engine sump heaters

[deanm]

Bought Pma like new reiff heater thanks for all the replys

[Ron Lee]

I would not use a light bulb. I believe I currently have an old (worn out?) Reiff silicon(e) pad sump heater. I just ordered another from Wolverine which I will add soon to see how it works.

Bottom line, I am a firm proponent of a permanent sump heater.

[N941WR]

Dean,

Try doing a search. This topic comes up every winter. There is a lot of info already out there.

[Bushcaddy]

I agree with Ron...Wolverine is an excellent low cost alternative to something else that says "Aviation" on it: http://www.wolverineheater.com/products.shtml

[David-aviator]

You-all can do as you like but, it was -10F in our neighborhood this morning and when I checked the oil temp and cht of my trusty Lycoming, it was 87F/76F respectively. That's with 4 rings and one sump strip of the Reiff type. Also, based on a report in a well known aviation magazine, the humidity inside the engine is down around 15%. These heat systems do dry out the engine.

The oil temp is measured up at the filter and it is an indication of how warm ALL of the engine is. I have no heat in the hangar and at 300 watts, this is a good deal and good for the engine whether you can fly or not. Why go chincy on something as important as preheat?

[lostpilot28]

I just bought two of the stick-on type 50-Watt Kats heaters. I bought each for about $15 on Amazon.com, and shipping was free, I believe. I spliced them both into a single plug so I wouldn't use up another outlet.

This morning I went flying...ambient temps were right at 32 F. After starting the engine, it took about 2 minutes to register above 70 F on my oil temp gauge. The last time I did that without the heaters it took closer to 8 minutes and I could hear the oil pump cavitating! I'd definitely recommend heat of some kind.

[lostpilot28]

Originally Posted by Carl J. Niedermeyer

Sonny

Just out of curiosity, were you using a single weight or a multi-vis oil?

Thanks,

Hi Carl,
I suppose that's a very fair question! My ECI 0-360 calls for Phillips X/C 20-50.

[pierre smith]

I installed the Reiff two pad system on my -10 and bought a timer and set it to come on at midnight Friday. I cranked her up at 10:00 a.m. Saturday and the oil instantly registered 80 degrees, with the OAT at 19deg.

Best,

[dadroot]

Check your 'NAPA' store. Search for oil pan heaters.

[Greg Arehart]

I installed both a pad heater and Reiff cylinder heaters. Even though it's not that cold in Reno, it sure is nice to call my hangar a couple hours before a flight and arrive to an engine that is 100 degrees all around. Never a problem starting!

greg