I use the compression release for all cold starts to pre-lube the engine. Pull the release and crank the engine rapidly til the oil light goes out. Push the handle in and start normally. In extreme cold, if you have "thermostart", fill the bottle with diesel, pull the compression release, turn the key to "thermostart", crank til oil light goes out, then start normally.
It takes several seconds for the thermostart to really get going. If you take the air cleaner hose off at the motor and turn the thermostart, you can see what it does and know how long to hold it for future reference. If flames don't actually come up off of the igniter you probably need to clean the thermstart unit out. It gets gummed up after setting for long periods of time. Especiallly the ones with a fillable bottle that goes dry.
Nah, Rick, you just have to be old and have spent a lot of years tinkering. I am fairly new to tractors, but am, what I call a "self proclaimed, world class tinkerer".
Do all Yanmars with thermostart have a re-fillable bottle?
The reason I ask is that my 1401d has TS but I've never filled a bottle or even seen one--am I nuts?
thanks
Tony,
Your 1401 should have a "self filling" reservoir for the thermostart. It is kept full by the overflow or return line from the injectors. So there should be rubber lines linking the injectors together, and then one of the end injectors should have a rubber hose running to one side of a plastic reservoir. There should be a another rubber hose running from the other side of the reservoir to the fuel tank.
For those of you who have the re-fillable reservoirs, I ordered the self filling reservoir from Yanmar (~$13 if I remember right) and plumbed it up on my 1110D which had the re-fillable reservior. It took some hose adapters and different size hose, but works great.