Oil sump heater on a cold air intake

[Kansas7]

This is my first post on this great site. About 3 months ago I bought a flying -7. The airplane has been more fun and better transportation than I hoped it would be.

have way more time to fly in the winter than in any other time of the year. Up until 2 years ago I had a heated hanger and the airplane would be warm any time I need to fly. But now it sits in a cold hanger and I don't like to start cold airplanes. I bought a safe-heat sump heater, the smallest one, 4x4 inches with a 1x1 attached thermostat. My mistake was failing to see that the oil is carried in the sump above the intake tubes and I see no place to attach the heater that will be in contact with the part of the sump that has oil in it. The engine is a stock Cardinal RG lycoming IO 360 a1b6d angle valve.If anyone has installed the heater pad on one of these sumps I would love to see a photo.

Thanks in advance for all of the great information and ideas.
Dave

[yakdriver]

I have an EZ Heat on mine. Same sump as you have and it keeps my oil around 80 degrees even on a 10 degree day. The EZ Heat has a pretty good size pad compared to the Reif. Don

[SkywayCaptain]

I have a sump heater on a Superior cold air sump. I don't have a pic, but it has 2 pads that around about 2 x 4 inches or so. I mounted one on the bottom and one on the side as low as possible. There is also a thermostat. I am not sure of the brand of heater, but I believe it came from Van's. As I recall, it was a tight fit. You may want to use a different style heater. Good luck

[mannanj]

I used E-Z Heat #442 (Cat # 07-05210) on my same engine. It wraps around part of the front of the sump to the side. It's about 2" wide and 6 or 7 inches long with a thermostat. All this is on the casting above the air plenum and intake tubes. Be sure to clean the sump to bare metal and use a vixen file to smooth the casting marks away. Be sure to seal the edges with the supplied silicone. Just follow the directions and you'll be OK.

It's available from Aircraft $pruce for $149.99 in the last catalog I have.

[yakdriver]

He doesn't have a cold air sump. He has the stock Lycoming M sump that is all one piece. Don

[frankh]

I bought two 50W stick on heater pads from Wolverine company. I don't use a thermostat as they do not put out enough heat to be a problem.

In my tight Sam James cowl with inlet plugs these heaters will heat the oil 30F above ambient. The rest of the engine is warm to the touch.

These heaters are stuck on the "ears" of the sump where the oil sits.

Seems pretty perfect to me.

Personally I'd use a crankcase dehydrator before i iused a sump heater. Corrosion is more agressive at a higher temperature and the dehydrator will remove the moisture.

Frank