The International Cessna 170 Association

gahorn wrote:Miles, if you want a ONE-OF-A-KIND model... make it resemble IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE IDIOT hand-propped his Piper!

That would be challenging to build.... or maybe just build a 170 and a Cherokee, tie the 170 down, wind up the Cherokee, and....

Nah, I think I already have plenty reminders of that day...

made this unit out of a 'milkhouse' heater
just direct end of 4" tube into engine compartment
and wrap engine and prop with blankets
warms it up in about 4 hours.
iowa

i lengthened the ducting another 8 feet
to move heater further away from the plane

Iowa-
Not picking on you in any way, just trying to help......

Go to YouTube and search for “Belly Wash demo”.

The stuff really works on exhaust deposits. And if you use Rejex after the Belly Wash, it’s easier to get off the next time.

Only best intentions, hope you take it that way.

hi richard!
thanks for the tip and no offence taken
i'm always open to suggestions
i will order some of this aircraft 'belly wash'
i liked how he said he'd give it plenty of time to soak
ha...a whole 30 secs!!
usually, i only wash it off just before oshkosh
but will do it a little more often...say every 10 hours or so like the video said

BTW, i get up at about 0400 to start the preheat on my plane
extended the 4" ducting to 16' for added safety
haven't heard anyone denounce this method yet
so will assume it's okay

thanks again
dave
'iowa'

You’re welcome Iowa, hope the Belly Wash works for you as well as it does for me. It’s good stuff and it was fun making the video.

I’ve never used a dairy heater but it looks like it should do the job. And if it did ever short out and burn up, being that far away in the middle of the floor it probably would never hurt anything else. The only observation I had was it looks like some of the exhaust area of the heater is blanked off by the heater-to-hose adapter but if the fan is strong enough to maintain enough air flow to not overheat, should be no problem.

You didn’t say what the wattage of the dairy heater is but a heavy duty timer would sure beat getting up at 0400!

I would be interested to know what is under the covers behind the airplane?

i felt the heater and it did not feel very hot
the timer is a great idea

one is a mazda i store for a friend
the other is my '56 vette

iowa

I use a similar “milk house heater” and a metal flexible tube for preheat also. The heaters are typically rated at 1500 watts but that is likely Input not Output. The fan is not high-volume but instead very low volume (obviously subjective, barely capable of blowing out a large candle, about like a bathroom fan which is around 35-50 cfm) However over a period of 4 hours it will have raised the entire engine compartment from freezing to 100-F (I measured it. I use my setup anytime the OAT is below 40-F and have found it successful as low as 17-F). I use 8” metal duct and mated it to the heater with a hardware-store flume intended for residential roof venting using pop-rivets. I use engine-cowling-plugs I bought via Desser/CF-Bailey in my hangar. ($85 from Spruce) Outside You might consider your survival sleeping-bag over the cowling.

The advantage of such a system is that it also warms up a firewall-mounted battery and temp-sensitive vibrating-points voltage regulator and helps things on the other side of the firewall since the cowl plugs force some of the air into the cabin via the cabin heat system. (This last might be more imagination than real but the concept is sound.)

I KEEP THE FUEL SELECTOR VALVE TURNED OFF whenever using such a system. My ductwork is only about 4-ft long and sits directly below the cowl. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air and any fuel vapors will descend if that fan shuts off for any reason. (These heaters have internal safety switches that interrupt operation if the heater is tipped-over.)

They are NOT high-capacity and unlikely to be of much help in Arctic conditions, but inside a hangar they work very well and are an inexpensive solution.

I have also been using a 1500W ceramic heater ($35 at Menards) with 8" ducting to the bottom of the cowling. I have found that if it is left on for a few hours it does a good job of warming up the entire engine compartment. Heating time needed will vary based on outside/hangar temp. I like to make sure that when I check the oil level that it flows off the dipstick well (I'm currently running 50W for cylinder break-in). An image of the heater I selected is below. I picked it for two reasons. The main one is it is more stable and less likely to tip over than a milkhouse heater. The tip switch on the milkhouse heaters at Menards were not internal switches, but just a simple switch sticking out of the bottom of the heater. The second reason was that of the duct adapting options at Menards that day, I found a better fit for this heater compared to the milkhouse one. I've also been using this heater to put some heat into the cabin as I work on re-wiring the panel

how did you attack the ducting to the heater?
iowa

a little excitement the other day
hadn't flown for a few weeks
and when i did finally decide to fly, i had left the master switch ON!!
the battery was completely dead, but the plane started right up with propping
while flying, i noticed that the transponder indicated that it had 'failed'
also, i could hear a 'whine' that changed in pitch as the engine speed up,
also, as the RPM reached a certain level, the mic and headset would click on better
i was concerned that i had blown out my electrical systems since they are always on
when i start the plane....which, i've heard is not a good thing
but i've always done this and never had any trouble
at any rate, i installed a new Gill 25 battery and everything works fine now
and i plan to shut down all electrical's before i shut off the engine
any words of wisdom on all this
thanks
iowa

Leave your anti-collision/strobe lights on and never turn them off. You’ll not forget the Master again.

gahorn wrote:Leave your anti-collision/strobe lights on and never turn them off. You’ll not forget the Master again.

Please never leave your strobes on. Beacon is another story.

Ryan Smith wrote:

gahorn wrote:Leave your anti-collision/strobe lights on and never turn them off. You’ll not forget the Master again.

Please never leave your strobes on. Beacon is another story.

Ryan, why would you say that?

my 1st flying lesson was on 6/29/69
during that time, ie > 50 years,
i've only left the master on twice
not too bad i'd say
and i'm usually very carefull about it
ie double check before i exit the plane
and then again after i've removed my things from the plane
it must have been a senior moment
or, more likely, s.o. side tracked me

any comments about the electrical symptoms
i described above?
ie with a dead battery, does the RPM have to
be so high to feed adequate current to the radios?
thanks
iowa