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I fly on both the Rotax two stroke and four stroke
engines, and in winter find that the installation of a heater running off
the radiator system on the 582, 618 and 912 engines keeps me quite
comfortable.
Click here for more information: While
this warms me up when flying, I have added a system to my 582 and 912
which warms them up BEFORE I go flying. While my
582 starts easily in the winter, with just a couple of primes, and a flick
of the switch to engage the electric start, it takes quite a while, even
with a thermostat installed for it to warm up to operating temperature. My
912 on the other hand is a bear to start, and if I don't get it on the
first attempt, I want to make sure my battery is fully charged, because I
will probably drain it trying to start the engine. The
912 S is even more of a bear, and because of the new gear ratio and
starter I can't hand prop it if I do drain the battery. A
couple of years ago I came across a neat little heater. As luck would have it, the rad hose size is the same
as that used on both the Rotax 912, 582, and 618. Installation
is as simple as cutting the hose that goes to your rad, and mounting the
heater in the lowest possible position. That is of course AFTER you have
drained the necessary fluid out of the system!!! Once
installed you can put the heater on a timer,
 which can turn in on and off
on a regular basis, or you can just connect it to an extension cord, while
doing your preflight check and fueling the plane. It takes
about 20 minutes for the whole system to be brought up to operating
temperature. The advantage of this is that the engines are easier to turn
over and quicker to start, and wear and tear due to cold starts is
eliminated. Click
here for more information. |
