starting tractor in the cold

[dqdave1]

After I switched to synthetic oil 5 w - 40 for my unit ; it starts very easy in cold weather. Use 5w 30 or 40. It is amazing how easy it turns over when cold.

 

[KICK]

if'n you dont have access to electricity for a bloack heater of some type
dont forget the old standby..... STARTING FLUID

just dont use the glow plugs or you'll get started.

silicone spray works pretty good too if you dont have either.

best method I found is to open up the air filter housing and crank and spray at the same time.

shouldn't take much.

 

[oliver28472]

Ether is not recommended on these. Piston tops are too thin. Satohparts.com has photos of ether related engine damage.

 

[Egon]

open up the air filter housing and crank and spray at the same time

And have a backfire and backflash that ends up doing you some serious damage!

 

[KICK]

you guys kill me.

piston tops are too thin.... give me a break..... do you think there is more or less thermal energy in diesel fuel or ether?

when you are up to your knees in snow and you absolutely, positively have to start a diesel engine, guess what you end up using?????.


to sum it up,in the end, if you are a "grown up" with reasonable mechanical ability and some common sense, you can use ether if necessary.

If the above factors aren't part of your mental makeup, wait for warm weather or buy some type of block heater

 

[KICK]

And have a backfire and backflash that ends up doing you some serious damage!

notice my disclaimer, do not use the glow plugs unless you want to get started????

obviously I was a little to subtle for some members of the board and will have to spell it out..

no glow plugs, no back flash.

glow plugs. boom. no good.

 

[mit]

i know on some diesel trucks they have a ether can inside and u turn it on to start in winter it gives puffs of ether at start up.but there is no glow plugs on those engines.what u r saying makes sense not to use the glow plugs if u are spraying ether in the intake.in my case the cranking speed when it is cold is slow so i think if i use some heat it will de gel the oil and warm the coolant so the engine will turn faster and start.when the weather warms up i can start building my shed to keep the tractor in. if i cant get electric i will look into a generator to drag around for power.it is nice to see all these starting tips.thanks to all that contributed.

 

[Egon]

Sounds like you be the expert Kick!!

Me, I'm not an expert, I'll just let you use the either.

I'll stick to other methods.

In the past I have noticed that at -40C the other methods work much better!

 

[kenmac]

. Some engine manufactures don't recommend the use of either in their engines. If you have a manual go by what it says. Use decompression devise( if equiped) or thermo start kit ( if equiped). There are other methods to use to start an engine. Either can ( & will) damage an engine if improperly used

 

[Egon]

It may have something to do with the rate of the flame front progression but heck them pistons are tough enough to take anything are they not ???

Course if the flame front goes towards the air inlet then really can't hurt anything other than what the flame front hits!

 

[kenmac]

don't know, I guess it depends on the manufacture & age of the engine

 

[oliver28472]

Kick, I remember some of our IH's on the farm came from the factory with ether assist on them. Maybe some other brands had them too. Some diesels are designed for it and some are not. My Mitsubishi and Satoh manuals warn against using ether. They start just fine here in the North Carolina winters with just glow plugs. No heaters and no ether. Are you using ether in Florida?

 

[KICK]

I havent had to use ether on my tractor in FLA. coldest it gets here is 30, so the glow plugs suffice.

do use ether or silicone spray for starting engines that ran out of fuel.

had some other tired vehicles that needed a whiff of the stuff once in awhile.

I cant think of any manufacturer who recommends the use of ether, too many liabilities because many end users suffer from RCI .

thats where the problems begin and the disclaimers become standard footnotes in owners and operators manuals.

when I was younger and lived in a much colder climate, one of my first full time jobs was as a mechanics helper in a diesel powered fleet. the vehciles would sit from Friday afternoon till monday morning.

in winter guess who had to get them all started late Sunday night???. Yep, me, the new guy!

In winter I would wade around in the snow with a set of jumper cables 30 feet long and a can of starting fluid and a wrench. I would go from one vehicle to the next and see if any of them would start by thereself. basically do vehicular triage, start the ones that would, then the ones that still had battery power but wouldn't fire and lastly spend the rest of my time jump starting/ethering the dead ones.

I participated in this routine this for 5 winters, so I do know a thing or two about starting recalcitrant diesel engines in cold weather.


you guys jumped on me like I said something wrong, but the fact is that if electrical starting aids such as coolant heaters are available, I would use them. Just dont rule out starting fluid when the situation warrants it. Judicious use of it has started many reluctant engines.

 

[KICK]

don't know, I guess it depends on the manufacture & age of the engine

most of the problem comes stems from a society which has a tendency to sue over anything.

so what manufacturer in his right mind is going to advocate spraying an explosive chemical into the intake of the product that they sell?

they have to idiot proof everything and disclaim any possibility of damage, death or dismemberment or else they somehow become liable.

 

[SPYDERLK]

you guys kill me.

piston tops are too thin.... give me a break..... do you think there is more or less thermal energy in diesel fuel or ether?

when you are up to your knees in snow and you absolutely, positively have to start a diesel engine, guess what you end up using?????.


to sum it up,in the end, if you are a "grown up" with reasonable mechanical ability and some common sense, you can use ether if necessary.

If the above factors aren't part of your mental makeup, wait for warm weather or buy some type of block heater

The problem is intake and compression ignition of an empirically controlled "explosive" charge, vs controlled injection of fuel into compressed air that is hot enuf to ignite it.
If you dont have elect keep a propane torch handy to warm the intake manifold, and use the thinner oil.

larry​

 

[Egon]

Wonder how the Either works on diesel with air preheaters?

In the cold areas after the either treatment failed to start the pups propane torches and tarps were the savior!

In really cold areas you never shut the engine down other than for servicing.

 

[KICK]

Wonder how the Either works on diesel with air preheaters?

D

not very well

those who are mechanically challenged should not indulge in that practice.

those who suffer from RCI probably should leave chemicals alone.

but one could disconnect the air intake preheater grid if one found it necessary to use ether.

looking at it more closely, the more modern the machine we are dealing with, the more refined the devices for cold weather starting and the easier it is for someone unfamiliar with compression ignition to achieve that result

rememberring back when 12 volt starting systems were common,given a good set of batteries, a 2 stroke diesel without starting aids would usually start without ether at 30 degrees F but a direct injected four stroke would have a hard time below 50. forget an indirect injection engine, they almost require glow plugs use even in summer.

the modern electric stuff sure is nice, if you got it.

propane torch comes in handy if the pneumatic system is frozen and you want to release the brakes.

 

[oliver28472]

Sounds like we are on the same page. Sorry if you felt like you were getting flamed (with ether). Just for reference though if anyone wants to google the word etherpiston you can see what I was talking about.