Actual cabin heat in a 12iS?

[CTCole]

8 degrees F outside (Duluth) makes the "Cabin Heat" label on the knobs seem wildly optimistic. Has anyone with a 912iS engine figured out a way to get more heat than what's supplied by the cute little baby toy heat muff? Or used heated seat covers -- how much current do they draw and how have you wired them in?

 

[bobnoffs]

cant say about the heated seats but your biggest gains are plugging areas where fresh air comes in.
after i got all the suggested air leaks i found a big leak around the flap mechanism between the seats.i hangar in phillips wi.

 

[subpar_bucker]

If you dig through the archives here you'll find a post from Scott McDaniels that points out that there's a significant difference in heat output when cruising at 5500 rpm vs 5000rpm. I think that was the most helpful piece of advice I've seen on this topic.

Another suggestion that I've added to my preflight since my heat muff disassembled itself after ~70 hours of flight time: when you are down checking the transponder, look into the engine bay and ensure the heat muff is still together. I rotated the clamps so that I can see the screws/safety wires on both preflight. When I put the heat muff together the second time I really cranked on the clamps. So far (after 25 hours), things are still together.

 

[rvbuilder2002]

cant say about the heated seats but your biggest gains are plugging areas where fresh air comes in.
after i got all the suggested air leaks i found a big leak around the flap mechanism between the seats.i hangar in phillips wi.

Bob is exactly right.
You can have the best performing heat system in the world and you will still be freezing if 8 degree F outside air is leaking in.
Solving that, which often includes stopping flow that is going out (a common location is the aft edge of the canopy along the roll bar… outward flow automatically means inward flow of makeup air) usually provides big improvement in cockpit temperature.

 

[CTCole]

Bob is exactly right.
You can have the best performing heat system in the world and you will still be freezing if 8 degree F outside air is leaking in.
Solving that, which often includes stopping flow that is going out (a common location is the aft edge of the canopy along the roll bar… outward flow automatically means inward flow of makeup air) usually provides big improvement in cockpit temperature.

Thanks -- I'll start there.

 

[Tooch]

I had a heater that used the coolant of the 912. It was not on an RV but it worked great. I think I bought it from Lockwood.