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Old December 9th 03, 09:28 PM
hlongworth
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"Joe Young" wrote in message ...
Some of us "**** away" $150+ to keep our birds legal. The Reiff heaters
have a PMA and are FAA approved which means they can legally be installed on
a certified aircraft.


Joe,
After searching a number of aviation newsgroups on preheat options,
I decided to order a Reiff system to be installed on our new engine
(the Tanis heater came with the old engine could not be reused). My
recollection of various discussions was that one would not need FAA's
approval for a pre heater. I had considered cheaper alternatives:

1. E-Z heat: $160 (300w or less)- oil pan heater
http://www.e-zheat.com/index.htm
2. Safe-Heet $130 (300w) - oil pan heater
http://www.aircraftsupply.com/categories.asp?cID=133
3. ProHeat pad - Model 512 $55 (250w) - oil pan heater (not specified
for aircraft but should work the same)
http://www.engineheaters.com/

Of course, there are cheaper oil pan heating pads for less than $50
but with lower wattage (100w or so).

Our final analysis was that after spending $15K on a new engine, the
price of a more complete (and properly with better temperature
control) system such as the Reiff unit seems reasonable for our peace
of mind.