all the tricks for cold starting a diesel

[sledneck]

Hot Box

If you want to get real exotic set your veichle with quick couplers to the cooling system and the groomer with quick couplers. pull up to it hookup to your truck and circulate the coolant from your truck to the groomer. Warm it right up for easy starting.

Any body ever hear of a Hot Box? Guess not. Its a electric coolant pump with a gas burner on it. It is very effective and doesn't take long to warm the engine up. Plus then you don't have to mess with your pick-up truck.

http://www.stewartwarnersw.com/

 

[5.5switchback]

Here is a diesel powered unit that we use in the oil field. its on all the cranes, trucks, and loaders. it works REALLY well, but not sure of the price. it just uses the fuel in your tank and only takes an hour to warm up your engine and uses like 1 gal.

http://www.espar.com/html/applications/offhighway.html

 

[alrevedup]

Here is a diesel powered unit that we use in the oil field. its on all the cranes, trucks, and loaders. it works REALLY well, but not sure of the price. it just uses the fuel in your tank and only takes an hour to warm up your engine and uses like 1 gal.

http://www.espar.com/html/applications/offhighway.html

You gas patch boys get all the good toys!

 

[Steve D]

 

[CB Rob]

Thanks guys, those are some great ideas. We are on a real tight budget, spent more than we had to spend just getting the cat. I'm thinking that the exhaust hose is probably the cheapest option, and the coolant transfusion sounds great and not too spendy. I'm reluctant to suggest that we go with any of the open flame options, I would hate to see one of our volunteer groomers burn down the new cat.
While we work on a method of heating the engine I will also take some of the advice posted and see if we need new batterys, or have a faulty heater grid.
The 1991 Bombardier cat we used to run was much better at cold starting, even without ether.
This cat was starting real easy at 20 degrees, but starts having issues at about 10. Its 2 below right now and the cat is warming up and charging with a borrowed generator.
We will be getting our drag hooked up tomorrow, so look forward to much smoother trails

any idea on the price of a hotbox? sounds pretty slick

 

[diggerdown]

Its been quite a few years since I have seen anyone run the hot box. They used to be in that $600 range. They had a 12 igniter on them and a pump. They would heat pretty quick but no quicker than the heater hoses hook on. Hooking the jumpers up at the same time is a good idea. I can't see the exhaust doing much.

 

[Team Pigeon]

Coolant hose splice
Coolant hose inline heater as mentioned above
Magnetic heater if you can plug it in

synthethic oil- better for cold starting, better lubricity. BUT it might eat all the built up carbon that'll lead to a few more oil leaks. And not to mention it might eat up some gaskets.

cetane booster, help with the combustability and lubricity of diesel. POWER UP GEN 49 is about the best out there. Using 1L of it in my super duty (100ml per 100L) saves me one tank of fuel by the time I use up 1L of the stuff.

Call up the local ski area vehicle maintenance department and see what info they can tell ya.

 

[alrevedup]

Thanks guys, those are some great ideas. We are on a real tight budget, spent more than we had to spend just getting the cat. I'm thinking that the exhaust hose is probably the cheapest option, and the coolant transfusion sounds great and not too spendy. I'm reluctant to suggest that we go with any of the open flame options, I would hate to see one of our volunteer groomers burn down the new cat.
While we work on a method of heating the engine I will also take some of the advice posted and see if we need new batterys, or have a faulty heater grid.
The 1991 Bombardier cat we used to run was much better at cold starting, even without ether.
This cat was starting real easy at 20 degrees, but starts having issues at about 10. Its 2 below right now and the cat is warming up and charging with a borrowed generator.
We will be getting our drag hooked up tomorrow, so look forward to much smoother trails

any idea on the price of a hotbox? sounds pretty slick

A solar trickle charger couldnt hurt. The coolant hose adapter sounds like the best bang for the buck. Will the equiped truck always be there to start the cat? If not the weed burner on a chimney tube is cheap portable effective solution.

Every one of these ideas are really good. I thought I knew something about starting cold engines.

How do I save this thread as a reference?

 

[Cyle]

I never plug my diesels in unless it gets below -30c. You need good batteries and the advice to cycle the grid heaters a couple of times before trying to crank is good. I run 0W40 synthetic oil in my sledding truck and that helps. If you can disengage the hydraulic pump while starting that would be good. It's all about getting a good cranking speed. The faster it spins the better chance you got.

Make sure the grid heaters are working (there are two), they and the solenoids that power them do occasionally go bad.

Jeeze your truck must hate you starting it without plugging in at -30c. The coldest it's been here is -20c or so so far, haven't plugged my diesel in yet but even after cycling glow plugs 2x it starts kinda hard, I sure wouldn't want to try starting it at -30c, i'm sure it would, but it's dang hard on the starter.

As for heating up without a block heater, the coolant idea is really good, but a oil pan heater is probaly more practical, or something that is left on the machine instead of having to use your pickup. It is common for machinery not to start at 0F, skidsteers etc won't start much below freezing if they've been sitting unless some kind of heater.

 

[graveler]

I never plug my diesels in unless it gets below -30c. You need good batteries and the advice to cycle the grid heaters a couple of times before trying to crank is good. I run 0W40 synthetic oil in my sledding truck and that helps. If you can disengage the hydraulic pump while starting that would be good. It's all about getting a good cranking speed. The faster it spins the better chance you got.

Make sure the grid heaters are working (there are two), they and the solenoids that power them do occasionally go bad.

check your acid level in your batteries and do a load check, also make sure they have there covers on, which helps to keep the freeze off, one bad cell will take down all of them, and check your heaters like MCX said, at those temps (-20) they will stay on for at least 15-25 seconds, if not then something is not working right

 

[mtnclmr]

I use the exhaust trick all the time, it works great. Rev the engine up a little and it gets pretty hot. That's how I get my paver, rollers, skidsteers and whatever else started on them cold montana mornings!

 

[JMCX]

Jeeze your truck must hate you starting it without plugging in at -30c. The coldest it's been here is -20c or so so far, haven't plugged my diesel in yet but even after cycling glow plugs 2x it starts kinda hard, I sure wouldn't want to try starting it at -30c, i'm sure it would, but it's dang hard on the starter.

As for heating up without a block heater, the coolant idea is really good, but a oil pan heater is probaly more practical, or something that is left on the machine instead of having to use your pickup. It is common for machinery not to start at 0F, skidsteers etc won't start much below freezing if they've been sitting unless some kind of heater.

The starter doesn't mind at all but the engines sometimes sound a little rough for a few seconds when doing the real cold starts. The fast idle controller fixes that up. I work all over Alberta and norther BC and often can't plug in. I would rather know the limits of my vehicle to start at home than find out the hard way up north some where.

I never warm any of them up either. The longest they idle is the time it takes me to scrape the windows and maybe shovel the front walk. I just keep the RPM's below 2000 until the temp gauge moves. If you read the owners manual of any diesel PU truck this is exactly what it says to do but this has always been my habbit even back driving my old '70 Datsun 510.

The only reason to warm a passenger vehicle up is because YOU can't take the cold. You're not doing the car/truck any favours.

My 01 Cummins had the cold idle feature turned on. You should have heard that thing when it went into three cylinder mode.

Yes I warm my sled up. Two strokes are different.

 

[MOUNTAIN-VMAX4]

My cummins

CB ROB,
I have a cummins as well and one time my grid heater relays went out not the actual heater itself a much cheaper fix the grid heater is expensive and it was really cold I ran the batterys completely dead a couple times try to get it to start before I figured out what was wrong. After fixing that I am able to start any cold temp I have encountered. Also run synthetic after going synthetic it turns over much easier.

 

[Xrider]

I assume it has a block heater? Like someone else said get a generator. You can get a pretty good one with a Honda motor for $500. Also install an oil pan heater, they're cheap and just stick on to the oil pan with RTV sealant. Then fire up the generator and plug both the block heater and oil pan heater in. Let it run for at least a half hour, may need an hour. Also switch to Mobile Delvac full synthetic 5w-40 diesel oil, it's expensive oil but worth it.

 

[LRD]

A friend of mine with F350 said after to changing oil to Rotella full synthethic that it starts a bunch easier. Before in winter couldn't start with remote starter as it needed to cycle the glow plugs, with synthethic he can use the remote start again. I would think the synthethic would take a lot of load off the batterys trying to turn it over and they will last longer etc.

Good Luck

 

[snowy1]

a light wieght synthetic oil makes a big difference, I use amsoil in my cummins.

 

[HIGHMARK]

When I was working on the drilling rigs in Wyoming we had a unit called a Hotbox that we used to start our rigs, mudpumps, etc. when it got really cold. It worked exactly like the heater hose coupling idea mentioned above but it had it's own self contained gasoline fired heater that heated the coolant for circulation. Worked VERY well and they are about the same size as a small generator so they are very portable.

Also, instead of using starting fluid you can use a SMALL amount of regular gasoline squirted into the air intake and it won't do any harm.

 

[HIGHMARK]

A friend of mine with F350 said after to changing oil to Rotella full synthethic that it starts a bunch easier. Before in winter couldn't start with remote starter as it needed to cycle the glow plugs, with synthethic he can use the remote start again. I would think the synthethic would take a lot of load off the batterys trying to turn it over and they will last longer etc.

Good Luck

That's because Powerstroke injectors are oil pressure fired so the thinner the oil, the easier it is for them to fire when it's cold and synthetic oil remains a constant viscosity regardless of temperature. Synthetic oil is great for any vehicle but you won't neccessarily get the same results with a Cummins. Not to mention that it's about $8-$10 a quart and most diesels take 12 to 15 quarts on a single oil change.

 

[Tuesday]

As mentioned cycling the glow plugs a few times. Also one of the cheapest but annoying solutions is pull your batteries off and store them with full charge in a warm area. A fresh warm battery should have enough juice to crank it over. But going through all that hastle prob just easiest to jump it

 

[Cyle]

The starter doesn't mind at all but the engines sometimes sound a little rough for a few seconds when doing the real cold starts. The fast idle controller fixes that up. I work all over Alberta and norther BC and often can't plug in. I would rather know the limits of my vehicle to start at home than find out the hard way up north some where.

I never warm any of them up either. The longest they idle is the time it takes me to scrape the windows and maybe shovel the front walk. I just keep the RPM's below 2000 until the temp gauge moves. If you read the owners manual of any diesel PU truck this is exactly what it says to do but this has always been my habbit even back driving my old '70 Datsun 510.

The only reason to warm a passenger vehicle up is because YOU can't take the cold. You're not doing the car/truck any favours.

My 01 Cummins had the cold idle feature turned on. You should have heard that thing when it went into three cylinder mode.

Yes I warm my sled up. Two strokes are different.

I think you are misinformed, you are NOT suppose to drive a diesel cold! It is extremly bad for them, even starting them at -30c and turning up the idle to 1500 instantly isn't good, they need to warm up before driving them. I couldn't find an exact answer but the owners manual says to let the truck idle for atleast 3 mins below 19c and above -18c, so colder then that if your not letting it run for atleast 5 mins, it's not good, personally below 0C my truck runs for 15 mins before driving if it's the first trip of the day.