Preheater

Hi
I'm looking for a preheater for my 172.
I don't have a power source near my tiedown.
I don't own a generator.
Because of all of the above I'm looking for a propane powered preheater
but I can't find one.
Any recommendations? Any reason why I shouldn't buy a propane one.

Thanks

--
Tony Roberts )
PP-ASEL
VFR-OTT - Night
Cessna 172H

(Tony Roberts) wrote:

I'm looking for a preheater for my 172.
I don't have a power source near my tiedown.
I don't own a generator.
Because of all of the above I'm looking for a propane powered preheater
but I can't find one.
Any recommendations? Any reason why I shouldn't buy a propane one.

How about a Red Dragon?

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...gpreheater.php

-john

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?

--
Roger Long

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"

Jay Honeck wrote:
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.
--

Shouldn't be a problem. If I remember right, my cylinder warmers were
about 50 watts a piece. And, although I don't have the pan heater, I
think they're usually about 150 watts. So the max, on a 6 cyl, would be
about 450 watts. I think that's well within the capabilities of even
small generators. I would think the big pain in the butt would be that
fact that it takes electric warmers a reasonable length of time to warm
the engine, which means th generator would be sitting their running for
many hours.

-- Jay


__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! !

Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/
for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and...
Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva

That's true... just about the smallest generator would be fine to
power a plane or two. For a 20 degree day, plugging the plane in for 3
hours or so typically seems to bring it up to warm to the touch. That's
only 1.5 kWh of juice, so it's roughly $0.25 worth of gasoline for a
generator.

Seems to make more sense than a portable preheater. Also, I've
read that the flame-thrower type (expecially the propane bottle ones)
don't put enough heat in the right places to help prevent cylinder
scuffing. Leaving a multi-point heater plugged in for a few hours is the
best, and the generator has many more uses elsewhere.

-Cory

Jay Masino wrote:
: Shouldn't be a problem. If I remember right, my cylinder warmers were
: about 50 watts a piece. And, although I don't have the pan heater, I
: think they're usually about 150 watts. So the max, on a 6 cyl, would be
: about 450 watts. I think that's well within the capabilities of even
: small generators. I would think the big pain in the butt would be that
: fact that it takes electric warmers a reasonable length of time to warm
: the engine, which means th generator would be sitting their running for
: many hours.

: -- Jay


: __!__
: Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
: http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! !

: Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/
: for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and...
: Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva


--
************************************************** ***********************
* The prime directive of Linux: *
* - learn what you don't know, *
* - teach what you do. *
* (Just my 20 USm$) *
************************************************** ***********************

Seems to make more sense than a portable preheater. Also, I've
read that the flame-thrower type (expecially the propane bottle ones)
don't put enough heat in the right places to help prevent cylinder
scuffing. Leaving a multi-point heater plugged in for a few hours is the
best, and the generator has many more uses elsewhere.

Of course, the rub is turning the danged thing on 3 hours in advance. Didn't
someone rig up a "cell-phone-on/off-trigger" for their pre-heater last year?

I remember thinking it was way cool, for those who don't have a hangar with
electricity. (If you have a hangar, the best trigger, IMHO, is the
temperature-sensitive cubes. They go "On" at 35 degrees, "Off" at 40
degrees...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Roger Long" om writes:

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?

I second the generator idea. Electric heaters are *so* handy. You can
even put some in your cabin to keep your seat and instruments warm. If
you run the generator off of 100LL, you won't have to mess with carrying
(other) tanks of fuel. I'd feel a lot better about leaving a generator
running (for a day trip) than leaving a Dragon running too.

The Red Dragon *without* fuel tank is a little lighter than a generator
(16-22 vs. 29 pounds) but it requires electrical power. In the cold,
I'd much rather leave something running that's charging, not
discharging, my plane's battery. Small generators often have 12VDC
outputs
http://www.mayberrys.com/honda/gener...ls/eu1000i.htm
so if your plane has a 12V system, you're all set.

I've checked with a few FBOs about plugging in my plane on the ramp
when we travel. The answers range from "Sure, no problem" to "Bring
your own extension cord." That means you'd usually be able to avoid
having to deploy the generator.

So...do you want to lug around a tank of LP, mess with connecting a
heater to your engine and battery and then run down your battery, or
would you rather drain a little fuel into a generator, plug it in,
and await a warm cockpit and freshly-charged battery?

--kyler

Jay - where did you buy your on/off cube? I remember you mentioning it
once, but I could never find one. I've checked both Farm and Fleet, and
Fleet Farm.

--
Ben
C-172 - N13258 @ 87Y

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:KYPpb.103193$HS4.866929@attbi_s01...
Seems to make more sense than a portable preheater. Also, I've
read that the flame-thrower type (expecially the propane bottle ones)
don't put enough heat in the right places to help prevent cylinder
scuffing. Leaving a multi-point heater plugged in for a few hours is
the
best, and the generator has many more uses elsewhere.

Of course, the rub is turning the danged thing on 3 hours in advance.
Didn't
someone rig up a "cell-phone-on/off-trigger" for their pre-heater last
year?

I remember thinking it was way cool, for those who don't have a hangar
with
electricity. (If you have a hangar, the best trigger, IMHO, is the
temperature-sensitive cubes. They go "On" at 35 degrees, "Off" at 40
degrees...)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay - where did you buy your on/off cube? I remember you mentioning it
once, but I could never find one. I've checked both Farm and Fleet, and
Fleet Farm.

Well, you can always buy it through Sporty's, and pay twice as much. It's
in their catalog.

I found mine at our local home store, Menard's. I've seen them at farm
stores, too.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"