"Roger (K8RI)" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 18:35:25 -0500, "Kyle Boatright"
wrote:


"Peter R." wrote in message
...
After having some rather lucky starts last winter, I am thinking of
adding
a Tanis battery heater to my Tanis system. On paper, this new heating

I'd heat the engine instead.

I heat both. The battery in my airplane is not under-cowl and heating the
engine doesn't help the battery very much.


element makes sense to me.

Any experiences?

--
Peter

How does the Tanis battery heater work? I know Reiff has one that glues
to
the battery box.

I've never seen the Tanis battery heater, but I'd guess it's much like
the crank case heater. (A piece of silicone rubber with a heating
element inside glued to the battery box or stuck inside between the
battery and box...if it'd fit) It probably runs no where near the
temperature of the regular heater.

I have a Tanis block heater plus one insert on each cylinder head. If
I wrap up the engine compartment the whole inside is about 40C with
the outside edges still quite warm to the touch. I'd guess the
battery gets to 80 or 90 F. Now if it'd just heat the cabin to the
samesigh

NOTE I wrap the engine compartment with two layers of these new space
age blankets. Sewn together. They completely cover the firewall
forward and are held together under the engine compartment with large
safety pins.


My solution for a cold battery is to drape a household heating pad over
the
battery and leave it plugged in overnight. Of course, my plane's battery
is
very easy to access.

I figure if the engine is warm so is the battery and the engine should
be warm. It also turns over a lot easier with less current draw when
it's warm even if the battery is cold.


It's not set up on the airplane, but for my 9500 watt back up
generator I have just a small 50/75 ? watt heat lamp in a reflector
about two feet from the battery. It stays on all winter. The battery
will be slightly warm to the touch. Something like a low wattage
heating pad would *probably* be OK, but generally they get too hot
although wrapped around a batter would probably not get any where near
what they do when you lay on one.

They don't get particularly warm when draped over the battery. First, they
are not trapped between a big insulator (a bed or chair) and a heat
generator (the person), second, it is cold, and third the heating pad
doesn't have a *lot* of direct contact with the battery or battery box. I
figure my heating pad keeps the battery 20F or so above ambient.



KB

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

KB