Judging by the radiator leak I found this spring, I must have had some Engine Ice freeze up in my SV during one of the super-cold nights last winter. I was thinking of running some pipe heating cable through the engine block as cheap insurance to make sure this doesn't happen again this winter. Anyone know of any dangers to going this route...?
Some of the heat tape is around 15 watts/foot and it needs to be attached pretty snug up against whatever you are trying to keep warm. A better option might be too put a heavy blanket over the bike and use a small heater, less than 500 watts..... or even a 150 - 200 watt floodlight.
Heavy blanket and small space heater or 2 (Depending on your actual temps) should do the trick! VernLux is correct. The Heat Trace needs to be put directly on the item and secured. It is specifically designed for piping.......so I don't think it would be the best option.
What's wrong with just refilling the bike with antifreeze. Gonna flush it out before the race season starts anyway.
Blanket over bike and a small work light/Light bulb in the belly pan.... I have never heard of engine ice freezing though.... Sure it wasn't a Mix or Water Wetter?
I looked up his location..........Detroit! I can imagine that last winter there were times that the temperature might have been lower than the Engine Ice freeze point.......... -26 degrees F
Marc, that's why all the Northern folks that come to Barber in Oct. and it's 40 degrees in the morning, are all walking around in sandals and t-shirts and wearing shorts. They think that 50 is a heat wave.
I live in Detroit and have had Engine Ice in my bikes for years without issue as have all my biker buddies. You may want to double check for another cause for the leak.
Is your garage attached? Mine is not, so there's zero heat out there. The Engine Ice is a few years old (just a street bike now), so I figured that it just wore out...? I just want to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to the 848 this winter. I could just run anti-freeze for the winter, but it seemed like a lot of work for how little I am able to get to the track. Thinking of running a ceramic radiant heat bulb like they have for lizards and such...
stt/apex mfg offering heated storage for the off season, might be worth your while to protect you investments. like the old commercial said... "you can pay a little now... or a lot, later". Ski
I hate having the ability to confirm this... I had one morning it read -27 in the truck. The radiator on my work van had burst, but I did not find out till the next day. A blanket and 100w lightbulb Will work fine, but it is easier to drain the colant and refill in spring.