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A review of my EZ-Heat oil sump preheater

I would encourage you to do some more research on leaving the heater on or plugged in all the time during the winter. There are plenty of folks here on the forums that have had experience with that. I do not live in the cold country so I can't comment but I still do have a heater pad on my oil sump and only turn it on the morning of my flight.
 
YUP

My EZ heat has been on the sump three years. That and a space heater (with tilt switch) that sits on the cockpit floor are driven by the switchbox.
When I venture to the loo at around 3 am, the iPhone sends a text to the RV9A. By the time I get to the hangar in the morning (which has hovered around freezing the last few weeks) the oil is at 95F. and the cockpit is 80 degrees.
The RV starts like we are in Florida for the winter. smile
Short of moving to a warmer place for winter (which is not on the option list) this is the best working solution I have found.
I pay too much for the T mobile number since it is on auto monthly billing. That is probably just lazy on my part. I could just add money manually about every 90 days.
Anyway, these sump heaters are simple and reliable. With cowl plugs in, even the cylinders are warmed by convection and heat rising from the sump.
I am reducing start up wear and tear and it is worth the cost and the late night text to the plane!
 
I would encourage you to do some more research on leaving the heater on or plugged in all the time during the winter. There are plenty of folks here on the forums that have had experience with that. I do not live in the cold country so I can't comment but I still do have a heater pad on my oil sump and only turn it on the morning of my flight.

I'm not offering a recommendation but only a datapoint because this subject gets some folks all bent out of shape.

I've run a Reiff sump heater on my RV-6 24/7 for four months out of the year for the past 19 years. I have found no issues thus far.....the plane thinks it is spending the winter in Florida.
 
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i worry about what happens when one of these ''milk house'' heaters is remotely fired up and because of the cold, well used motor, etc. the fan doesn't start turning. i see it all the time when the temp is in the 20's [f] or lower. it the motor gonna meltdown or is the element gonna superheat with no cooling air blowing across it? i don't think it is a good idea to trust your 100k airplane to a breaker or hi temp auto-off. and have you ever found a mouse nest somewhere that wasn't there yesterday?
but i am a big fan of stick on heaters.
 
I'm not offering a recommendation but only a datapoint because this subject gets some folks all bent out of shape.

I've run a Reiff sump heater on my RV-6 24/7 for four months out of the year for the past 19 years. I have found no issues thus far.....the plane thinks it is spending the winter in Florida.

That's a pretty convincing data point, especially for those of us in the humid south
 
What size or model number did you install? I have an O-360 in my -4 and would like to know what size to buy before I remove the cowling.

Thanks,

Dean

I have the 442 model, it wraps around three sides of the oil sump. They do have specific sized for each model of engine, I know this because I originally bought the continental IO360 pad by mistake! Doh
 
That's a pretty convincing data point, especially for those of us in the humid south

Let me qualify my situation:

I try to fly the plane at least once a week, but the past year it is more like once every ten days.

It resides in an insulated hangar with a blanket on the cowl and plugs in the inlets.

The oil and all the engine remains above the ambient dewpoint at all times (85-90*F).

This may not be a good idea for colder climes where it wouldn't be possible to keep the entire engine warm with just a sump heater.
 
Thank you for the clarification Sam. FWIW, my RV7 is in a semi insulated hangar and although it was really cold yesterday when I made my video I was very impressed that both oil temps and cylinder temps were between 70-80 degrees F. I did place a couple moving blankets on top of the cowl and cowl inlet plugs in.

I also use Camguard.

John
 
And do go down the rabbit hole further, I spoke to Lycoming this am and the rep suggested that I do not keep it plugged in 24/7. The reason being that the moisture released from the oil could collect on the cooler parts of the engine above.

This got me thinking, it the oil sump is keeping both the oil, engine and cylinders around 75F or so consistently would this apply?

J
 
And do go down the rabbit hole further, I spoke to Lycoming this am and the rep suggested that I do not keep it plugged in 24/7. The reason being that the moisture released from the oil could collect on the cooler parts of the engine above.

This got me thinking, it the oil sump is keeping both the oil, engine and cylinders around 75F or so consistently would this apply?

J

Your inquiry is akin to the Great Primer question.....you will not get a consensus....usually just blanket opinions offered to cover all scenarios. Use your own common sense to reason this out..... ;)
 
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I believe the current thinking is that if you have both an oil sump heater and cylinder head heat that it is better to leave the heat plugged in continuously. At the same time it is recommend to pull the oil dipstick after flight and leave it out between flights. This allows any moisture in the engine to escape up the dipstick tube and reduces the likelihood of moisture re-condensing in the engine.

I had ongoing corrosion issues on the cams of a regularly flown twin engine in a heated hangar until I adopted this practice.
 
Engine heater

30+ years ago when I bought the Tanis on my 182, the shop that installed it recommended leaving it on 24/7, and indicated that a commuter that they worked for ran theirs 12 months a year. I installed a diode to cut the electrical consumption by 4 and it usually costs less than the meter minimum to leave on thru the winter. I do keep it blanketed. 1500-1600 hrs later, the oil analysis is consistent, compressions are in the high 70's and it starts on the second blade.

Cockpit heater:
Although one of my hangar neighbors rigged his Seneca heaters (engine and cockpit) to start with a 2m packet set up, I'm just not that tech savvy and cell coverage in the hangar is iffy at best. If I know that I'm going to be flying in the morning and its gonna be cold (Oct - May in this part of Wyoming) I leave a little "under desk" space heater (with various safety shutoffs) in the cockpit under the panel. Figure the odds ratio of the heater catching fire is cheaper than the near certainty that the expensive squealing of my gyros spinning up.

Our club 172 has had an oil pan heater for roughly the same period, and a rather elaborate homemade, quilted, blanket. First two engines (H2AD) in different planes made it to 2200/2500 hrs without problems, the third (a STC'd D2J) is at 2000 and going strong. All of these were replaced because certain club officers were getting nervous about the liability of running past TBO.

I've seen the rational(s) for not keeping engines warm, but at least in our cold, dry climate, it seems to prolong their life.
 
I have overhauled engines that had a band of pitting around the circumference of the bottom of the cylinders where cylinder heaters were installed. They also exhibited wear on the cylinders presumably where oil was heated and ran off the cylinder walls.
 
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