Aircraft Engine Pre-Heat Deep Dive!

[@racingwithbigt]

Great video much better than the maker of the products videos. Good work w thermal shots.

[@davidkim4819]

Really nice plane, too. Super elegant and clean.

[@JamesGood]

Nice video, thank you! Not such a thing here in California, but interesting all the same.

[@AvianaAircraft]

Enjoy it for me!

[@davidkim4819]

Great work-up! Love the detailed experimentation and thermals. This really answered a lot of my questions about this approach (which is both inexpensive and flexible). Looking to add a heater to a new plane in Montana. BTW I used to read Gordon Baxter's writings, and it seems heartening that there is another much younger smart generation of people flying Luscombes (Luscombes!) in Iowa...

[@AvianaAircraft]

Thanks for the comment! I ended up buying his book based off your comment! amzn.to/3sbs5M5

[@highpointview256]

Preheating in winter is an absolute must. There are several ways of doing it properly. However, Is this device really better than a good quality hair dryer? Just turn the hair dryer on with your remote switch before you fly. BTW, I think you show that the claim that it is better to heat from top down is not that critical, if it makes any difference at all. Common wisdom is that oil has to be at 185 Fahrenheit for >30 minutes for the oil to substantially give up its moisture content. Removing the oil cap right after flight helps to remove some of the moisture emulsified in the oil.

[@jeremyhill2243]

Very nicely done!!!

[@tylerrockwell6080]

A good engine cowling cover really helps also.

[@AvianaAircraft]

I think that would massively help performance. The 2 moving blankets on there right now are a cheap placeholder.

[@Cub726]

Great video thank you!

[@stlflyguy]

Timely video as I’m looking to figure out what I’m going to do for a pair of preheaters…..

[@1shARyn3]

Gonna check this out. Looks promising

[@Love2FlyKAP]

Moisture in the oil wither heating from the top or bottom is still moisture in the engine. You need to remove the moisture with a desiccant. Sounds like an ad for the heater to me.

[@AvianaAircraft]

Using a desiccant would be nice, I saw a guy with a pump system on his malibu, moving air through his crank into a can of desiccant. That is a bit more complex setup than I care to go for. Moisture in the oil will stay in the oil until you heat it up. Id rather the moisture stay in my sump than condensed over my crankshaft. As long as I can keep the engine over the dew point, I am not worried about the excess moisture, especially since it is quite dry here in the winter. When I heat the oil pre-flight, the fill cap is also off, so I would imagine most of it would escape out of there.

[@budowens6478]

Thanks for sharing. What kind of oil do you use in the winter and what kind of oil do you use in the summer?

[@thomasmurray1807]

looking for an portable propane heater I can take in the back country of Alaska on a moose hunt. Any ideas with no electricity.

[@johnpatrickbishop]

Very helpful

[@firepro329]

Can you add a link to the switche on control to purchase

[@AvianaAircraft]

www.gallagheraviationllc.com/switcheon.html I have the two channel 15 amp unit

[@AirBlairNZ]

Sounds OK if you aren't flying your airplane. If you are flying an hour or 2 a week you will have no issues with moisture. I don't see what the panic is about having a cold engine (metal). Its the treacle like oil thats the problem.

[@rmulchi]

Great video, thanks for posting. Maybe I missed it but, how long did it take for engine to get up to temperature if/when you want to turn it on remotely?

[@AvianaAircraft]

I just leave the blowing heater running all the time. The oil pan heater I only turn on 30mins before flight

[@chrisruf7590]

@@AvianaAircraft why not just turn it on 2-8 hours before flying? Otherwise you are wasting a lot of electricity And exposing your plane to a fire hazard. With your remote you can schedule it to run only as needed.

[@AvianaAircraft]

Good questions! It doesn't use that much power (and I am not paying for electricity separately at the hangar) once the under cowling temp reaches ~70F it shuts it self down. The unit is intrinsically safe, so it could in theory run in a combustible environment (unlike the space heater I was using before!) The main reason however for running it continuously is to get and keep the internals warm. I am not sure how long I would have to run it to go from a cold start to warmed insides. Generally I go flying on a whim so I don't have enough heads up time to get the internals warmed up as well. Within the 30 minutes from house to flightline, I can get the oil warmed up however.

[@chrisruf7590]

what is the designed duty cycle for the heater, is it designed to last for years being turned on 24/7? A failure could be fire.

[@AvianaAircraft]

It is rated for continuous duty, you can read a bit more about it here www.aircraftheaters.com/operating-instructions and here www.aircraftheaters.com/owners-manual

[@joemonaco7297]

Maybe bring your electric cord in from UNDER the cowling since it’s already open & close the cowling!!😮

[@chupacabra1765]

Worrying about a tiny bit of moisture condensing in the engine a couple hours before start up is pointless. Most of the moisture would have condensed on the internals several hours after shut down anyways. Having a 300w device on 24/7 is not being energy or economy wise You're burning through 7.2 KW everyday. Using a 60 w incandescent light bulb under the engine inside a well blanketed cowl 24/7 will keep the engine reasonably warm in most cold conditions. and a lot cheaper.

[@jagmotorsports]

Considering the fact that the unit is thermostatically controlled, the unit would not be running 24/7 as you implied. The manufacturer estimate usage at 60%. But using your numbers, 24/7 operation at todays excessively high rates, the unit would only cost $26.00 a month to operate. If the average number of months that operators need to preheat is 4 months, you’re talking about a total of $104.00 to protect your engine each year. If you can’t afford $104.00 a year, you can’t afford to own and operate a plane.