A review of my EZ-Heat oil sump preheater

[cfmcowboy]

Thank you for the clarification Sam. FWIW, my RV7 is in a semi insulated hangar and although it was really cold yesterday when I made my video I was very impressed that both oil temps and cylinder temps were between 70-80 degrees F. I did place a couple moving blankets on top of the cowl and cowl inlet plugs in.

I also use Camguard.

John

[cfmcowboy]

And do go down the rabbit hole further, I spoke to Lycoming this am and the rep suggested that I do not keep it plugged in 24/7. The reason being that the moisture released from the oil could collect on the cooler parts of the engine above.

This got me thinking, it the oil sump is keeping both the oil, engine and cylinders around 75F or so consistently would this apply?

J

[Sam Buchanan]

Originally Posted by cfmcowboy

And do go down the rabbit hole further, I spoke to Lycoming this am and the rep suggested that I do not keep it plugged in 24/7. The reason being that the moisture released from the oil could collect on the cooler parts of the engine above.

This got me thinking, it the oil sump is keeping both the oil, engine and cylinders around 75F or so consistently would this apply?

J

Your inquiry is akin to the Great Primer question.....you will not get a consensus....usually just blanket opinions offered to cover all scenarios. Use your own common sense to reason this out.....

[Jetmart]

I believe the current thinking is that if you have both an oil sump heater and cylinder head heat that it is better to leave the heat plugged in continuously. At the same time it is recommend to pull the oil dipstick after flight and leave it out between flights. This allows any moisture in the engine to escape up the dipstick tube and reduces the likelihood of moisture re-condensing in the engine.

I had ongoing corrosion issues on the cams of a regularly flown twin engine in a heated hangar until I adopted this practice.

[raisbeck]

30+ years ago when I bought the Tanis on my 182, the shop that installed it recommended leaving it on 24/7, and indicated that a commuter that they worked for ran theirs 12 months a year. I installed a diode to cut the electrical consumption by 4 and it usually costs less than the meter minimum to leave on thru the winter. I do keep it blanketed. 1500-1600 hrs later, the oil analysis is consistent, compressions are in the high 70's and it starts on the second blade.

Cockpit heater:
Although one of my hangar neighbors rigged his Seneca heaters (engine and cockpit) to start with a 2m packet set up, I'm just not that tech savvy and cell coverage in the hangar is iffy at best. If I know that I'm going to be flying in the morning and its gonna be cold (Oct - May in this part of Wyoming) I leave a little "under desk" space heater (with various safety shutoffs) in the cockpit under the panel. Figure the odds ratio of the heater catching fire is cheaper than the near certainty that the expensive squealing of my gyros spinning up.

Our club 172 has had an oil pan heater for roughly the same period, and a rather elaborate homemade, quilted, blanket. First two engines (H2AD) in different planes made it to 2200/2500 hrs without problems, the third (a STC'd D2J) is at 2000 and going strong. All of these were replaced because certain club officers were getting nervous about the liability of running past TBO.

I've seen the rational(s) for not keeping engines warm, but at least in our cold, dry climate, it seems to prolong their life.

[rocketbob]

I have overhauled engines that had a band of pitting around the circumference of the bottom of the cylinders where cylinder heaters were installed. They also exhibited wear on the cylinders presumably where oil was heated and ran off the cylinder walls.