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Starting aids for very Cold Temperatures
- Thread starter mbsieg
- Start date
Lyndon
Bronze Member
As a rule Either is very destructive to an engine. In diesels I've seen it bend the connecting rods. For Air Cooled rigs, like Snow Trac, one can preheat air with one of the AUX heaters and run it into the pre-heat/Clean air tubes. This would be a good idea for ambient temperatures below minus 20 degrees F. For both water cooled and air cooled rigs there are a variety of plug in (120 Volt) heaters for the cooling system and the Oil system available. Also with both Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles as most Canadians and Alaskans will tell you," with Synthetic Oil it will start 20 degrees colder than with regular oil".
I too avoid ether as much as I can which is pretty much... always.
I have the oil type block heaters on the engines and if it's hydraulic drive, I put another on the hyd pan as well. They fire right up.
If you're like me and don't see the need to pay the electric to keep it warm 24/7, I put my heaters on a 24-hour timer and set it to turn on approx. 2 hours before I expect to get on it (which is normally right after work). If I ever get that 3-way wire/switch/receptacles done from the house to the building, I'll probably use that instead.
I have the oil type block heaters on the engines and if it's hydraulic drive, I put another on the hyd pan as well. They fire right up.
If you're like me and don't see the need to pay the electric to keep it warm 24/7, I put my heaters on a 24-hour timer and set it to turn on approx. 2 hours before I expect to get on it (which is normally right after work). If I ever get that 3-way wire/switch/receptacles done from the house to the building, I'll probably use that instead.
I try to avoid it also especially on a cold motor.
Best to try and have some type of heater for the oil or coolent.
I suppose that if you were headed someplace for an overnighter. I would try and cover the rig once you shut it down for the night, or find some type of windblock. It would help keep the wind from chilling it more. I had an ISUZU truck sitting on a jobsite once. They strated the truck every day. But one night must have been a little more windchill and the fuel pump froze. It only took a few minutes from the hair dryer to thw it out. But it was a pain in the ass since we had to go buy a hairdryer and string cord across the parking lot....and it was still windy!
A small portable generator might be handy to power the heater if you needed to.. but then you have to be able to start the generator.
Wonder if you can do anything with solar? I know would not be much good at night, but (just thinking out load)
As mentioned synthetic oil would help too.
Best to try and have some type of heater for the oil or coolent.
I suppose that if you were headed someplace for an overnighter. I would try and cover the rig once you shut it down for the night, or find some type of windblock. It would help keep the wind from chilling it more. I had an ISUZU truck sitting on a jobsite once. They strated the truck every day. But one night must have been a little more windchill and the fuel pump froze. It only took a few minutes from the hair dryer to thw it out. But it was a pain in the ass since we had to go buy a hairdryer and string cord across the parking lot....and it was still windy!
A small portable generator might be handy to power the heater if you needed to.. but then you have to be able to start the generator.
Wonder if you can do anything with solar? I know would not be much good at night, but (just thinking out load)
As mentioned synthetic oil would help too.
.After that I just add them in as needed to keep the blood flow thin and running.
mtntopper
Back On Track
I could of used something this morning as we were down to around -12 degrees. The new diesel F350 struggled to start and it was not plugged into any electric tree. I will have to park it or start plugging it in at these temps. The other hard to start vehicle was the VW powered TracMaster. I have not had it long enough to learn its little idiosyncrasies. It will be easier next time as it started best like any older vehicle by pumping the accelerator pedal several times prior to hitting the starter. I will look into a magnetic mount oil pan heater for the VW. It may help some. It was a good day to get a feel of the possible vehicle starting problems in the future.
Starting fluid is the very last resort if something has to move. Hopefully at any colder temps, I can just stay home and stoke the fire.
Starting fluid is the very last resort if something has to move. Hopefully at any colder temps, I can just stay home and stoke the fire.
dseymour
New member
New Tucker Sno Cats come from the factory with ether starting aids on them. The cummins diesel starts good down to about 10 degrees. Below that if you bump the ether button while cranking the engine it starts good. Too much ether can lock a motor or make it rattle when it starts (THIS IS NOT GOOD).
Always have the engine cranking before you shoot the starting fluid to it, and take it easy with it at first spraying more as required. On diesels with glow plugs, dont wait for the glow plugs to heat, quickly crank and shoot. I have found that modern starter fluid is not near as powerful as it used to be, use to be able to use a small spray to bead up stubborn tractor tires now that new stuff wont hardly explode.
Several years ago a neighbor of mine mounted a tire for me once, he used starter fluid & a match to get it to seal. Quite an interesting thing to watch.mlang2005 said:I have found that modern starter fluid is not near as powerful as it used to be, use to be able to use a small spray to bead up stubborn tractor tires now that new stuff wont hardly explode.