comes you can take the stove out of it and go hunting.

[MikeW]

That northern companion heater is what I've been looking for. I found a couple places online that sell them. Thanks a bunch


Mike

[N949JH]

You're welcome. Happy flying and stay warm.

[andy]

I have the Northern Companion and it's pretty good, but expensive. I don't like the sliding door on the side of the duct since it comes off easily and is difficult to slide when hot - also burns if you don't use a heavy glove. The heart of the preheater is the all-fuel stove, which is a MSR camp stove with a special shaker jet that handles AVGAS. You can fabricate the ductwork out of much less expensive galvanized 6" ducting with a 4" reducer to connect to a length of SCAT duct with a 4" worm screw hose clamp. You need to drill some ventilation openings at the bottom of the duct and make a notch for the stove's fuel line where it sits on the ground. The $180 Brunton Vapor AF is a better stove than the Northern Companion's MSR with a more rugged pump mechanism and maintenance free jet. The movable legs of the Northern Companion give it a little more stability than the simple duct, but unless the ground is really slanted, it's not too important. If you don't mind spending a little quality time making the duct, you can do the whole thing for under $250. The Northern Companion costs around $410.

Andy

[Bob Leve]

After reading the advice on portable engine preheaters was wondering about my oil sump heater and whether by itself it is effective in warming the engine (Lycoming 235 HP). I keep the ship in an unheated hanger which gets down to 15 or 20 F. I usually keep the oil sump heater plugged in, but I'm not sure if that gives enough heat to also warm the cylinders. I don't want to prang my engine by starting it when it is very cold. I thought of also getting an AC preheater to use but I'm not sure if that is necessary. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Kirk]

An oil sump-only heater doesn't do much for heating the crank, cam and cylinders. That is where a lot of the wear items are on cold starts.

Depending upon the make of your sump heater, you might be able to add cylinder heaters to the system. If not, being in a hangar I think you would probably get away with the temps you mentioned just by wrapping the cowl with a good insulator.

I like a wide sleeping bag that I can wrap around the spinner to allow warm air from the cowl to reach the prop hub (constant speed). Try that and if it feels warm when you reach under the blanket you are probably ok.

A 100 watt work light under an insulated cowl works pretty well down to 20 degrees on it's own too.

Just my $.02 worth,

Kirk

[John5150]

I recently installed a "Reif" elctric preheater on a 0-320 E2D and love it. Of course this requires that you have power outlet. I strongly suggest that if you go the electric heater route that you get the cilinder elements as well as oil sump element. This ensures a more uniform heat and will help aleviate any corrosion concerns from having cold cilinders with a warm oil sump. Also it is suggested that you leave oil access spout ajar to allow any condensation to escape. My cold starts are a snap now. Less priming, less wear on starter, battery life better, etc.. The thing I like about the "Reif" model is that there is no cilinder penetration for the heating elements. ....J

[aero101]

Where there is electricity, a simple automotive interior heater is small, and very efficient. Available at NAPA for about $80 will slide up into bottom of cowling (or attach to engine mount with clamps) and will work on blanketed engine all the way down the -40F range. Some people up here put them on timers and keep their engine heated on daily basis. I don't fly much below 0 F, but at those temps, will thoroughly heat whole engine warm to touch in about 2hrs... In conjunction with pan heater, I indicate both oil and cyl temps very shortly after starting when temps around 0... Another option for out in boondocks with no power are the white gas operated catalytic heaters. They are small, compact, will slide into lower cowl, no open flame. You can't buy any but propane versions new anymore, but they are usually available on EBAY for pretty cheap and the white gas versions make much less moisture than the propane. I also have a larger sized one installed in a 5 gallon bucket, holes drilled around bottom periphery, capped top with 4" duct into engine compartment. Both versions work very well and can usually buy all required items for less then $100. Here's example of availability on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/SEARS-Coleman-3000- ... dZViewItem