So your experience is that the bolt-on pan heaters like the 250w pyroil mentioned below do work but not very effectively? 

Sent from my 1963 maroon and cream 702B Western Electric Princess phone. 

> On Dec 24, 2013, at 11:58 AM, JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Preheating both oil and engine is a big issue in really cold climes.
> When I lived in Fairbanks, I installed a block heater that screwed right
> into a freeze-plug location. Other folks used a tank heater - and add-on
> that when operating did so on the thermo-siphoning principle,
> circulating hot coolant through the engine block and back to the tank to
> be re-heated. In both cases there was enough heat transfer to keep the
> oil in the oil pan warm - at least warm enough - for easy starts in the
> cold - at times 50F below Zero.
> 
> On my '68 Loaf I installed a pan heater that bolted right to the engine
> block where the oil screen/drain plug was located. It worked most days -
> but was not very efficient. Still had to go through a considerable warm
> up, but it did start easier.
> 
> When I bought my first Vanagon - and '85 GL - down on the Kenai
> Peninsula - I put one of the pan heaters, just because I happened to
> have a spare for the '68 Loaf. it worked, but not very well.
> 
> One big factor in the cold is keeping the battery warm. On ALL my
> vehicles in Alaska - I installed battery hot-plates to keep the battery
> warm. Made a huge difference.
> 
> I saw a couple of air-cooled folks put catalytic heaters UNDER the
> engine and on the ground 'neath the car. I guess the rising heat
> transferred sufficiently to keep the oil warm.
> 
> In my early days of flying up there - with radial engine airplanes -
> which always had separate oil tanks - upon landing and while the engine
> was still very warm - a tailored insulated engine cover would be wrapped
> around the engine. That worked good enough for a few hours. But more
> than that - or for over night - the oil was drained into a 5 gallon
> bucket and taken in for the night and sat near the stove. The engine was
> left wrapped up for the night, and a catalytic heater was lit off and
> placed inside the engine cowling. Next morning the hot oil was poured
> back into the engine, and shortly because everything was warm - start
> up, warmup, and takeoff came quickly!
> 
> I have seen it so cold, and engine oil so stiff that I could do chin-ups
> on propellers stored horizontally.  We are talking 50 WT oil and -35F or
> below.
> 
> I once watch a hot-shot-pilot-owner type pre-heat a dead colad engine
> at -35 with a forced air heater. When warm enough to start - he did, let
> it tun a few minutes, shut it off, wrapped a blanket around the cowling
> - and waited 15 minute. Removed the blanket, started up, took off.
> Engine seize at 300 ft altitude off the end of the runway. He tried to
> tun back to the runway, but was so low and slow he couldn't complete the
> turn. He stalled the airplane, and it crashed on the end of the runway,
> the left wing, cockpit and cowling hitting about the same time, then
> flipping over - effectively demolishing the airplane.  He broke his nose
> - and his wallet. Not enough insurance. FAA investigators concluded that
> engine oil was not sufficiently fluid in the oil pan and a cold oil lump
> still existed in the sump. Upon application of full take-off power - the
> engine oil pump[ did it's best, and sucked up all liquid oil, leaving
> the lump in the bottom which could not be used. Consequently the engine
> effectively ran dry of oil and the engine seized.
> 
> I will say this - when temps reach -30 to -35 - most good operators that
> I knew would halt flying the small aircraft. Colder than that was
> risking both people and airplanes.  The twin-engine operations with
> bigger airplanes and engines and auxiliary gas heaters kept flying.
> 
> But - the point is - in really cold weather - keep those engines and oil
> warm!
> 
> John
> 
>> On 12/23/2013 12:16 PM, Ian Allan wrote:
>> In Canada NAPA has an oil pan heater obviously made for the WBX as it bolts on perfectly to existing fastener locations. Manufactured by Pyroil NAPA part number 6051500. It is a 250 watt heater with a 36" cord. Uses two existing fasteners.
>> 
>> http://partimages2.genpt.com/partimages/255470.jpg
>> 
>> Works very well.
>> 
>> 
>> Ian Allan
>> 
>> 85 Westfalia/Bostig
>> 84 Westfalia
>> 02 Jetta 1.8t
>> 
>> 2008 Sprinter
>> 
>> 
>>