Nickathome
Well-Known Member
Recently, I had posted baout the homemade preheater I had built using my propane torpedo heater and some ducting. I finally got to try it out in some decent cold weather. I had tried it once already but on a day that wasn't very cold to begin with. Yesterday's high was only 33 degrees. I had gone to the airport around 2:30 pm. It was about 30 deg at our airport. Not super cold, but cold enough....I fired up the heater and let it run for about a half hour. I had covered the cowl with an old drop cloth to help keep the heat inside. At one point I opened the cowl access door to put the battery back into the plane(took it home the night before for a needed recharge). Upon opening the cover I noticed it was toasty warm inside the cowl. The EGT was reading 51 degrees by the time I was ready to start the engine. I assume the oil was at least that temp. The engine fired right up. This was after the plane had sat for one solid week in sub 20 degree weather. We had a cold snap that just broke yesterday. Overall I'm pleased with thiss preheater, and will definitely use it more often when needed.
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