I have the Reiff cylinder heaters and oil sump heater. Mine are for the narrow
deck engine, so each cylinder heater is 50W. I think the sump heater is 300W,
so for my Six, a generator capable of at least 600W should work fine. I think
most of the portable generators are good for about 1000W.

Jay Honeck wrote:

We have a 300 watt oil pan heater and the engine starts much better and
oil
temperature comes up faster than when we used the FBO's dragon. The size
and weight of a portable generator that would power one of these is
similar
to the size and weight of a dragon. Why not buy the generator which would
have all sorts of other uses?

It's much easier on the fiberglass cowling, too. (I actually bubbled the
paint on a rental bird, using one of those "stick it in the cowling" jet
engine heaters...)

However, it doesn't warm the cylinders at all.

I wonder if a portable generator could power the cylinder warmers, too?
We've got the oil pan and cylinder warmers, and the oil is usually warmer
when we start up in winter (verified with our digital oil temperature gauge)
than it is in spring and fall.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

--
--Ray Andraka, P.E.
President, the Andraka Consulting Group, Inc.
401/884-7930 Fax 401/884-7950
email
http://www.andraka.com

"They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-Benjamin Franklin, 1759