space heaters ....just sayin'

[bobnoffs]

i was just downstairs in wife's sewing room. it has gas heat but she has always hung on to this small brand name milkhouse like heater. today she said she doesn't want it any more because it is starting to smell and it scares her. took it out in the shop and after a few minutes the fan stopped . heater coil kept cranking. i wouldn't want this thing on a remote switch under my airplane.

[BH1166]

Originally Posted by bobnoffs

i was just downstairs in wife's sewing room. it has gas heat but she has always hung on to this small brand name milkhouse like heater. today she said she doesn't want it any more because it is starting to smell and it scares her. took it out in the shop and after a few minutes the fan stopped . heater coil kept cranking. i wouldn't want this thing on a remote switch under my airplane.

…meaning in the last decade or two, have a thermocouple switch to cut power at a overrun temp. They have tip over cut off too.

Point well made if older.

[MacCool]

Purpose-built Hornet 45 heaters in their various configurations are very safe. I have no qualms about leaving my Hornet cockpit heater on a cell phone switch, or even leaving it on 24/7.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...s_08-12224.php

[gmcjetpilot]

Space heaters have caused many fires in homes and businesses, and I understand you concern about not having this thing near your plane.

My back of the house bathroom does not get enough (equal) central furnace heat. I use an oil radiator heater, no open heat element. The oil radiator is tall and not practical to put under the plane (unless a tail dragger and it's under the propeller. I could see making some kind of (flame and heat resistant but insulated) tent over the cowl with the heater under it. You really just want to keep the ambient around the engine above freezing +40F. Just leave it on all the time because it just gets warm (really warm) and cycles... It uses little energy. Again no open flame or heating coils. https://images.app.goo.gl/4wrXrGNbkWEYKa4Q8

[bobnoffs]

yes, there are safe heaters out there. the generic milkhouse heater is not one of them that inspires my confidence. and i have seen a fairly new ''milkhouse heater'' that didn't even have a tip over cutoff. $25 only goes so far.
yes, i do have a milkhouse heater on a cart with all the ductwork and even a boost fan in the ductwork. but i wouldn't leave it on even to go to the john in the office.

[dave4754]

I have a heater in my office to help on - 30 C days. If not turned on often or at all, the dust collects on it and i am thinking that is the smell your wife might have noticed. If the smell went away that is probably the cause.

Having said that i have another heater out in the Horse tack room that has a fan unlike the other one in my office. This device did not work at minus 30 C as the fan would not turn over, without a thermocouple device to detect it I believe this device could have caught fire due to overheating.

My answer is a Propane supplied shop heater and ducting (6feet) to allow warm air into the cowl nose or from under the exhaust outlet. This has proven to take very little time to allow warming of oil and engine.

Dave

[swordtail]

https://www.amazon.com/Heater-Engine...%2C125&sr=8-50

I use this heat element and leave it pugged in when I'm not flying.