Reiff Preheat Installation

It seems like you may be using the wrong product for a Rotax engine preheat. Check out this Tanis system it heats each cylinder, the oil tank and the pump.

https://www.tanisaircraft.com/product/piston-preheat/tsp4cyl-2579-115

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a look!

There are several brands of preheaters available for the 912/914. The Tanis one is the most expensive... while the Reiff is middle of the road. Their base package (150w) has a thermostatically controlled heater band to go around the oil tank and then a heat pad for bottom of the crankcase. The crankcase heater is where the paint is supposed to be removed. http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Rotax912.htm

EZ-Heat: https://www.e-zheat.com/912-914-engines

SAFE-HEET  (not specifically 912/914): https://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com/products/category/safe-heet-engine-heaters/

And here is a long discussion in the RV community: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=51470

Note that the owner of Reiff chimes in, in the good way. That is one of the reasons I'm placing an order for his system.

Side note, we have internet to our hangar, so we use the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug with Energy Monitoring - HS110 for turning the heater on and off. They are available on Amazon and other places and this model lets you see the amp draw, in addition to just switching the plug on and off.

For cabin/cockpit preheat on our Bonanza we use a Hornet heater from https://www.aircraftheaters.com/aircraftheaters . It works well.

I hope that helps!

I have installed the Reiff Preheat system on my Rotax 914.   I like the fact that it warms the crankcase and the oil tank and have had good results.  On a 20-30 deg F day,  after warming for at least a couple hours the oil temperature is low 60 deg F when a blanket is put over the exposed engine (air craft is a Searey with no engine cowling).

The area of the crankcase (underside) that I installed did not have any paint (die cast aluminum?) so no paint removal was necessary.  I followed the instructions that came with the system and overall installation was pretty easy.   I had to tent a blanket and use a electric space heater to keep the engine compartment above 75 deg F as the epoxy cured for 48 hours.

Thanks Thomas - I was able to provide 75 deg F and the epoxy session appears successful.  I do not have internet so I built a remote GSM (text controlled) switch that I was able to test along with the Reiff system - appears to work as advertised.  Necessary add-on feature for Minnesota!