[gator]

Anyone have experience in using an electric dipstick to warm the oil before starts on cool, 35-50 F, days?

 

[N941WR]

Anyone have experience in using an electric dipstick to warm the oil before starts on cool, 35-50 F, days?

I used to use one on a C150 in Michigan but I don't consider 35 to 50*F cold enough to use an oil heater.

The Lycoming (I)O-360 manual states, "During extreme cold weather, it may be necessary to preheat the engine and oil before starting." 35 to 50*F is not "extreme cold" in my opinion.

The manual also states that the engine is warm enough to fly when you can advance the throttle and the engine doesn't stumble. No oil or CHT temps are given. That said, I always wait until all my CHT's are 200 or higher before taxiing.

 

[gator]

I know 35 isn't terribly cold but my concern is that first start and immediately getting oil up in the cylinders.....

 

[N941WR]

I know 35 isn't terribly cold but my concern is that first start and immediately getting oil up in the cylinders.....

A first engine start is a different story.

Go buy a small ceramic heater and some dryer vent bose. Remove the grill from the heater and make an aluminum replacement that uses the same tabs. Cut a circle in the aluminum smaller than the inside of the hose. Cut "fingers" from the small hole to a scribed circle the size of the inside of the hose. Bend the fingers outward and install the new plate in the heater.

Tape one end of the hose to the heater cover plate.

Stick the other end of T hose close to the oil sump and turn it on. Cover the engine with a blanket and wait for the oil temp to come up.

 

[Jpm757]

I would stay away from the dipstick heaters. Heard a story of a guy boiling his oil with one and pretty much trashing his engine. I'd reccomed one of the stick on oil pan heaters. An "aviation" one can be had for around $175 or an automotive one for around $25. These simply plug in with an extension cord and have built in thermostats to make sure nothing can get too hot to cause any damage.

 

[Reflex]

Gator,

I did what Bill (N941WR) suggested. The unit came from Menards and the whole thing was "built" for under $40. The heater has two settings 1500w and 900w. After completion, I purchased one of those inside/outside thermometer "thingies" for about $10 at Wal-Mart. I suspended the outside prob in the end of the dryer vent and tested the temps at both 1500w and 900w. The max temp at 900w was 142 degrees F. I used the 900w setting to avoid over temp during pre-heat. After 5 hours the oil temp read 75 degrees on the panel. Next step is to be able to turn it on from my cell phone.

Below is a picture of it in use at 15 degrees OAT. Not an RV....but I'm working on it!!

 

[JohnInReno]

Hair dryers

3600 watts from the top down. Heats the engine which heats the oil.

 

[bobnoffs]

that's quita a hairdryer. does it run on 220?

 

[Infidel]

I use a cheap hairdryer and some 2" scat tubing that was lying around. I feed the scat tube up from the bottom of the cowl and it works very well. 30 minutes and everything is warmed and ready.

 

[bobnoffs]

oh! 2 hairdryers.........now i get 3600 watts

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

I use a cheap hairdryer and some 2" scat tubing that was lying around. I feed the scat tube up from the bottom of the cowl and it works very well. 30 minutes and everything is warmed and ready.

Ditto about the hair dryer with the 2" scat tube from below on those days when I don't have the 3-4 hours available to let two 75W lightbulbs do the trick. On Wednesday of this week I went from 22F ambient to 50F on oil and all four cylinders in about 40 minutes with the blowdryer.

Mike Busch's saying that first starts under 40F are "misdemeanors" and under 32F "felonies" guides my preheat philosophy, though I do try to achieve at least 50F to be conservative.

 

[N941WR]

Here are some pictures of my "highly modified" space heater. As I mentioned above, if you remove the grill, you can use it as a template for the aluminum cover I created. The grill had little "feet" that would snap into the side of the heater box. In the second picture, you can see the slots where these "feet" snap into.

I would put the heater hose in the lower part of the cowl, between the exhaust pipes, put plugs in the cowl and airbox inlets, and put an old wool blanket over the cowl to keep the heat in.

The thing I like about these heaters is that it has a tip-over switch and a thermal fuse, both of which I have never needed but am happy to have.

In writing this post, I noticed that the unit is sold under the Holmes brand and Sears be purchased from Sears or Amazon for just under $30.

 

[Kyle Boatright]

3600 watts from the top down. Heats the engine which heats the oil.

This is my setup too. I add a 400W Reiff Hotstrip to warm the pan/oil. I get about a 30F rise in oil and cylinder temperatures in 20 minutes which is adequate for my needs.

 

[jones]

I used a dip stick heater with my Cherokee, but didn't like it. It got so hot it made the oil boil around the stick and with only a couple of inches actually immersed in the oil, it took a long time to heat the oil. I have a small, cheap 200w adhesive oil pan heat on my RV6 here in Canada and it works great. It doesn't use much power and I carry two 100 ft extension cords on xcountry trips in case the plug ins are not close to the tie downs. I have never tripped a breaker and my heater is always with me. One trip, the temp got colder than forcasted (-20C at night), I didn't bring my cords and we planned on an early departure. It was easy to borrow a cord, it would of been harder to get a heater. The plane started easily even without an engine cover, but I use cowl and inlet plugs.

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

This is my setup too. I add a 400W Reiff Hotstrip to warm the pan/oil. I get about a 30F rise in oil and cylinder temperatures in 20 minutes which is adequate for my needs.

just out of curiosity, why heat from top down rather than bottom up (e.g. from cowl exit). Seems counterintuitive.

 

[Kyle Boatright]

just out of curiosity, why heat from top down rather than bottom up (e.g. from cowl exit). Seems counterintuitive.

Several reasons:

1) it is easier. I made foam plugs that fit the cowl inlets, and the blow dryers fit right into the plugs. I don't have to climb under the airplane to place the dryers.

2) The way I do it forces all of the hot air through the cylinder fins. Also, there is direct impingement of air onto the cylinder fins. Shooting it through the cowl exit probably leads to some blowback leakage of the hottest air out the exit, which reduces heating efficiency.

3) See #1. ;-)

One thing I will say is that I'm not comfortable leaving $12 blow dryers running without supervision. While using them, I'll maybe walk over to the car or something that takes me away from the airplane for a minute or two, but I won't go on walkabout at the airport or drive to the FBO.

 

[Chkaharyer99]

Here are some pictures of my "highly modified" space heater. As I mentioned above, if you remove the grill, you can use it as a template for the aluminum cover I created. The grill had little "feet" that would snap into the side of the heater box. In the second picture, you can see the slots where these "feet" snap into.

I would put the heater hose in the lower part of the cowl, between the exhaust pipes, put plugs in the cowl and airbox inlets, and put an old wool blanket over the cowl to keep the heat in.

The thing I like about these heaters is that it has a tip-over switch and a thermal fuse, both of which I have never needed but am happy to have.

In writing this post, I noticed that the unit is sold under the Holmes brand and Sears be purchased from Sears or Amazon for just under $30.

Bill,

The pics aren't showing on my Apple Ipad, Microsoft PC or Galaxy phone. I'd like to see what you described.

I'm using a couple shop lights with incandescent bulbs on a timer. I place them in the lower cowl and have them on a 10 hour timer cycle. Today when I arrived at the hangar the OAT was 43 degrees F. My oil temp before start was 62.

In December the OAT got as low as 23 F (burr).

 

[JohnInReno]

Different outlets

oh! 2 hairdryers.........now i get 3600 watts

You may have also noticed that the extension cords lead in different directions. Using both dryers on the same circuit tended to trip the circuit breakers.

 

[N941WR]

Bill,

The pics aren't showing on my Apple Ipad, Microsoft PC or Galaxy phone. I'd like to see what you described.

I'm using a couple shop lights with incandescent bulbs on a timer. I place them in the lower cowl and have them on a 10 hour timer cycle. Today when I arrived at the hangar the OAT was 43 degrees F. My oil temp before start was 62.

In December the OAT got as low as 23 F (burr).

Dang Google!
Try these links.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/T...Z1rUhQkebLhH9-tPjxrz5DFSFTa2XwOufVA=w879-h660

This is the picture with the hose attached:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/N...W4q9g32ZJjUsMHw3td3n2xhAGBB5Np-tczw=w879-h660

 

[lr172]

I have either a 250 or 500 watt (can't remember now) sump heater. I put in cowl plugs and a moving blanket over the cowl. I did two flights last week when the ambient temp was 2-3* F. I plugged in the heater for 2-3 hours and the oil was 50* and the engine was noticeably warmer than the airframe metal. I didn't look at the CHT indications, but I would guess 30-40*

Larry

 

[bobnoffs]

i use a cell phone switch and it works great. especially helpful with the smaller watt heaters, allows more heating time.
and no way would i use a cell phone switch for any heater with more moving parts than a stick on heater.