Winter Advice

[JJ Campbell]

I have a 912 ULS at a tiedown at KJYO. I don't like to fly unless the temperature is >40° and because of my canvas covers and my age (78) I don't like the surface wind to be >10 knots. Needless to say, I don't get much flying done in the Winter.

My question: How often should I go to the airport to start my engine and run it at ~2,500 RPM to keep the battery charged and give the engine a bit of a workout?

[3Dreaming]

You are probably better off just charging the battery and not starting the engine. The engine really needs to have an oil temperature of 190°f when running it, and preferably for more than just a couple minutes. Running it on the ground at 2500 will not achieve this. I have seen rust inside the rocker boxes before that I attribute to running like this.

[Dave C]

I have had good luck using a trickle charger powered by a small solar panel to maintain the battery when tied down for long periods.

[JJ Campbell]

I have had good luck using a trickle charger powered by a small solar panel to maintain the battery when tied down for long periods.

Do you have any recommendations from Amazon or Sporty's?

[Sling 2 Pilot]

Im lucky enough to have a hanger. That said, I still have the same issues as you. I keep the tanks filled with 100LL, instead of 91 no ethanol unleaded, as the octane level will degrade less over time than the Mo gas. I keep it hooked up to a battery tender, which, because I’m in a hanger can toggle it on and off with a remote switch. That also goes for my Reif Heater. Ive used the solar charger previously with previous aircraft that were tied down outdoors and it worked well.

My Rotax 912 ULS, hasn’t seen temps anywhere above 170-184, since I’ve owned it, 5 yrs ago. In the winter months 13-141 is normal. Im a bit younger than you, not by much. I was going to part with it this spring, but you’ve inspired me to keep it, at least for another year or 2. Good Luck!

[JJ Campbell]

Im lucky enough to have a hanger. That said, I still have the same issues as you. I keep the tanks filled with 100LL, instead of 91 no ethanol unleaded, as the octane level will degrade less over time than the Mo gas. I keep it hooked up to a battery tender, which, because I’m in a hanger can toggle it on and off with a remote switch. That also goes for my Reif Heater. Ive used the solar charger previously with previous aircraft that were tied down outdoors and it worked well.

My Rotax 912 ULS, hasn’t seen temps anywhere above 170-184, since I’ve owned it, 5 yrs ago. In the winter months 13-141 is normal. Im a bit younger than you, not by much. I was going to part with it this spring, but you’ve inspired me to keep it, at least for another year or 2. Good Luck!

Thank you Sling! The temps all next week are going to be in the 20's so no flying. However, I plan to take the 45 minute drive to the airport tomorrow to remove the battery and bring it home to charge. I plan to purchase:
https://www.amazon.com/SOLPERK-Maintain ... 9hdGY&th=1
and will hook it up the first chance I get to fly.

[Dave C]

I have had good luck using a trickle charger powered by a small solar panel to maintain the battery when tied down for long periods.

Do you have any recommendations from Amazon or Sporty's?

I used an 18 watt panel and a Battery Tender brand solar charge controller that I mounted in a waterproof box. The exact panel is not available anymore as I bought it over 5 years ago. The panel was sufficient to keep the battery charged and on one occasion I successfully charged up a dead battery with it in about a day.

Here are some links:

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-0 ... C83&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1 ... UTF8&psc=1