Really cold start Lister

[oliver90owner]

Ronmar, This is easy to check if you have a dial gauge

Not decrying the dial guage (often use one) but just to add that the KISS principle can be applied by using feeler guages under the valve to check for lift point.  Perhaps not 'just as easy' but easy nevertheless.

Regards, RAB

[diesel guy]

td9,

That's very cold, -31. F I been working on diesels my whole life and never had an engine start at these temps. without glow plugs, heater grids, plugged in or starting fluid. These engines were design right from the beginning and we have moved away from this technology to a lesser technology. A lot of people in this world think we are smarter now than people 75 years ago, but I beg to differ. They were smarter than us because they got the job done without advanced technology.

Diesel Guy

[BruceM]

I'm a wimp, and have found the glow plug from Utterpower to be utterly     foolproof for cold winter morning starts here at near 6000 feet.  In fact, with the glow plug, cranking speed can be slower, which is easier when the 30 weight oil feels like 90.

So for a  working engine, I would go for the glow plug if there was any chance of having 12V power.

Bruce M
Snowflake, AZ

[diesel guy]

Bruce,

I agree, I have them on all three of my 6/1's, but my 14/1 has a DI head. I still like the idea of not needing any input power to start in an emergency. But glow plugs make it easy.

Diesel Guy

[mike90045]

So, what are "approved" starting aids ?

Spray Ether? (in reasonable amounts)
a spritz of gasoline into the intake (couple of drops, not 20 cc)
pan of hot charcoal under crankcase
preheating cooling jacket water
hot air gun directed into intake
lit propane torch into intake (preheat air, not melting the intake)
unlit propane torch  (raw propane vapor)
5HP pony motor to spin diesel  (when will injector hydrolock the cylinder with fuel ?)

[oliver90owner]

Diesel Guy,
               you wrote:They were smarter than us because they got the job done without advanced technology.

But it is easier just to turn a key..........Would many people - or anyone - want to pay for that technology on a multicylinder engine in this century?

There is no mention that the engine was at ambient temperature or the fuel type being used at that temperature or whether there is a COV fitted, whether it was hand crank or what.  

I would think one issue, if the engine is that cold, is the pour point of the lubricating oil, let alone fuel waxing, etc.  You guys certainly have it cold.  Over here it is relatively warm and wind chill has to be taken into account to get anywhere near feeling that cold let alone actually being at that temperature and in a wind.

Regards, RAB

[Stan]

Mike  STAY AWAY FROM ETHER !!  Very bad things happen to diesel engines when highly explosive ether goes off in the cylinder!  Others with more love of numbers and equations will undoubtedly fill you in on the exact reason.  For me its enough to know that diesel engines have been destroyed by using ether.
Stan

[mike90045]

Mike  STAY AWAY FROM ETHER !!  Very bad things happen to diesel engines when highly explosive ether goes off in the cylinder!  Others with more love of numbers and equations will undoubtedly fill you in on the exact reason.  For me its enough to know that diesel engines have been destroyed by using ether.
Stan

Reasonable amounts.  Not inbred hillbilly amounts.  Sure, nearly anything can be destroyed with a can of spray ether.   I'm speaking of a whiff of it, or is it that bad ?  I'm asking. Don't even have an engine yet, but I'll be at about 2000' and 20F in the wintertimes. Shed will not be heated, may have a 12V battery for a glow plug.  No AC power.

I see warnings not to use ether with heater grids (I'll have none) because it can light off in the grid.

[t19]

I have an electric magnetic block heater that I attach to the engine if I hear it is going to be really cold and I think I might have to start the generator... usually I forget

DO not use Quick Start or Ether...bad bad bad

I have not had to use anything so far... my gen sits in the Garage, I vent the exhaust outside (open the garage door )

once it starts, it settles in and heats up nice

[JohnF13]

Instead of using ether, try brake cleaner - it less destructive but really helps when you need that little bit extra to start a cold engine.  (Got that one from my diesel mechanic).  Of course, really cold temps will require more extreme methods - glow plugs, toasters in the air intake, heated sump etc...

[LowGear]

The last time I used ether in a professional garage I was shamed and forced to spend 15 minutes in the toilet without any magazines.  Their policy was a few drops of laquar thinner.  The general complaint was that the ether was just too damn good at striping the oil off the cylinder and lowering the compression which doesn't help starting very much.

Cheers,

[mike90045]

found another trick on the web - I've no idea if it works or not -

 close off the intake and crank, when you've pumped all the air out, it'll spin a bit faster, and that,
releasing the intake, may have enough RPM to help it fire.

[buickanddeere]

  How about using the compression release?

[Stan]

Good friend of mine, an old diesel mechanic for years and years, now works for Detroit Diesel on all the engines used in several coal mines (and that's a lot!) says anyone caught using ether on a diesel should be forced to repeat "Bad Dobby" and iron his hands.
Stan

[Doug]

And the funny truth is working in most mines you are not allowed to have anything like a can of diethel ether.....
 
So the miners improvise and use a spray can of blazing paint.
This realy pisses off the mechanics when they see the multy coloured insides on the intake of a machine with a scorched engine.