Chains Cold weather starting a diesel

[CTPhil]

The tractor does have a thermostart with no wire attached. I had the impression that they were not very effective in real cold, but I'd be happy to be wrong about that.

 

[Jerry/MT]

OEM block heaters are a lot less than $75. TSC often gives the illusion of lower prices. Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much.

I never had very good luck with the Thermostart, Rick. I use 15W40 Chevron Delo 400 and even with a fully charged battery my 4610 was hard to start with the Thermostart unit at 20F. It seemed like it didn't turn over very fast. I attribute that to the cold oil viscosity requiring more torque. With a block heater it fires right up on the first rev. Maybe my starter is weak.

 

[RickB]

I never had very good luck with the Thermostart, Rick. I use 15W40 Chevron Delo 400 and even with a fully charged battery my 4610 was hard to start with the Thermostart unit at 20F. It seemed like it didn't turn over very fast. I attribute that to the cold oil viscosity requiring more torque. With a block heater it fires right up on the first rev. Maybe my starter is weak.

All things being up to snuff, a 4610 should roll right over and start at 20F without any starting aids. It wouldn't hurt to dump the 15W-40 and use 10W-30 in it. If it cranks slower without the block heater than with it, I'd be looking at oil viscosity. Everyone is in love with 15W-40 , but 10W-30 is a better choice till you get up to about 90F ambient.

 

[hdbikercouple]

how aboout plumbing in a brass peacock to the intake most hardware stores have them thanks

 

[escavader]

The INTERNATIONAL farm tractor[dont remember the model]that i plow with at work has a factory either canister for start up.Ijust push a button on the dashand it givesit a shot and away she goes.Ihad never seen this before and have run lots of old iron.
ALAN

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

My older JD855 compact has a soft plug block heater.
Would NOT be without one. Even with as much as -20 below all it takes is 1/2 hour plugged in to be toasty warm. But then it also only has 850 hours on it.

I'm sure there is some way to install a tank heater, or lower radiator hose heater.

Good luck

 

[timster2]

There is an off the shelf system made by Quick-Start. The system gives you a metered shot of ether so you don't over do it and has a thermostatic lock out so you can't use it once the engine has warmed up. Many of the trucks and loaders I worked on had these systems from the factory and they worked great. Easy to install and maintain. Here is a link to the company Products | Diesel Engine Ether Injection Systems