- Joined
- Oct 31, 1996
- Posts
- 855
- Type aircraft owned
- Carbon Cub FX-3
- Base airport
- KFCI
- Ratings
- COMM, IFR, MEL, SEL
I have the Reiff engine pre-heater for my Lycoming IO-360. I realize it's probably not the best solution as I hear Tanis is the better option but I don't have much experience with this to offer an opinion, just what I heard, and Reiff is the only option offered by CubCrafters at my build time.
Knowing I had a cold morning launch last week, under 30F, I plugged in early in the week as I hoped to fly earlier but had to reschedule. I heard some time back that with Reiff, don't unplug it until ready to fly as there is the possibility of condensation if the engine is not run post heating. I'm curious what temps people use for when to pre-heat, can the Reiff be on too long or can it run continuous until the next flight opportunity? I have to say it worked well, when I got to the runup area there was no waiting for oil temps to rise, it was around 130 when I arrived at the runup. Otherwise it probably would have been 80-90 and had to wait 5-10 minutes for temps to go green for power over 1000 rpm.
I'd love to learn from others on what you use, when to use, how long to use, etc. regards to piston engine pre-heating.
Knowing I had a cold morning launch last week, under 30F, I plugged in early in the week as I hoped to fly earlier but had to reschedule. I heard some time back that with Reiff, don't unplug it until ready to fly as there is the possibility of condensation if the engine is not run post heating. I'm curious what temps people use for when to pre-heat, can the Reiff be on too long or can it run continuous until the next flight opportunity? I have to say it worked well, when I got to the runup area there was no waiting for oil temps to rise, it was around 130 when I arrived at the runup. Otherwise it probably would have been 80-90 and had to wait 5-10 minutes for temps to go green for power over 1000 rpm.
I'd love to learn from others on what you use, when to use, how long to use, etc. regards to piston engine pre-heating.
