Winter / Cold Wx Cabin Preheat

I have already done a search and came up with nothing. I am not as luck as one of my RV Friends in Milwaukee that keeps his airplane in a heated hangar.

What are others doing to preheat the cockpit / cabin on Van's RV aircraft before cold weather winter flying?

I already have a sump heater and a SwitchBoxControl to turn the sump heater on for cold starts. Have not used it much but I know both work. IF I turn the sump heater on 2-hours before I arrive at the airport on a 32 F day, I have 80 F oil temp when the engine starts. (This test was run one time and may not be the best data if tested more times.)

Would like to get some preheat in the cockpit for cold operation. The SwitchBoxControl will allow me to control a 2nd circuit. I am thinking about a small electric heater. My concern is size and location of the heater in the cockpit. I have seen others have a couple of 100 W light bulbs on a piece of plywood in the baggage area of a Cessna as cockpit preheat.

Would be interested in what heater you use, wattage of heater, source to purchase, and location you place it in the cockpit.

Yes it is only September but I would like prepare to fly more this winter than I did last year after I departed SoCAL for Pennsylvania.

Cockpit Heating

Gary,
I'm certainly no expert on pre-heating the cockpit prior to flying, but I've heard that one should be cautious (relating to the plexi) due to the cold temp shock once the plane is rolled out into the cold.
This past winter we had plenty of exceptionally cold mornings in northcentral Pa. and I was always a bit concerned. In my case, I'd preheat the engine but never add heat to the cockpit, in fear of the big CRACK!
Hope that helps.

Jim Diehl 7A tip up
Lock Haven, Pa.

I bought one of these at Lowes for about $20 and attached a flexible dryer hose to it. Place end of hose underneath engine cowl and put blanket over top of cowling. Pull cabin heat ON and close canopy. My engine & cabin are warm in :30-:45 min, depending on how cold it is.

Gary,

I live in Hartford where the winters aren't horribly cold, but I always find somewhere interesting to fly when it's 0-10F (i.e. Alton Bay). I place a 750/1500W ceramic heater in the baggage compartment. This Lasko 5409 is a newer model than what I have but has the same specs. I like to pre-heat the cabin so the LCDs aren't as cold-soaked... PLUS my other half enjoys the seats and headsets being softer and warmer. This has worked well for 5 seasons.



I like this ceramic block style without hot exposed wire heating elements. Even if it tips over for some reason, it won't burn anything. There are two levels on the heater; I use the 750W setting, no oscillation, and set the thermostat to relatively cool. I turn this on with the engine heater at least 3 hours prior to flight; it hits about ~50-60F before the thermostat kicks in.

Good luck!
AO

Frostguard

I use a small heater which does not have any moving parts inside. (like a fan)

It's made for use in boats, cabins, trailers etc, where it's placed in small confined spaces to prevent temps below freezing.
The heating element is 2-500W, depending of type.


Here's a pic:
http://www.byggmax.no/oppvarming/varmevifter/frostvakt-p29990?gclid=CKuIjYWw9sACFaHacgodD5IAYg

I place the heater on the floor just below the instrument-panel. That way, the EFIS and the rest of the instruments gets a nice warm flow.
I set the thermostat to a +5*C, in other words just above freezing.

The heater is always in the plane when OAT drops towards freezing during Fall, except for when I'm flying ofcourse.

I place a soft and thick blanket on top of the canopy, going from FF until just aft of the baggage-compartment.

I also place a thermometer with a memory-function inside the cockpit so I can verify that the temps have been above freezing all the time.

In Norway, we call them "Frostguard", but I'm sure there are similar products all around the worlds where there are cold weater.