Cold starting a 1540

[ottawarob]

I've been looking through the archives and I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but I have kind of a specific Q related to cold starting. I'm in Canada, gets pretty bitterly cold here. It was around 10F (-12C), had ran the block heater for 20 minutes and attempted to start up my 1540 (it's new to me so I'm still figuring these things out.) I couldn't get it to start with no throttle, giving it a little more throttle I got it to fire up. Is this fairly normal? I've been letting it heat up for a good 20 minutes or more before doing anything with it, just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. Not looking forward to getting it to start at -15F!

 

[seville009]

As long as it’s cranking properly, it’s fine to have to give it some throttle.

It’s good to let it warm up for awhile; want to get the hydraulic oil warmed up.

Are you treating your diesel with anti-gel additives? I don’t use my tractor (MF1545) much anymore in the winter since I got a skidsteer with a blower and heated cab. The fuel filter on the tractor use to gell alot; it would idle fine, but once you increase the throttle, it would slowly die. Learned to have extra fuel filters in hand.

Also had a problem with the seat freezing up and my weight not able to turn off the seat safety switch. Work around was to unplug the safety switch and jumping the female connector with a wire. Just a heads up in case you run into that issue

 

[jbrumberg]

I run my engine block heater longer in those temperature in addition to the thermostatically controlled hydraulic filter preheater that I installed on my NH.

Preheating and decent, temperature adjusted diesel fuel makes one's life easier with those cold weather starts.

 

[ottawarob]

As long as it’s cranking properly, it’s fine to have to give it some throttle.

It’s good to let it warm up for awhile; want to get the hydraulic oil warmed up.

Are you treating your diesel with anti-gel additives? I don’t use my tractor (MF1545) much anymore in the winter since I got a skidsteer with a blower and heated cab. The fuel filter on the tractor use to gell alot; it would idle fine, but once you increase the throttle, it would slowly die. Learned to have extra fuel filters in hand.

Also had a problem with the seat freezing up and my weight not able to turn off the seat safety switch. Work around was to unplug the safety switch and jumping the female connector with a wire. Just a heads up in case you run into that issue

Thanks! I treat my fuel with Stanadyne (sp?). Ha, someone has already done the seat thing for mine...

 

[Imold]

#2 diesel and a good quality diesel additive with a block heater makes all the difference in winter. I know a guy who used to much 911 treatment when he gelled up out on the highway and took his motor out so I stay away from it, it probably acted like adding to much kerosene and ran too dry when it started, never asked what his injectors looked like. We have been using Howies additive when the temps get really cold and are going on a highway trip other then that the Cenex stations winter blend has been real good, they inject the additive into the diesel pipeline rather then mixing it when they fill the tanks.

 

[thclimer]

If I was going to start either my Massey or New Holland and it had been 10 deg F out for 8-12 hours I would would like to have their block heaters on for 2-3 hrs. They will start without the heater but they will be much quieter sounding if their block heater was plugged in for a few hours.

 

[arizona98tj]

I've been looking through the archives and I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but I have kind of a specific Q related to cold starting. I'm in Canada, gets pretty bitterly cold here. It was around 10F (-12C), had ran the block heater for 20 minutes and attempted to start up my 1540 (it's new to me so I'm still figuring these things out.) I couldn't get it to start with no throttle, giving it a little more throttle I got it to fire up. Is this fairly normal? I've been letting it heat up for a good 20 minutes or more before doing anything with it, just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. Not looking forward to getting it to start at -15F!

As previously mentioned, don't be afraid to use plug that heater in for 2 or 3 hours when the temps start dropping. I've been plowing here the past several weeks with temps typically around 0F, using my 1529. It starts nicely when I have it plugged in for at least 2 hours. Immediately upon starting, it will show some indication on the temp gauge which means the heater is doing a good job.

 

[ottawarob]

As previously mentioned, don't be afraid to use plug that heater in for 2 or 3 hours when the temps start dropping. I've been plowing here the past several weeks with temps typically around 0F, using my 1529. It starts nicely when I have it plugged in for at least 2 hours. Immediately upon starting, it will show some indication on the temp gauge which means the heater is doing a good job.

I noticed this the last time I fired it up on a cold morning, having run the block heater for a few hours before. Very cool stuff!

It's amazing inline diesel fuel heaters aren't more prevalent in Canada, seems like a no brainer for these engines half the year.

 

[zzvyb6]

Place a propane torch near the air intake and have a buddy key the starter. All it takes is some extra ignition temperature. The fuel with be there along with the compression. The minimum heat of combustion is missing.

 

[ottawarob]

Place a propane torch near the air intake and have a buddy key the starter. All it takes is some extra ignition temperature. The fuel with be there along with the compression. The minimum heat of combustion is missing.

Crazy - I can't see myself doing that any time soon, but that is interesting!