Hard Starting Cold Continental Engines

M.E. Borner wrote:

My un-preheated cold weather/cold engine starting technique is very
similar to my warm weather/cold engine technique

You might want to consider investing a (relatively) small amount of
money in a Tanis heating system. The cost of overhauling those two
engines, including removal, shipping, and reinstallation, would get you
a good way towards buying a house in some of the poorer states, so a
couple of thousand (including labour) for a heating system and
insulated covers would be a wise investment.

If you don't have access to electricity, is there a Herman Nelson or
similar force-air preheater somewhere on your field? If not, perhaps
there are small, portable, propane-powered forced-air heaters you could
buy and bring out with you (I haven't investigated this, since I keep
my plane at a major airport with lots of services).

When you're visiting a remote airport, you can always cover the engines
after a flight -- they should stay warm for quite a few hours under an
insulated cover.

I have to admit that I've cold-started the O-320 on my Warrior down to
-15 degC (with a *lot* of priming), but I'm not proud of it. Now, with
a newly-overhauled engine, I've moved to a spot where I can leave my
Tanis plugging in all winter to protect the investment.


Best of luck,


David

I won't start my 172M without preheat unless it is above 40 degF or has
been running recently - and that's with the multivis Aeroshell.

Lycomings are unusually sensitive to cold start cam damage. My
thinking is that even a single episode can create internal mayhem.

Perhaps my description was not clear enough. My engines do have Tanis
preheaters on them. When I preheat the engine everything is fine, it
starts like a mid-summer day. The problem is when it is cold and I am
unable to preheat due to lack of accessibility to electricity.

M.E. Borner wrote:

Perhaps my description was not clear enough. My engines do have Tanis
preheaters on them. When I preheat the engine everything is fine, it
starts like a mid-summer day. The problem is when it is cold and I am
unable to preheat due to lack of accessibility to electricity.

It might be worth trying to find some other way to preheat when you
cannot plug in (get the plane pulled into a heated hangar, or borrow a
forced-air heater). Your engines might be trying to send you a
message.


All the best,


David

Portable generator?

"M.E. Borner" wrote in message
ups.com...
Perhaps my description was not clear enough. My engines do have Tanis
preheaters on them. When I preheat the engine everything is fine, it
starts like a mid-summer day. The problem is when it is cold and I am
unable to preheat due to lack of accessibility to electricity.