"Long Engine Life Starts With Reiff"

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Rotax 912 System

150 watt system shown

 

SYSTEM WATTS PRICE

120 or 220 V
150 $229
250 $354
350 $479

 

The Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) industry has been gathering momentum, and most of the LSA models use the Rotax 912.  Although it is a good engine, it has 3 issues you should be aware of:

  1. It does not start well in cold weather because the electronic ignition system will not fire the spark plugs unless the starter cranks the engine at a crankshaft speed of 220 rpm or more (90 rpm propeller speed).  A cold engine is stiff and a cold battery is weak, so the starter may not be able to crank the engine fast enough to start it. 

  2. A slow cranking speed can cause kickback, which damages the sprag clutch.  

  3. If the engine does start, you cannot do the run-up until the oil reaches 120oF (50oC).  This may require a lengthy warm-up period.

See pages 10-17 to 10-19 in the Rotax 912 Operating Manual for more information.

The above 3 problems are solved by preheating the engine.  

Our system has proven to be a convenient and inexpensive means to do this, and we have been selling a lot of them.  

The system is installed on your engine so all you need to do is plug it in to a wall outlet with an extension cord for a few hours.  Overnight is even better.  Throw a blanket over the cowling to seal and insulate the engine compartment.  The engine will think it's summer time and will start easily, and because the oil is preheated you will not need a long warm up period before you can do your run-up and takeoff.

The standard system is 150 watts and includes a 100w HotStrip heater epoxied to the bottom of the crankcase, and a 50w HotBand clamped around the oil tank.  A thermostat bonded to the oil tank limits the oil temp to about 150oF.  This system is sufficient for most conditions, but if necessary one or two extra 100w HotStrips can be added to the crankcase at additional cost.

 

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 Rotax parts or replace any Rotax parts with our parts.  For example, one competitor's system replaces the Rotax intake manifold bolts and a crankcase bolt 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.

 

The system also fits the Rotax 914.    

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Last updated 7/1/10