Electric Cabin Heat

[Rynoth]

Last night during the aerovee presentation by John Monett, he mentioned an alternative to the typical exhaust heat muff cabin heat, and that was electric cabin heat, such as heated seats. Has anyone done anything like this? I like the idea of not having to cut a big hole in the firewall and fabricate heat muffs and piping for cabin heat.

I suppose in the simplest form you could just have an A/C inverter and an electric blanket, but can be quite a lot of current draw.

Edit: or, a simple cheapo wal-mart solution like this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wagan-Heated- ... n/10928415

User manual says that it consumes 45W at 12VDC, which would be about 3.75 amps, right?

[vigilant104]

The heated snowmobile garments would work, and they are set up for 12VDC.

When I was looking into this before, I came across this company (http://www.kustomkomfort.com/index.html)that sells a control unit and wires that you can sew into a garment of your own (maybe a flight jacket and pants you'd keep at the hangar, or maybe a set of thermal underwear to put on under "regular" clothes?) You could do the whole thing for less than $150. There's not a lot of info on their site, but it looks like the whole setup would draw less than 4 amps when it was on full power (probably not all the time), so even with two people it would probably be okay with the 20A available from the Aerovee alternator. My hands tend to get cold, so I'd probably need to wire up a set of gloves as well.

I can't say I look forward to operating my iPad and the radios with gloves on, and the wires/hookup might be a bit of a hassle compared to just turning on cabin heat and being warm everywhere. But it would be simpler and lighter to implement.

There are also 12VDC small electric blankets sold for use in RVs, etc, I saw them at Menards for about $20. That might be useful as a stopgap measure.

Maybe a heated seatpad would be helpful, but it wouldn't be my first choice. The parts that seem to get cold when I fly are my extremities: hands, arms, legs, feet, face, etc.

(I have no commercial connection to the company named above)

Mark

[MichaelFarley56]

Very interesting options Mark. I'd like to consider something similar one day, especially given reports from people who have actually done the heat muff cabin heat and said it's really not worth it.

A few people over at MRT have invested in snowmobile heated jackets and gloves that are battery powered. I'm not sure how long they last but I do know they're expensive. Might be an option though.

You'll have to let me know if you discover anything new!

[Rynoth]

Thanks Mark that's good stuff as well. I think after a short time researching options plus your posts, I've decided not to bother with adding cabin heater (muff).

[vigilant104]

Thanks Mark that's good stuff as well. I think after a short time researching options plus your posts, I've decided not to bother with adding cabin heater (muff).

Ryan,
I'm still on the fence. I'm leaning toward adding the wires to a set of very thin longjohns to wear under my street clothes when I fly. I really don't want a lot of bulk, and I think the heat wires might do the most good if kept under all the other layers of clothes.
But the "all over" warm air provided by "regular" cabin heat is a strong draw. I'm just not looking forward to finding a suitable spot from which to draw high-pressure air and making the needed modifications. KISS . . .
Let us know if you plunge ahead, I'll do the same.

Mark

[Rynoth]

My need is probably a bit less than yours, being in Tennessee. I've also never flown in a bubble canopy, Sonex touts that as a source of heat in itself during the winter months. Time will tell, but I think there are enough electronic options for me to give it a go sans muff for awhile. 4000 hours and I've never flown in a plane without a heater!

[Bryan Cotton]

I have flown gliders with bubble canopies in the winter. I will be installing heat.

[MichaelFarley56]

But the "all over" warm air provided by "regular" cabin heat is a strong draw. I'm just not looking forward to finding a suitable spot from which to draw high-pressure air and making the needed modifications.
Mark

In theory Mark, I don't think that will be too challenging. Most certified airplanes tap a small opening from their engine baffling and run air to the shroud via SCAT hose. I've often considered cutting a small opening from the lower engine block/oil cooler baffling where your oil cooler is mounted; perhaps, if there's some room in front of the oil cooler, you could drill a small hole there and rivet a flange on the baffling. I think most oil coolers get plenty of airflow, and this wouldn't rob much of that air. Go to AircraftSpruce.com and type in 'ALUMINUM FLANGES FOR DUCTING' and you'll see what I mean. Then, we would have to determine what size of shroud fits the exhaust pipes (not sure of the diameter) and finally, a heat box with on/off control would have to be found to fit on the firewall, with controls ran inside the cabin somewhere.

I haven't looked in a while, but I'm fairly certain my plans have a sheet to show how to fabricate your own heater system to be used in countries that require carb heat. If that's true, most of the leg work would already be done.

I truly don't think the project will be very challenging once the correct parts can be found. Like you said Mark; it may be nice to have "regular" cabin heat available!

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Jim Hicke previously posted this set-up he made for his Waiex:

http://sonexbuilders.net/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=698#p5012

[GWMotley]

Hi guys,
I have used some motorcycle electro heated clothing with success. The brand I use is Gerbing and I usually have to use the lowest setting to keep from roasting. They have socks to gloves and everything in between.