Cold Start for Deutz

[jaquetarr]

Well, it got a little cold, just below freezing and the aircooled diesel is hard to start.
Don't see glowplugs on the engine and there is no sump heater.
The engine will almost drain the battery before it catches and this is at 35 deg!!

I know there are a lot of folks in colder climates with the diesel, What are your tricks for starting? A bigger battery, keep in garage?
Rgds,
tim
PT 2445

[SpringHollow]

Magnetic heaters help. I added glow plugs to mine (really just heats the air). They helped it start cleaner. The tractor without the glow plugs starts at 20 F (not pretty but it starts) where my previous diesel tractors would not.

Here's a link to the install:
http://www.usadiscountgenerators.com...GlowPlugs.html

Ken

[RegL]

sounds like the larger diesels are harder to start in cold weather. I have the 2 cylinder 30hp 1420 and it will usually start to a few degrees below zero. I do have to crank it longer until one cylinder fires. Runs for a while on one until the other picks up. I do start it about every day. Don't know how well it would start if it sat a long time in the cold.

[brin]

MY JD 3020 has always been hard to start in the cold weather ...almost anything below 40 deg. and it is not going to happen. Ether is not the solution since you can ruin the motor so I hook up my Charger to one of the batteries and put it on quick start and let it sit for 5 min. or so and then start it up..It has worked for me for years. There are no glow plugs / pre heat function on mine so that is what I have done.

[jaquetarr]

"MY JD 3020 has always been hard to start in the cold weather ...almost anything below 40 deg. and it is not going to happen"

Well, sadly, thats what I expected to hear. I ran the starter until the battery died, charged it up again, took off the air cleaner @ the intake elbow & put a heat gun blowing into the air intake. When the intake felt warm, tried it again w/o success. I figured that the engine is air / oil cooled so if I blow hot air into the fan ducting it would heat up the oil & start easier. What happened was the plastic cowling melted in one spot. After that I just kept playing the hot air around the block - heads - fuel lines to get things warmer.

With a full charge & slightly warmed engine it started. I'm thinking a access plate in the side of the cooling air duct (metal part this time) would allow me to set the heat gun into the air flow, have it exit the oil cooler & warm up the oil + engine.
I'm a little reluctant to place a lightbulb under the engine because I expect the deck to be oily and I'd hate to burn a hydraulic hose.

Until I can get to that project I'll be parking the tractor close to the house so I can plug in my heat tools.
Funny, I dont recall having that problem with my Kubota as it had glow plugs and probably a different shaped combustion chamber.

Thanks & Rgds,
tim

[SpringHollow]

Tim,

Why are you reluctant to add glow plugs like i did?

Ken

[jaquetarr]

Not reluctant at all.
This was my first winter with the PT. Past years I was at sea so I haven't had this experience yet.
What I described above was to get the tractor started before the van came with 6 3000 gal water tanks.

I think your idea is a good one. Just have to check the engine I have to see if it's possable, order parts & install. I am also thinking of getting a bigger battery as well for more cold cranking amps.
Heartfelt Thanks for the suggestion.
Rgds,
tim

[ponytug]

It is a standard Deutz part, and a very simple modification. On the 3 & 4 cylinder engines, you have the option to add one or two heaters. Warm air goes a long way toward starting, but of course, with a PT, the starter also has to turn pumps in cold oil. A number of PT users seem to be happy with the magnetic oil heaters, especially if both the hydraulic oil and the engine oil are heated. I think if you browse the archives, you'll see a number of posts on it.

My caterpillar has a monolithic block to preheat the air. I believe Cummins uses something similar on the diesel for Dodge.

All the best,

Peter

Not reluctant at all.
This was my first winter with the PT. Past years I was at sea so I haven't had this experience yet.
What I described above was to get the tractor started before the van came with 6 3000 gal water tanks.

I think your idea is a good one. Just have to check the engine I have to see if it's possable, order parts & install. I am also thinking of getting a bigger battery as well for more cold cranking amps.
Heartfelt Thanks for the suggestion.
Rgds,
tim

[Egon]

For a stop gap just throw a tarp over the engine and put an electric heater with fan under the tarp.

[woodlandfarms]

My deutz starts pretty well in the cold.. I would suggest going to sythetic oil, seems to be more fluid in the cold. Magnetic block heater and the glow plugs might be on my list next year, but at the moment I am in LA.. it got down to 68 last night.... brrrr....

Is that cold you are getting in tx unusual?

ps kidding on the68... we are in the 50's during the day and 30's at night...