Re: Preheater

"Ray Andraka" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Sorry to hear that.  I put the Reiff cylinder and hot padd heaters on my
> Six back in 1996, and have had no problems with it whatsoever.  At the
> engine change this summer, we re-adhered the pad to the new engine using
> some kind of hi-temp goop the A&P had on hand, and again, no problems.
> My guess is you may have either had some residual oil left on the sump or
> on the heat pad, or you had a bad batch of adhesive.  My cylinder bands
> were custom made for me, as I bought them soon after Reiff came out with
> them, and the original models were too wide to fit on my narrow deck
> engine.  I think they've since asked you to specify wide or narrow deck.
> The narrow deck ones are 50W instead of 60W, and are a bit skinnier.  At
> the time, the customer service was exemplary, but since I have not had to
> deal with Reiff since, things may have changed.
>

The heater is a flat pad.  I'm sure if you have easy access to a flat oil
sump, like a Lycoming, it's a simple installation.  But I have an Aeronca
7AC with a Continental A65, the small Continentals have a kidney-shaped
tank.  The Reiff instructions stress the importance of a thin, uniform layer
of adhesive between the pad and the tank.  How do you keep a flat pad in
contact with a round tank while the adhesive cures?  You've gotta clamp it,
and the instructions do say that may be necessary, as I recall.  But there
is no effective way of clamping it while it is hanging from the engine, so I
removed the tank.  While I had it off I took the opportunity to clean it up
and repaint it.  It was cleaned in a solvent bath, and old paint and
corrosion were removed with a combination of wire brush, sandpaper, and
sandblasting.  I used a good quality automotive primer and paint.  It was
beautiful.  I mixed the adhesive and applied a thin uniform coat per the
instructions.  I put a piece of wax paper under a large bean bag and used
several strap clamps and duct tape to ensure uniform contact of the pad to
the tank while the adhesive cured.  I applied heat and let it sit for
several days.  When I removed the clamps the pad returned to it's former
flat state, the adhesive was a slightly sticky gray putty.  Most of the
adhesive peeled off very easily, the remaining bits were cleaned off with a
solvent, leaving the heater in pristine condition.  The whole kit, less the
adhesive, was returned to with Reiff with a letter explaining my experience
and a request for a refund.  Instead I got the kit back with a different
type of adhesive, which I consider to be de facto admission that the
original adhesive was inadequate for the task.  I hardly consider that good
customer relations.  This was about seven years ago as well.