Tanis heaters

Blanche writes:


I'm still astonished at
1) all the people who have 4-wheel drive and think they are invincible and
can travel thru anything

Click & Clack say:

4-wheel drive means you can get farther away
from help before you get stuck.
--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

Blanche wrote:

I had the Reiff oil sump heater installed back in August. Last time
I went flying was 2 weeks ago. Put the 2 car blankets (those blue
quilted things from your favorite Big Box hardware store) over the
cowl after flying, made sure the heater was plugged in, patted the
putt-putt on the spinner and went home.

Call me a sucker for marketing, but what covering the prop and spinner?
The point that the prop and spinner hanging out in the cold will transmit
that lower temperature through the crankshaft deep into the engine seemed
logical to me.

This is why I broke down and bought the insulated cowling cover and
prop/spinner covers from Kennon.

After three days of being plugged in and covered on a sub-zero day, my
aircraft's prop and spinner are still warm to touch.

I live in the 'burbs of Denver.

Say hello to my brother for me. He lives in Firestone.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:
Blanche wrote:

I had the Reiff oil sump heater installed back in August. Last time
I went flying was 2 weeks ago. Put the 2 car blankets (those blue
quilted things from your favorite Big Box hardware store) over the
cowl after flying, made sure the heater was plugged in, patted the
putt-putt on the spinner and went home.

Call me a sucker for marketing, but what covering the prop and spinner?
The point that the prop and spinner hanging out in the cold will transmit
that lower temperature through the crankshaft deep into the engine seemed
logical to me.

This is why I broke down and bought the insulated cowling cover and
prop/spinner covers from Kennon.

After three days of being plugged in and covered on a sub-zero day, my
aircraft's prop and spinner are still warm to touch.

I live in the 'burbs of Denver.

Say hello to my brother for me. He lives in Firestone.

Sorry -- didn't provide all the info.

1) Yes I have prop covers and a spinner cover.
2) the blankets easily cover the air intakes on the cowl

Not sure where Firestone is. But I haven't even seen my neighbors
from 4 houses over, the plows have piled up so much snow. Somehow,
I think we'll have a different company on contract next year.

Blanche wrote:

Sorry -- didn't provide all the info.

1) Yes I have prop covers and a spinner cover.
2) the blankets easily cover the air intakes on the cowl

Ah, OK. Very good.

Not sure where Firestone is.

About 25 miles north of Denver. Straight up that major north/south highway
there.

--
Peter

On 23 Dec 2006 16:53:31 GMT, Blanche wrote:

Peter R. wrote:
Blanche wrote:

I had the Reiff oil sump heater installed back in August. Last time
I went flying was 2 weeks ago. Put the 2 car blankets (those blue
quilted things from your favorite Big Box hardware store) over the
cowl after flying, made sure the heater was plugged in, patted the
putt-putt on the spinner and went home.

Call me a sucker for marketing, but what covering the prop and spinner?
The point that the prop and spinner hanging out in the cold will transmit
that lower temperature through the crankshaft deep into the engine seemed
logical to me.

This is why I broke down and bought the insulated cowling cover and
prop/spinner covers from Kennon.

After three days of being plugged in and covered on a sub-zero day, my
aircraft's prop and spinner are still warm to touch.

I live in the 'burbs of Denver.

Say hello to my brother for me. He lives in Firestone.

Sorry -- didn't provide all the info.

1) Yes I have prop covers and a spinner cover.
2) the blankets easily cover the air intakes on the cowl

On the Deb the spinner creates a lot of space. I wrap the blankets
around everything and pin them together under the cowl. Even at zero
the prop blades are quite warm out a foot or so beyond the blanket.
The engine is uncomfortable to touch where the crank comes out.
Probably some where around 10 to 20 below I'd have to put boots on the
prop blades, but you aren't getting me out there in those temps so
it's a non issue. :-))



Not sure where Firestone is. But I haven't even seen my neighbors
from 4 houses over, the plows have piled up so much snow. Somehow,
I think we'll have a different company on contract next year.
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

On 22 Dec 2006 05:09:53 -0800, "cpw" wrote:

I live in northern lower Michigan where we have real winters some years
(not this one yet). My partner and I own a 2000 Cessna 182. We are
currently debating the proper use of the Tanis engine heater. It has
been our practice in the past to plug the heater in after a flight and
leave it plugged in until the next. We have heard lately that best
practice is to only use the heater for a few hours prior to flight.
Any opinions among other owners in cold climes?
Thanks. CPW

I'm a bit south of you but probably not by much (Midland)

I have both the case and cylinder head heaters. I have a blanket that
wraps everything forward the windshield save the prop and nose gear
but even a portion of them is protected.

If I'm flying much I just wrap it up and plug in the heater when I put
it in the hangar. The engine never gets cold enough for condensation.
I check for that by looking at the top of the dip stick. If I don't
put the blanket on I'll see moisture on the stick, however I doubt
there's any in the oil or engine proper as that is quite a bit warmer
even without the blanket.

The oil companies *used* to say only use the heater when needed. The
last bulletin I read suggested keeping the engine warm if it could be
kept warm enough to prevent condensation.

However if I wasn't going to fly for a couple of weeks I'd leave it
off as the "cling" is pretty much gone after a couple of weeks.

Here it is near the end of the year and I've not found it necessary to
even use the heater so far.


Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

On 22 Dec 2006 05:09:53 -0800, "cpw" wrote:

I live in northern lower Michigan where we have real winters some years
(not this one yet). My partner and I own a 2000 Cessna 182. We are
currently debating the proper use of the Tanis engine heater. It has
been our practice in the past to plug the heater in after a flight and
leave it plugged in until the next. We have heard lately that best
practice is to only use the heater for a few hours prior to flight.
Any opinions among other owners in cold climes?
Thanks. CPW

My a/c is based in NH and Maine, and I've had a Tanis Heater (oil screen
and heated intake bolts) for 10 or 15 years, along with an engine cover.

When OAT's drop below freezing, the heater gets plugged in and the cover
applied. It stays this way constantly throughout the winter (obviously not
when I'm flying, which may vary from a few times a week, to a few weeks
between times.

No signs that this procedure has lead to corrosion (and I do get oil
analyses with oil changes).

Usually, the CHT's read about 100°F, and the oil about 80°F.
--ron

On 22 Dec 2006 05:09:53 -0800, "cpw" wrote:

I live in northern lower Michigan where we have real winters some years
(not this one yet). My partner and I own a 2000 Cessna 182. We are
currently debating the proper use of the Tanis engine heater. It has
been our practice in the past to plug the heater in after a flight and
leave it plugged in until the next. We have heard lately that best
practice is to only use the heater for a few hours prior to flight.
Any opinions among other owners in cold climes?
Thanks. CPW

Had numerous conversations with Peter Tanis prior to his passing on
this subject, as well as the corrosion issue. I wish I still had the
various tech material he forwarded to me years ago.

There is a very informative article on their website that you should
take the time to read if you haven't already:

http://www.tanisaircraft.com/article6.html

The main thing that I took away from the tech material that he shared
with me with regard to internal corrosion was that the oil temp
should always stay under 100 degrees F.

If I remember correctly, a Tanis system tends to raise the oil temp
about 50 degrees F, so if ambient is below 50 degrees F, no worries.

Peter told me that one of his local customers ran Pt 135 Seneca II's
that stayed plugged in continuously (when they weren't flying)
throughout the winter. When we discussed it, they had been doing it
for over 5 years without issues.

One main advantage these aircraft had were that they were operated in
a manner that minimized the moisture trapped in the oil. That can
often be problematic for non-frequent flyers.

I have no financial interest in Tanis, and Peter NEVER gave me
anything resembling a sales pitch. It seemed to me that he felt that
educating technicians and owners about pre-heating would do his
selling for him.

Regards;

TC

A MN fnend with a 180 HP Lycoming/Cardinal received enough corrosion
from continuous Tanis heat to require a top OH after only one winter.
It obviously was localized corrosion on the bottom of the jug he had
above his desk where I worked.

On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:14:01 GMT, wrote:

On 22 Dec 2006 05:09:53 -0800, "cpw" wrote:

I live in northern lower Michigan where we have real winters some years
(not this one yet). My partner and I own a 2000 Cessna 182. We are
currently debating the proper use of the Tanis engine heater. It has
been our practice in the past to plug the heater in after a flight and
leave it plugged in until the next. We have heard lately that best
practice is to only use the heater for a few hours prior to flight.
Any opinions among other owners in cold climes?
Thanks. CPW

Had numerous conversations with Peter Tanis prior to his passing on
this subject, as well as the corrosion issue. I wish I still had the
various tech material he forwarded to me years ago.

There is a very informative article on their website that you should
take the time to read if you haven't already:

http://www.tanisaircraft.com/article6.html

The main thing that I took away from the tech material that he shared
with me with regard to internal corrosion was that the oil temp
should always stay under 100 degrees F.

Mine stays at roughly 50C which is well above 100F. No corrosion in
10 years and the engine is close to TBO.


If I remember correctly, a Tanis system tends to raise the oil temp
about 50 degrees F, so if ambient is below 50 degrees F, no worries.

Mine is a whale of a lot hotter than that. The crank case is hot
enough to be uncomfortable to hold your hand on it tightly.
I'd guess the cowl is probably around a 100F.

Peter told me that one of his local customers ran Pt 135 Seneca II's
that stayed plugged in continuously (when they weren't flying)
throughout the winter. When we discussed it, they had been doing it
for over 5 years without issues.

As long as the engine runs often enough to keep things oiled I'd think
it'd work fine. There were several articles on this in recent years.
Most of those basically said to keep it hot enough to prevent
condensation. If you couldn't do that then only preheat before use.
Keeping it hot has been keeping the oil clear and clean until almost
20 hours.

One main advantage these aircraft had were that they were operated in
a manner that minimized the moisture trapped in the oil. That can
often be problematic for non-frequent flyers.

I have no financial interest in Tanis, and Peter NEVER gave me
anything resembling a sales pitch. It seemed to me that he felt that
educating technicians and owners about pre-heating would do his
selling for him.

Regards;

TC
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com