Question Using an engine pre-heater on a piston engine

[Neal]

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.

 

[ve6yeq]

I too have the factory-installed Reiff system installed on my EX-3. In my research, this system appeared to be the best plug in system as it gave a more even complete heat to the engine and it has a separate pre-heat for the oil cooler. The only thing lacking appears to be a pre-heat for the constant speed prop as the oil pressure does not settle until I have completed a very slow cycling of the prop during the run-up. (Maybe I just need an insulated cover for the spinner / prop blades?)

Even with the cold weather, I am still running W100 + camguard so I have to make sure to pre-heat everything to the minimum oil temperature for W100 before starting. As the plane is parked on the ramp outside with thinner covers, it seems to need 6+ hours to warm up so I just call the FBO to plug in the extension cord either the night before if I plan to fly early, or when I wake up if I am flying later. If the weather forecast does not work out, I just call the FBO to unplug it. I will add a WiFi switch one of these days as there is WiFi coverage on the ramp.

 

[Neal]

Good point about the CS prop. I've noticed when cycling in the colder weather it does take longer to stabilize back to full forward. I do give it time at RPM to stabilize but does seem to be something affected by the cold weather ops.

I still run 15W-50 (Aeroshell) but that's a good point too, should oil be changed for winter ops? I'm not in the coldest of climates typically in VA but this year has been unusually cold, it's 18F as I type this and I'm launching at 0900 to fly.

 

[Tsquared]

For me I plug in my Tanis when temps start to hover around 40F or lower consistently. I keep it plugged in until temps I might fly in are over 40F. So for MN that's typically mid November until sometime in April. I'm also using an insulated cover when it gets below 25F. I'm in an uninsulated and unheated T hangar.

With the Tanis preheat (cylinder heads and engine oil) my cylinder heads are typically 80F warmer than ambient temp and oil is 35-40F warmer as well before startup. That said I still keep close eye on my oil temp after start and don't taxi or operate above 1000rpm until my oil temp is at least 120F in the winter.

As I understand it, leaving a Reiff system on and then unplugging the system without flying it can allow condensation to build up in the cylinders. If you check out Tanis website they provide a good explanation regarding the advantages of their system. Why Tanis - Tanis Aircraft Products. Doug Evick (Tanis owner before Hartzel purchased the company) used to give presentations with data and thermal images to better articulate what Tanis can do.

RE ve6yeq's comments on the constant speed prop they are spot on. I don't cycle the prop until post run up and even then it's a little slow coming back to full RPM. I looked into getting a prop cover, but was told that with the composite props on the FX3, they didn't suck heat from the engine like a metal prop does and that there weren't any advantages to using a prop cover with a composite prop. But one Canuck to another, Toronto isn't that cold compared to Minneapolis or god forbid Winnipeg, Eh?

Like Neal I run the Aeroshell 5w-50 year round. If I was in Winnipeg, North Dakota or Alaska, I'd change oil types seasonally.