Lynn Matteson
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 2778
Location: Grass Lake, Michigan
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 Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject: Off topic...New Year's Day flight/engine heater |
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Funny you should mention pre-heating....I just came up with a really
nice 120 volt heater, 200 watt, and since I first tested it, I leave
it plugged in all the time now. Mine cost $60 for the heater and $3
for the plug/wire. It's a stainless steel unit with fins, and is
marketed as a "strip heater" by Grainger. On my Jabiru the oil cooler
sits at an angle to the bottom of the oil pan, and I insert the
heater into the gap between the pan and cooler. After 3 hrs of
heating, the temperatures are just about normalized at:
oil temp =113°F cyl head temp =79°F cowl temp =74°F (between cowl
and a blanket laid over) The heater is finned, and checking the
surface temp I found about 200°F. I first checked temps after 3
hours, then overnight, and temps were about the same. Because this
thing only pulls about 2 amps...somebody check my math....it's fairly
economical to operate, and keeps the condensation out of the engine
because the whole engine compartment is warm. When I pull the plane
out of the hangar, I disconnect the heater and very carefully lay it
aside...it's HOT!...and get ready to fly. By the time I've climbed
aboard, strapped in, checklisted, and started the engine, the oil has
dropped to about 106°. By the time I've taxied 1500 feet to the far
end of the field, the oil is up to 120°F (suggested minimum), and the
heads are around 240°F or so. I've flown 4 times since using the pre-
heater, and the ambient was between 28°F and 37°F inside the hangar,
taken from my OAT reading on my EIS, as were all the temps just
mentioned.
Using this pre-heater has dropped my warmup time by several minutes.
I've been trying to think of any negative aspects of using this
system, and so far I haven't.....can any of you? I'm open to
opinions. The first thing I thought about was possibly getting too
much heat to the oil cooler, and its small capacity, and possibly
cooking the oil within the tubes....any thoughts?
Lynn Matteson
Grass Lake, Michigan
Kitfox IV Speedster w/Jabiru 2200
flying w/450+ hrs
On Jan 1, 2008, at 8:54 PM, Steve Shinabery wrote:
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Hey Lynn,,do U pre heat your engine befor running it??I made a neat
little heater for app $40.00.works great..does the same thing as
thoese big price one does.Steve Shinabery N554KF,,KF2
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_________________
Lynn
Kitfox IV-Jabiru 2200
N369LM |
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