Tanis engine heater for Lycoming: Love it or not?

[SLB_DA40]

Hey folks,
Newbie (one week) owner here so go easy on me

Northeast based and stuck outside for the foreseeable future. 9 hours SMOH. My mechanic has recommended the Tanis TA-2925-1 for my IO-360-M1A+. Any experiences or stories to share? Thanks!

PS. Me and my partner are absolutely head over heels about how this plane flies.

[gyro3816]

I have Tanis (I’m in Michigan so I need it). I’m very happy with the tanis performance. Needs about 2hrs to warm oil 20F-40F. I use a cellphone switch to control from home. I’m happy to share my setup for airplane and hangar switch, just PM me. Welcome to ownership DA40 w IO360 is the winning combination.

[mhoran]

They're great. But they do take some time to heat up the engine block when it's cold. We have one even parked on the ramp, which we power with a solar panel and two golf cart batteries, plus a cheap power inverter.

It's not recommended to heat up the engine in any other way, due to the composite cowling.

[Diamond_Dan]

+1 for these comments, great product. You will want to use cowl plugs and a blanket, especially if outside. I try to run it at least 4-6 hours before startup but 2 should work if it is not much below freezing.

[Charles]

The Tanis works well for me. My plane used to be outside (Montreal, Canada) and with an insulated cowling cover and a prop cover for my metal prop, the engine oil would be 60-90F even on the colder days.

The prop cover is important if you use a heater outside and have a metal prop. Without one, the prop will suck the heat from the engine and cause the front of the engine to remain cold and allowing condensation of the humidity in the warmer air inside the engine to create corrosion around the prop shaft.

Good article about pre-heating here: https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-why ... reheating/

[SLB_DA40]

The Tanis works well for me. My plane used to be outside (Montreal, Canada) and with an insulated cowling cover and a prop cover for my metal prop, the engine oil would be 60-90F even on the colder days.

The prop cover is important if you use a heater outside and have a metal prop. Without one, the prop will suck the heat from the engine and cause the front of the engine to remain cold and allowing condensation of the humidity in the warmer air inside the engine to create corrosion around the prop shaft.

Good article about pre-heating here: https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-why ... reheating/

Hey thanks for this. Interesting caveat. So if I have the Hartzell composite prop, I should be okayish? Unless the exterior is contaminated, it will likely heat outdoors.

[mhoran]

We don't bother covering our prop, but it's true that the engine block doesn't get super hot in the current state. However, the oil pan does heat up, which is also important. It doesn't really get that cold around here anymore it seems, but we have considered getting a blanket for the really cold days.

[Charles]

The Tanis works well for me. My plane used to be outside (Montreal, Canada) and with an insulated cowling cover and a prop cover for my metal prop, the engine oil would be 60-90F even on the colder days.

The prop cover is important if you use a heater outside and have a metal prop. Without one, the prop will suck the heat from the engine and cause the front of the engine to remain cold and allowing condensation of the humidity in the warmer air inside the engine to create corrosion around the prop shaft.

Good article about pre-heating here: https://www.avweb.com/ownership/the-why ... reheating/

Hey thanks for this. Interesting caveat. So if I have the Hartzell composite prop, I should be okayish? Unless the exterior is contaminated, it will likely heat outdoors.

I don't think a composite prop would need insulation due its much lower heat conductivity. But if you're in an area with a lot of freezing rain/ice/snow accumulation, a full aircraft cover including a prop cover can save you a lot of de-icing.

[steve_falconer]

How do you use the Tanis preheater? Just connect to ground power? Any switches? My logbook shows one was installed, but I’m not sure if it’s there after the engine was rebuilt. being in Sacramento, I normally don’t need it unless traveling somewhere that can get cold like the Grand Canyon in November, but I hope to do more and would like to know how to use it.

[mhoran]

Just plug it in. You should have a plug somewhere like this, usually attached to the oil filler tube. Many then hook that up to a remote controlled relay of some sort so it can be started while on the way to the airport (or overnight.)