Preheater

"Mike Rapoport" writes:

The people at Tanis are working on a generator that you might want to
research. Their primary objective is power to weight. I have thought about
a Honda generator for preheating in remote areas but I would need the 2K
version which is a lot heavier than the 1K.

When I dream about such things, I dream of an IC engine that could replace a
Janitrol heater. The exhaust heat would run through a heat exchanger to
provide cabin heat and the rotary motion would power a small fan and an
alternator. The alternator could be used to top off the batteries, power
engine heaters, and power an electric heating element (or heat pump?) to
supplement the exhaust heat.

If I'm going to carry around a big combustion chamber in my nose, I'd like it
to do something useful. (Heck, with my current heater, I'd be satisfied if
it it simply provided heat. But when I dream...)

--kyler

Kyler Laird wrote:
When I dream about such things, I dream of an IC engine that could replace a
Janitrol heater. The exhaust heat would run through a heat exchanger to
provide cabin heat and the rotary motion would power a small fan and an
alternator. The alternator could be used to top off the batteries, power
engine heaters, and power an electric heating element (or heat pump?) to
supplement the exhaust heat.

Sounds like you've invented the APU.

Roy Smith writes:

Kyler Laird wrote:
When I dream about such things, I dream of an IC engine that could replace a
Janitrol heater.

Sounds like you've invented the APU.

It's unclear to me if you're pointing out something other than what
I would have thought was obvious, but if you know of an APU that can
readily substitute for a Janitrol, please point it out to me.

It's starting to get cold around here and my thoughts are turning
toward heat...

--kyler

Sorry to hear that. I put the Reiff cylinder and hot padd heaters on my Six
back in 1996, and have had no problems with it whatsoever. At the engine
change this summer, we re-adhered the pad to the new engine using some kind of
hi-temp goop the A&P had on hand, and again, no problems. My guess is you may
have either had some residual oil left on the sump or on the heat pad, or you
had a bad batch of adhesive. My cylinder bands were custom made for me, as I
bought them soon after Reiff came out with them, and the original models were
too wide to fit on my narrow deck engine. I think they've since asked you to
specify wide or narrow deck. The narrow deck ones are 50W instead of 60W, and
are a bit skinnier. At the time, the customer service was exemplary, but since
I have not had to deal with Reiff since, things may have changed.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Victor J. Osborne, Jr." wrote in message
...

I've had Tanis in two planes and now have the Reiff product. The Reiff
was easier to install, doesn't mess w/ the CHT probes and is owner
installable
w/ an A&P signoff.


Everything is owner-installable with an A&P signoff.

I purchased a Hot Padd heater from Reiff. The heater could not be mounted
on my engine in accordance with the supplied instructions, so I made do as
best I could. The adhesive didn't cure and the pad easily peeled off. I
returned the pad to Reiff for a refund, they sent it back to me with more
adhesive. Apparently I violated the warranty by not following the
instructions to the letter, (the fact that it was impossible to follow them
was of no interest to Reiff). I don't know if the Reiff heater is any good
or not, I do know that their product support and customer relations are
terrible. I won't do business with them again.

I purchased a "milkhouse heater" and some ductwork at a local home
improvement store. The cost was about $35 and it does a fine job.

--
--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

"Ray Andraka" wrote in message
...

Sorry to hear that. I put the Reiff cylinder and hot padd heaters on my
Six back in 1996, and have had no problems with it whatsoever. At the
engine change this summer, we re-adhered the pad to the new engine using
some kind of hi-temp goop the A&P had on hand, and again, no problems.
My guess is you may have either had some residual oil left on the sump or
on the heat pad, or you had a bad batch of adhesive. My cylinder bands
were custom made for me, as I bought them soon after Reiff came out with
them, and the original models were too wide to fit on my narrow deck
engine. I think they've since asked you to specify wide or narrow deck.
The narrow deck ones are 50W instead of 60W, and are a bit skinnier. At
the time, the customer service was exemplary, but since I have not had to
deal with Reiff since, things may have changed.


The heater is a flat pad. I'm sure if you have easy access to a flat oil
sump, like a Lycoming, it's a simple installation. But I have an Aeronca
7AC with a Continental A65, the small Continentals have a kidney-shaped
tank. The Reiff instructions stress the importance of a thin, uniform layer
of adhesive between the pad and the tank. How do you keep a flat pad in
contact with a round tank while the adhesive cures? You've gotta clamp it,
and the instructions do say that may be necessary, as I recall. But there
is no effective way of clamping it while it is hanging from the engine, so I
removed the tank. While I had it off I took the opportunity to clean it up
and repaint it. It was cleaned in a solvent bath, and old paint and
corrosion were removed with a combination of wire brush, sandpaper, and
sandblasting. I used a good quality automotive primer and paint. It was
beautiful. I mixed the adhesive and applied a thin uniform coat per the
instructions. I put a piece of wax paper under a large bean bag and used
several strap clamps and duct tape to ensure uniform contact of the pad to
the tank while the adhesive cured. I applied heat and let it sit for
several days. When I removed the clamps the pad returned to it's former
flat state, the adhesive was a slightly sticky gray putty. Most of the
adhesive peeled off very easily, the remaining bits were cleaned off with a
solvent, leaving the heater in pristine condition. The whole kit, less the
adhesive, was returned to with Reiff with a letter explaining my experience
and a request for a refund. Instead I got the kit back with a different
type of adhesive, which I consider to be de facto admission that the
original adhesive was inadequate for the task. I hardly consider that good
customer relations. This was about seven years ago as well.