When to preheat?

[kevinh]

Hi ya'll,

The weather looks great so I'm thinking about a day trip to Tahoe, but I have little experience starting my RV in the cold. I have a primer and know the plane will start fine at 30F, but at what temperature should I start thinking about having an FBO preheat? 20F? 15F?

[steveKs.]

I crank up the preheater at 32 degrees. If the temp reached freezing or below in the last few hours I preheat until the oil temp gauge reaches 40 degrees.
I have a sump heater that will be plugged in on a timer the night before launch and a red dragon propane heater to warm up the jugs.

If the temp is only supposed to get to 30 degrees or so a 100 watt trouble light with metal cage and a blanket over the cowl should keep the engine nice and warm.