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From: "Gary Casey" <glcasey@adelphia.net>
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Subject: Re:  Oil sump heater
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<<Hello All,
 Would like to hear any  opinions about the Reiff Hotstrip oil sump heater.
I live in Northern Mi. where the temp. is very cold a lot of the time. I
hear
there good, from a friend who has one on his Piper, but he mentioned it does
evaporate the oil a little.
Thanks, Don Grabiel ES, N722B>>

<<If you plug it in and leave it on all the time the oil will run off and
steel parts will rust.
Gene Underland>>

Gene's right.  This gets discussed on some list about this time every year
and the conclusion is that you do NOT want to keep the engine warm as the
heat will evaporate water from the oil and deposit it in the extremities of
the engine, causing excessive corrosion.  During the 25 years I flew in
Michigan I finally rigged up a "salamander" heater with a duct that loosely
aimed at the cooling air outlet under cowl.  When the cylinder fins felt
slightly warm to the touch it was good to go.  That only took 5 or 10
minutes, but the temperature in Detroit rarely gets below 10F.  The system
was cheap, added no weight to the plane and could also be used to heat the
hanger during maintenance.  Of course, that method doesn't much heat the
crankshaft or the oil in the bearings, but I don't buy the argument that the
oil doesn't flow when cold.  Sure, that's true at -20, but I don't think any
of us routinely fly at that temperature and if we did we would put in
thinner oil.  A large part of the engine "friction" during cranking is at
the piston/cylinder interface and heating the cylinders reduces that
friction most effectively.  Also, it reduces drastically the amount of
priming necessary and I believe that a large part of cylinder wear in cold
starts comes from the requirement for excessive priming, which washes the
oil from the cylinder.

Gary Casey