Preheating your Taylorcraft??

[shawn coleman]

Hello,

I am just curious what everybody's favorite method for preheating their Taylorcraft is?? I currently have a pan heater ez heat brand and also thinking of incorporating the reiff cylinder band heaters just would be curious , what everybody uses and what you think of the cylinder hose clamp type heaters are basically just curious , what the popular opinion is as a whole?

Thanks,
shawn

[Frank DeBartolo]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I have the EZ brand oil sump heater. I carry a heavy blanket in the car to put over the cowl during preheat. I don't fly below 30F and preheat for at least one hour before flying.

Frank D
N43684

[mhorowit]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I don't fly below 30F...

Frank D
N43684

Frank - that means your a/c is idle from late December to sometime in March? - Mike

[hangarb7]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I am lucky enough to have my own hangar, but many days it is colder inside that concrete block building than it is on the tarmac.

I preheat below 45 degrees to make starting easier. Down to 25 degrees, it starts on the first blade.

I use a Pelonis ceramic heater with a flex duct up to the exhaust hole (covering over the pipe) in the cowling, and a hair dryer poked into the front of the cowl (I wrap the cord around the prop to hold it in position. I cover the cowl with a blanket and with these two heat sources, it only takes about 40 minutes or so at 35 degrees to get her warmed up enough. I check by reaching in and touching the block or cylinder of the motor. If it is no longer chilling to the touch, it's ready.

Jack D
'46 BC12D
N44057

[mhorowit]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Jack - I believe there was some earlier discussion on how long it takes to heat the internals of the engine; I think it was MUCH more than :45.
It had something to do with heating the journal bearings enough to make them expand so oil had room to coat the surfaces. - Mike

[hangarb7]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Mike,

Preheating long enough to expand the journals makes complete sense to me. I think I'll do it if I have the time. But in our latitude, I've never heard of or seen anyone that preheated for longer than :45

By the way, the guy I bought the airplane from had it for about 12 years and he kept it in a front-open, tin hangar... and never preheated. This doesn't make it right but the engine does have 1700 original hours.

I think a longer preheat makes sense, but it's just not common around southwestern Pennsylvania.

Thanks,

Jack D

[mhorowit]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Maybe the person I'm quoting is being theoretical.
Can't argue with an engine lasting that long staring you in the face!

[alwaysoar]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Has anyone ever tried an automotive dipstick heater?

[jdlowrey]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

It's currently a blistering 2 degrees in my part of AK today and I'm heading off shortly to start the preheating process. After reading some of the posts I wonder if perhaps I'm doing some damage to the engine.

I preheat using a car interior warmer that I bought at the local NAPA. This is placed in the engine compartment which is then covered with an insulated cowling cover(blanket) for about 2 to 2.5 hours. After that amount of time the engine is always warm to touch and when I check the oil it seems to have thinned out to normal. A couple of pulls through, a shot of prime and so far it has always started.

I've never really considered preheating unless the temparature is less then 30 which today if I'm lucky will be about my cabin temp in flight.

Jeff

[Karl Rigdon]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Keep in mind that my airplane is in my back yard and that makes this procedure easy. I have a auto dipstick heater bent so the heated section is subrmersed in the oil. I keep that heater in the oil tank during cold wether. About 1 to 2 hours before start I will plug the heater in and set up a 100k BTU shotgun heater with ducting that will direct the hot air into the front of the cowling. I will start that heaterr about about 10 to 15 minutes before start. In temps below 0 deg F the engine will start without prime. The problem then becomes the engine cooling before takeoff. I will use full carb heat untill I have full throttle during takeoff and then I will close the carb heat.

[Richard Boyer]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

gosh, I had to go get a jacket just reading this stuff!

One of my neighbors uses the dipstick heater on his tri-pacer. Just in case the temps get below 35F!

you cold weather guys are nuts! (but I respect the heck out of ya!!!)

Richard Boyer

[matsuthunder200]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I needed a way to preheat without no elect, no baterry and something that would work anywhere in alaska and at any temp. They make alot of new preheating gadgets now but 20 years ago there wasnt much on the market.
a 80 year old bush pilot helped me make a pre heater that met all my needs it was siple to make. we used a 5 gallon can made a door for it cut 2 inch holes all the way around the sides near the bottom for the intake cut a hole in the top put on a dryer vent for 4 inch hose and that was it. we used a small coleman stove that burns av gass for heat in the can. It works great ive had the same set up for 20 years had to replace the hose now and then . the holes in the can keep the stove from getting to hot. The door is fairly large so i can put everything inside.pluss while ice fishing or camping in the winter it makes a good heater like a wood stove. Also i put the hose rite under the oil pan it takes about a 45 min at zero deg. at 20 below about 1 and a half hours and your good to go..

[M Towsley]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I researched this last year about this time and I remember comments that indicated it was best to stay away from dipstick type heaters, as it could carbonize the oil, or some such thing. It also doesn't warm the rest of the engine well. I just ran across information on the Tanis website that had some good information and explanations, though I don't use Tanis. It was suggested from an old wartime Taylorcraft pilot to use what they used, which was a light bulb and an insulated blanket over the cowl. I utilized two bulbs, one near the sump, usually after flying, and one on the other side with a reflector clamped to the engine mount and aimed toward the engine. Using a reflector type, 'space', blanket and an insulated blanket over the cowl and the engine is completely toasty come start-up time. Not sure if this is inviting condensation/moisture problems, or not. The aircraft is hangared, by the way.

[mhorowit]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

I have in my possession, TCM's Service Information Letter (SIL 03-1) which discusses engine preheating. "Preheating is required whenever the engine has been exposed to temps. at or below 20* F or 7*C (wind chill factor) for a period of two hours or more." Pages 2 and 3 discuss use of an external pre-heater which is most of our cases. Please see attached. If anyone wants all 5 pages, gimme your e-mail addy. - Mike

[Dick Smith]

Re: Preheating your Taylorcraft??

Here is a way to heat your plane(with propane) if you can pull your car up close or have a 12 volt battery available. See this link....

http://www.moosineer.com/MooseMain.asp?Option=Detail&ID=Hot+Vent+Heater+w%2Fcase+%239180

Here in Alaska we often have to preheat while operating away from regular power, so tend to rely on stand-alone heaters, like a Whamo, Coleman catalytic or Lance's Coleman single burner stove, all of which can operate on Coleman fuel, white gas or any unleaded fuel. I also am planning to try a Coleman Sportcat (small propane cylinder). Have not yet located a Coleman SurvivalCat (see link

http://cgi.ebay.com/Coleman-Survival-Cat-Emergency-Propane-Catalytic-Heater_W0QQitemZ8716302256QQcategoryZ106996QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

which is even smaller than my SportCat, but it looks like it would work well, with a good quality, tight-fitting engine cover. Dick