The Cal-look Lounge

Hi,

I would like to preheat the oil in my race engine and am considering various options..... Stick on, thread in, 110v US, 240v UK, 12v DC etc.

What have any of you guys used to good success? I am happy to weld a threaded adapter on the sump, but what I don't want is a trailing cable when it is not in use, nor a domestic plug hanging down from the bottom of my race car, so ideally it would be something I can plug unto when I want to power it up. 12v would be perhaps the best solution, but I will need a pretty hefty power supply....

Please let me know your thoughts. I am in the UK (240vAC mains) but happy to consider all options including transformers etc.

Cheers,

Jonny.

i have bought a 110v one from rjvolksperformance comes with a weld on boss and a nice cord that will hang down from the sump nicely  :D

I made my own 12v worked a treat

Almost all VW's in Sweden were delivered with an oil heater from the dealer.
I am in Spain now, but I am sure any VW guy in Sweden either has one on the shelf or can get one for you easily.

And by the Way, they are 240V.

They will replace the normal sump lid :)

I have the sump plate style ones in stock.....

110v I think as they are norwegian in origin

Drop me a pm if your interested  :)

Defa still sell the sump lid style oil heater with all the necessary cabling and sockets. Both 240v and 110v. Defa products should be available world wide. I have the part numbers in my garage and can post them later if you are interested. It works really well and after 30 minutes the oil temperature is around 85-90C.

-BRBB-

Probably a better idea.... Mine are "NoS" ie OLD!  ;) :)

I have a sump heater made by Stef's, intended for a dry sump system. It uses a welded in "Bung" onto the sump and screws in.

110v, 175Watts. It will heat the oil quite nicely, but it takes a bit of time. With the low wattage, you can plug it in a few hours ahead of time without worry. It only draws as much as a couple incandescent light bulbs. It'll also run on a small portable generator without putting much of a load on it, so you can charge a battery and run the heater simultaneously.

I use it after an event to cook off any methanol that finds its way into the oil.

Thanks for the comments. Should have said that I have an autocraft pump so I can't easily replace the sump plate unfortunately- but I appreciate the ideas.

I am probably thinking I'd use a weld -in one in the sump- I was looking at the on Summit and Jegs. Seems the popular choice is between Moroso and Stefs. Mike- what do you do with the mains cable when it is not hooked up- probably sounds like a dumb question, but I was looking for something where I didn't have to coil the cable up under the car with a domestic plug....

Thanks!

just extend the cable and have a anderson plug on the car somewhere nice and neat  ;)

I made the cable really short. About 6 inches long, and made a little loop to tuck it into. Stays out of the way and is easy to get to. You can also wire it to a permanent plug in terminal on the car somewhere, so you can just plug in the extension cord.

Stefs on mine, I was looking at ways to make it neater and what Danny suggested is what I want to do, just have it with a fixed end so you can just plug it in, proberly mount it out of site under the rear wing/fender with a female end on it to plug into

cheers Richie

Thanks  :)

im just going to leave a big extension lead on mine then get andy to reel it back in after a run ;) my thinking is it will then tow me back to the start line :-)

I have a Stef with the weld in boss in the sump. I run a lead to a small Anderson plug next to my large Anderson battery plug.

ahh thats where i got the anderson plug info from lol  ;)

Are Anderson plugs rated to 230v ? Sounds VERY dangerous to me I'm sure they can't have any type of ip rating

I use 110 volt, and I believe it is only small amperage. Never gave that a thought  :)

110v uk should be centre tapped you should only get a 55v shock but I still wouldn't be using an Anderson socket IMHO you can still get a a shock from 110v that can hurt 55v not so much but still dodgy in the incorrect circumstances :(  

That's another job you found me Andy. Change that  :)  What about something like a Euro plug and socket?

Lol I will post you one I have a few