Diesels and cold weather

If you have no engine heater, and the glow-plugs are suspect, I've found a quick and easy way to start a cold deisel. I just pop the air intake off, light up the old Bernz-o-Matic propane torch and lay it in the manifold for a few minutes. Minimal chance of fire, as the manifold only carries air - and the heated manifold warms the initial air charge sufficiently to start the engine. Worked good on the old Perkins and Cummins tractor engines.

Another novel solution , which my brother and I came up with for his old LN9000 highway tractor (and then put on his Kenworth) was an RV water heater plumbed into a heater line, with a surplus 24 volt circulation pump. Running on 12 volts, it kept the coolant circulating and didn't draw much power. Had a large heeter core with a couple of computer fans under the bunk (60 inch sleeper). The heater had electronic ignition, and we had 2 thermostats hooked up - one measuring water temp, one sleeper air temp which he could switch between. Instead of running the deisel all night when taking his rest break, he just fired up the propane heater - and when he was home for the weekend in the winter (his lane was 1/4 mile long, in the central Ontario Snow Belt) he could shut the truck down, and leave it cold untill about 4 hours before he needed to leave. A timer turned on the heater, and he had an easy to start engine, warm cab, and no ice or snow on the windsheild.

This time it was probably 18 C, so okay, not cold. But I've started the same machine after long idle periods when it's below 0 C with no problems at all. It has a "cold start" button which causes the pump to inject more diesel, raising the compression ratio and sealing up any leaks around the pistons. Works great! I've also had big problems starting petrol engines in warm weather. Just my experience...

Chris

There's no heater or glow plugs on the backhoe loader engine. Just the "cold start" which adds more fuel, like I explained. Maybe it's just a good engine, I don't know. Fordson Super Major from 1963. Having said that, our MF diesel tractor starts fine in cold weather, but all the petrol tractors we've ever had are really hard to start.

I think one of the things which makes diesels easier to start after long idle periods is that diesel is less volatile, so it doesn't evaporate and seize up the fuel system with crud. If I had to pick an engine for a generator, I would pick a diesel.

Chris

I have a 1957 Fordson Major and the book says to never use ether for starting, because it will blow a head gasket. Which is why I had to tear mine down when I bought it. It still ran on 3 cylinders. Come to think of it, my Olds diesel that I had said the same thing on the air cleaner.

Richard W.

One of the large Canadian transport companies had a hot coolant system piped through their yard. When a truck came in the winter time, a couple of quick disconnect hose fittings connected the engine to the gas heated system. Save them a lot of time and trouble trying to start engines in -30 weather.

Tom

Thanks all who posted. I thought diesels were harder to start in the cold than gas engines, but that must have been a misconception.

RWL

Some diesels ARE very hard to start in cold weather.

I have a small Yanmar diesel tractor (15hp). It starts well in warm weather but go below freezing and it must be plugged in. Much colder still and I pretty much also have to use ether. OTOH my Golf TDI starts unheated in pretty much any low temperature although it smokes and runs roughly for a minute or two

Hmmm....

I thought he was trolling for Gunner--kinduva disconnect here between cause and effect I felt sure he would glom onto !!!

Probly he even has a set of blogs cribbed someplace with all kinds of statistics that would prove the 'connection' beyond any shadow of doubt.

Really....wow,

You can say THAT again......

I HATE it when that happens !!!

Biggest problem I've had is with (maybe) water or could be some other shit in the fuel getting past the filter......this being that Kubota tractor.

Over prolonged periods of disuse and with that pump design the injector pump pistons will seize at the "up" position--I could tell because on cracking the injector lines at the pump there wasn't any fuel coming out.

Probly just some bad diesel, it was a problem for a while a few years ago, and it hasn't since re-occured...I used to take the pump off and disassemble it, but then I figured out to heat it gently with a torch while thumping on it with a rubber mallet.

Water in the fuel system past the filters will rust/seize an injection pump solid, you got lucky. The best way to prevent water problems is to keep the tank full and have a good separator/filter on the storage tank if you have one.

Diesels usually need to spin around 600 rpms to start, hard starting in the cold is sometimes related to slow spin speed especially the engines with counterbalances that have to cut through thick cold oil. I have a IH that will not start in the cold with heavy weight oil. If filled with polar start oil it will start in any temp. That stuff pours llike water in 30 below.

DE

This is a BIG point. "Summer" fuel has more of a wax-like component that is very - sometimes fatally - unfriendly to injector pumps when cold.

Otherwise it is mostly a matter of physically turning harder (another poster's mention of cold-start oil is good) and getting the compression heat up to ignition temperature by either adding hot air or lowering the ignition temperature using an aerosol can of ether.

If you have a TSC (Tractor Supply Co.) store locally they will have everything you need in consumer-sized packages.

Okay. Just wanted to distinguish between fuel stability and cold weather starting. I'd expect diesel to remain viable longer than gasoline (petrol), but it would be harder to start in cold weather.

OP only mentioned sub-freezing temperatures, so that's not too harsh a test for either fuel. I'm not sure how well diesel would fare in sub-zero (Fahrenheit) temps, though, esp. if it was a warm weather mix and had no added engine heating (e.g., electric block heater).

I have my own, loosely related, anecdote. I left my Unimog sitting in a field for almost 2 years (long story). It sat through two Vermont winters without the batteries being charged. The batteries were a pair of Wal-Mart's cheapest. I thought that it was a foregone conclusion that the batteries would be completely ruined; that is, completely self-discharged and subsequently frozen in the sub-zero (F) temps. When it became a priority that I start the 'Mog this Spring, I went down to the field equipped with 2 new, charged batteries, ether, and fresh gas. After adding the fresh gas (petrol), but before changing out the batteries, I decided to try the ignition button. It turned over! It kept turning over for 20-30 seconds until the fuel line was primed and then the engine started and ran fine. This does not fit with anything I thought I knew about lead-acid batteries.

R, Tom Q.

Yes, I sometimes find that I encounter these situations where rules of thumb are broken completely. Fortunately in your case it was a nice surprise, although I guess you still ended up with two extra new batteries.

I believe that there are several different kinds of lead-acid batteries. The most traditional has electrodes made from a lead-antimony alloy, and is quite resistant to deep cycling but needs to be topped up with water fairly often. "Maintenance free" batteries use a lead-calcium alloy for the electrodes and rarely need to be topped up with water, but are rapidly damaged by deep cycling. I believe lead-calcium batteries also need to be charged to a slightly higher voltage. There are a few other more complicated kinds of lead-acid battery too.

Best wishes,

Chris

Tom Quackenbush wrote: > Christopher Tidy wrote: >

Yes, I sometimes find that I encounter these situations where rules of thumb are broken completely. Fortunately in your case it was a nice surprise, although I guess you still ended up with two extra new batteries.

I believe that there are several different kinds of lead-acid batteries. The most traditional has electrodes made from a lead-antimony alloy, and is quite resistant to deep cycling but needs to be topped up with water fairly often. "Maintenance free" batteries use a lead-calcium alloy for the electrodes and rarely need to be topped up with water, but are rapidly damaged by deep cycling. I believe lead-calcium batteries also need to be charged to a slightly higher voltage. There are a few other more complicated kinds of lead-acid battery too.

Best wishes,

Chris

Tom Quackenbush wrote: > Christopher Tidy wrote: >

Yes, I sometimes find that I encounter these situations where rules of thumb are broken completely. Fortunately in your case it was a nice surprise, although I guess you still ended up with two extra new batteries.

I believe that there are several different kinds of lead-acid batteries. The most traditional has electrodes made from a lead-antimony alloy, and is quite resistant to deep cycling but needs to be topped up with water fairly often. "Maintenance free" batteries use a lead-calcium alloy for the electrodes and rarely need to be topped up with water, but are rapidly damaged by deep cycling. I believe lead-calcium batteries also need to be charged to a slightly higher voltage. There are a few other more complicated kinds of lead-acid battery too.

Best wishes,

Chris

Tom Quackenbush wrote: > Christopher Tidy wrote: >

Yes, I sometimes find that I encounter these situations where rules of thumb are broken completely. Fortunately in your case it was a nice surprise, although I guess you still ended up with two extra new batteries.

I believe that there are several different kinds of lead-acid batteries. The most traditional has electrodes made from a lead-antimony alloy, and is quite resistant to deep cycling but needs to be topped up with water fairly often. "Maintenance free" batteries use a lead-calcium alloy for the electrodes and rarely need to be topped up with water, but are rapidly damaged by deep cycling. I believe lead-calcium batteries also need to be charged to a slightly higher voltage. There are a few other more complicated kinds of lead-acid battery too.

Best wishes,

Chris