heaters

[phintz]

Has anyone used EZ heat for their rotax engine? It looks to just adhere to the oil tank , it has a temp controlled thermostat so it can be turned on over night. I was leaning towards this vs. a propane type heater, seems simpler

Thanks
Patrick

Series 6
rotax 912-100 hp

[kmach]

Hi,
I use the reiff 150 watt, with a timer. I did look at the ez heat but went with the reiff. I definitly wanted the oil to be warmed as well as heating the engine. For heating away from power I made a multifuel stove preheat setup similiar to the alaskan preheater , called the northern companion. Of course an insulated cowl cover and prop /spinner cover helps the preheating .

[Kurt.A]

You might want to have a look around for oil pan heaters. They are a stick on pad that would stick to the bottom of the block in our case. plug them in and leave them on all night. They work very well for warming the oil and metal surfaces.

[Av8r3400]

I've posted photos before, but I use an inexpensive "cube" heater mounted on an old work light stand to blow warm air into the cowling.






Not too usable out in the bush, though...

[jrevens]

If you've got power in your unheated hangar, I think that something like what Av8r3400 did is ideal. I use something similar, but attached a 4" dia. flexible aluminum vent pipe to the face of it & bring that up into the cowl. If you're using pre-heat a lot, I don't like the gas-fired heaters. I've seen engines that are literally peppered with corrosion & pitting that was attributable to gas-fired heaters. Among the products of combustion are water & carbonic acid. Although a weak acid, it does do slow damage to aluminum. All the moisture that condenses on a cold engine is not particularly good, even by itself.
The nice thing about electric heat is that it is dry, and heating all of the engine (cylinders, oil tank, crankcase, etc.) fairly uniformly is better, IMHO, than a pad glued to the sump or crankcase, and relying on conduction alone to heat the rest of the engine. I just think it's easier on, and better for the engine.

[WWhunter]

Picked up this 'Milkhouse' heater at the farm supply store. Bought some small venting and adapters that I mounted with rivets to the front of the heater.
I use it for different airplanes. Just stick the tube into the bottom of the cowl and place a cowl blanket over the cowl. I do leave an opening in one of the cowl inlets for the heated air to move through better. I also have a Tanis on the plane with the 912 and it heats up the engine very nicely. If I am out on the ice or away from home, I can bring along my small Honda generator for power.