Reiff vs. Other brand

"Long Engine Life Starts With Reiff"

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Reiff vs. The Other Brand

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is "What's the difference between your system and (the other brand)?". There are a number of differences, but this page describes the main ones.

Comparison of Design

Comparison of Prices

Comparison of Warranties

Comparison of Performance

Aviation Consumer Reviews

Comparison of Design

Our band-type cylinder heater does not conflict with your CHT sensors, so our multi-point systems heat ALL your cylinders at no extra charge. The other brand charges you a lot more if your engine has a single-cylinder CHT gauge installed, hundreds of dollars more if you have all the CHT ports tied up by an electronic engine monitor. This is because they have to substitute expensive, optional hollow bolt heaters.

A big advantage of our system is that it is non-invasive. All our parts are installed "on" the engine. Nothing is installed inside the engine, and you do not need to remove any OEM parts or replace any OEM parts with our parts. For example, the other brand replaces the OEM intake manifold bolts with their own heated bolts (if the CHT ports are tied up with CHT sensors). These are simply hollowed out bolts with heating elements epoxied into the hollowed out core. If that hollowed out bolt ever breaks, the intake manifold flange will be loose and extra air will be sucked in, which will cause the cylinder to run too lean. This may result in a partial power loss (rough engine) and possibly burn up the cylinder or valves. As a general design philosophy we feel it is safer not to replace parts that were installed by the engine manufacturer, especially structural parts like bolts.

Our oil sump heater element is an aluminum strip heater. The other brand uses silicone pads. The aluminum unit is much more durable, and tolerates poor installations a lot better. For example, it won't burn out if you get an air bubble underneath it while bonding it to the oil sump, as silicone pads do. The aluminum heater can also be removed and re-installed at engine overhaul time, or if you trade aircraft. Silicone pads usually are ruined if you try to remove them.

Lower watt density = longer life expectancy. The life expectancy of electric heating elements is correlated to watt density (watts per square inch of surface area). The higher the watt density, the hotter the element runs and the shorter the life. Our cylinder heater is a band that distributes the heat all around the cylinder. The other brand uses a heated bolt screwed into either the CHT port, or replacing an intake manifold bolt. Both ours and theirs are 50 watts, i.e. equivalent heat output, but theirs is about 10 times greater watt density than our band heater.

Cool harness = longer life expectancy. Long term exposure to high heat will degrade a wire harness no matter how well you build it, and the best protection against that is to keep it cool. Our main harness is installed on the COOL (upper) side of the engine. The other brand puts theirs on the HOT (lower) side. In flight, incoming cooling air flows over our harness, which is mounted on top of the crankcase. The other brand's harness is below the cylinders. The cooling air down there is hot, having just passed through the cylinder cooling fins. Also the exhaust pipes exit from the bottom of the cylinders and add to the heat down below.

Our innovative and unique modular design lets you tailor a preheat system to meet your needs and budget. Want the best? Choose one of our integrated multipoint systems using both cylinder and oil heaters. Already have an oil sump heater? Then just get our cylinder heat system - it will work with any oil heater. Live in a mild climate? Then perhaps our oil sump heater is all you need. We let you do it YOUR way, and we are the only preheater company that gives you a choice. Others sell only oil heaters, or only multi-point systems, and then try to convince you that their product is the best for everyone.

Our modular design allows any system to be easily upgraded to a higher system at any time.

We use better connectors with a positive lock, but can also be unplugged easily in the event you need to replace a part.

We are the ONLY preheat system manufacturer who offers an Oil Cooler Heater Option .

Comparison of Prices *

	Reiff	Other Brand	The Difference
PREHEAT SYSTEMS:
Lycoming & Continental 4 cylinder engines	$435 (300w)	5 systems, $400-$720 (250w)	The other brand's systems cost an average of about 40% more than Reiff systems.
Lycoming & Continental 6 cylinder engines	$595 (400w)	14 systems $575-$1080 (400w)

REPLACEMENT PARTS:
Cylinder element (50w)	$50	18 models, $65-$170	The other brand's replacement heating elements cost an average of about 2.5 times more than Reiff.
Oil sump element	$110 (100w) Durable aluminum HotStrip	81 models, $95 - $575 (most about 50w) Less durable silicone pads

* Source of competitor data is their web site as of 8/17/2011. Engine heater prices are per engine and include standard wattage cylinder and oil heaters. We compare their "Standard" and "Premium" systems to our Standard systems only, because their web site does not show any high wattage systems comparable to our Turbo and Turbo XP Systems. Note competitor's "Premium System" is the same wattage as their "Standard System". Their Standard System will not work with an engine analyzer because the cylinder heater elements screw into the threaded holes intended for the CHT sensors. The Premium system replaces each of those elements with a "bolt heater" that replaces one of the intake manifold bolts on each cylinder. Our system does not conflict with CHT sensors.

A big advantage of our system is that it is non-invasive. All our parts are installed "on" the engine. Nothing is installed inside the engine, and you do not need to remove any Lycoming or Continental OEM parts or replace any OEM parts with our parts. For example, our primary competitor's system replaces the OEM intake manifold bolts with their own heated bolts. These are simply hollowed out bolts with heating elements epoxied into the hollowed out core. As a general design philosophy we feel it is safer not to replace parts that were installed by the engine manufacturer, especially critical structural parts like bolts.

Comparison of Warranties

The best preheat system deserves the best warranty.

Our 5 year, No-Fault, No BS warranty beats the other guys' 3 year "loaded with fine print" warranty.

Our Warranty

"Buy It & Try It" No-Risk Trial Period. Install it, try it, and if you are unsatisfied for any reason, send it back within 30 days of purchase.

Up to 5 years after purchase we will replace or repair any part that fails for any reason.

Applies to preheat systems purchased after 7/1/2010, other products are warranted by their manufacturer. Proof of purchase date required

Compare ours with the other brand's warranty:

Edited only to remove the company's name, and to add our comments [in red like this]

Other Brand's Warranty Policy

This component (model and serial number indicated below) is conditionally guaranteed to be free from defect in material and workmanship for three years from date of purchase [and it was originally only ONE year until we entered the market with our better warranty]. If any defect in materials or workmanship causes or contributes to this component not functioning properly, [we] will honor the warranty in the following manner:

Contact [us] and provide information regarding the component’s failure to perform.
Provide the part number and serial number of the product.

[We] will replace the defective part or parts, but will not be responsible for removal or reinstallation of said part or parts.

Conditions of the warranty:

Part must be properly installed and signed off by a licensed A&P or equivalent.[in other words, no warranty coverage applies for homebuilders and other do-it-yourselfers]
It cannot have been altered, converted, modified, repaired, neglected or used in any way not recommended by [us] [in other words, if there is any way they can blame you for the failure, they can deny warranty coverage]
Damage to component caused by improper installation or removal from aircraft is expressly not covered by this warranty. [in other words, if there is any way they can blame you for the failure, they can deny warranty coverage]
Warranty card must have been properly completed and signed by purchaser and installing mechanic within 60 days of the date of purchase. [in other words, better get the system installed quickly, and don't forget to send the registration card in]

Which warranty is the most customer friendly?

We don't like the idea of arguing with customers about whether it was their fault the product failed. So we don't.

Who do you think has the most confidence in their product?

Another reason we give such a broad warranty is because we know from experience we won't have to replace very many parts. Consequently, our broad warranty makes more economic sense because the cost of replacing those few parts is a lot less than the cost of us having to administer a more complicated, restrictive warranty policy like our competitor's. Besides, we don't have the room or the time to file a couple thousand warranty registration cards per year!

Which do you think is the best choice for homebuilders and other do-it-yourselfers?

We are homebuilders ourselves ( RV-4 ). We figure if you can build an airplane we can trust you to install our preheat system and we are not going to require you to pay an A&P to do it.

Comparison of Performance

Test Method

The tests were conducted on our Cherokee 235 with a Lycoming 0-540 engine, which is equipped with both our competitor's system and ours. In each test the aircraft was in our unheated hanger, the air inlets were plugged with foam rubber cowl plugs, the cowling was covered with a blanket which laid over the top and hung about halfway down the sides , and the sump had 9 qts of oil. The temperatures were obtained by a calibrated digital thermometer with a remote probe inserted between the top two fins on the center left cylinder, and a second probe dropped down the oil filler tube with the tip suspended at the 4.5 qt level. The other brand's system includes a 50 w probe on 5 of 6 cylinder heads (a CHT is on the other) and two 50 w elements on the oil sump. For the test of the competitor's system we measured one of the heated cylinders - not the unheated one. Ambient temperature was about 20^o F.

Test Results

^oF Rise Above Ambient Temperature after 12 hours
	Cylinders	Oil
Reiff Turbo XP System	119	128
Reiff Turbo System	86	110
Reiff Standard System	81	88
Competitor's standard system	81	57
Reiff HotBand cylinder heaters alone	60	46
Reiff HotStrip oil heater alone	37	80

A comment about the other brand's test results:

Our competitor has a graph which shows their system outperforming ours, however, their testing method gives a skewed result. They measured the temperature with a spark plug thermocouple only about one inch from their heating element in the CHT port, several inches away from our heating element. When we did our comparison tests we wanted them to be fair, credible, and able to withstand independent scrutiny, so we measured at the top end of the cylinder, about midway between our heating element and theirs.

Also note that their test was done without a cover, despite the fact their instructions are to "Always use an insulated cover". A cover holds the heat inside the cowling and helps make the temperatures in the engine compartment uniform regardless of the placement of the heat sources. Leaving the cover off makes the heating less uniform and the heat is more concentrated near the heat sources, so measuring the temp near their element and far from ours further skews the test result in their favor.

Finally, note that the only temperature they compare in their test is the cylinder head. They do not measure the oil.

Heating performance is a function of wattage. Period. Our watts are not better than anyone else's, nor are theirs better than ours.

We recognize that any product test performed by the product's producer (including ours) will be viewed with skepticism by the marketplace. From the perspective of the consumer, the most meaningful test is one performed by an unbiased third party such as Aviation Consumer. That's why we are providing the results of their tests here.

Who is the "pioneer" who invented aircraft engine preheating?

If you believe what some say, it was they who did so in the 1970's.

Nonsense. Engine heaters for aircraft as well as auto, truck, train, and other engines have been around long before the 1970's.

The US, British, German, and Japanese air forces of World War II preheated their aircraft engines to improve cold starting and combat readiness of their aircraft. For example, read about the Japanese Supersub, an aircraft carrier submarine:

"The supersub combined the stealth and tactical advantages of sea and sky and was invented to execute air strikes on land from the sea...The sub’s specialty bombers had wings that could rotate and fold up, a tailfin that could fold down, and a method of preheating the engine oil underwater so that the planes didn’t have to warm up on the surface, where they were most vulnerable to attack." http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/features/japanese-supersub-preview-this-episode/546/

The Japanese preheat system was based on one used by the German Luftwaffe.

So we don't think it is right for someone to claim they are the "pioneer" who invented the aircraft engine preheater in the 1970's. Their late founder IS due credit for being the first (as far as we know) to market a system suitable for small Lycomings and Continentals, and we do respect that. All we did was invent and patent a unique and better method for preheating.

Who is "the leading supplier of aircraft engine preheaters throughout the world"?

We question this claim as well. There are two firms producing multipoint engine preheaters. Both are privately owned and don't publish their sales data. Since our competitor does not know what our sales are, how do they know theirs is higher than ours, and therefore how can they claim to be "the leader"?

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Last updated 8/17/11