Common rail vs mechanical injection

[Boss 302]

Absolutely, plug it in that's what the block heater is there for.

 

[Hay Dude]

I think 99% of us know they’re supposed to be plugged in when very cold.
Fielding was trying to demostrate the rugged durability of Cummins Diesels.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

I think 99% of us know they’re supposed to be plugged in when very cold.
Fielding was trying to demostrate the rugged durability of Cummins Diesels.

Only in north America

 

[RoostersGarage]

I live in the south so we don't really get cold weather but I plug mine in when it's 20 or below. That's about the time the 15w-40 gets thick and the cranking slows down. That's generally like 15 times or less. The grid heater crapped out as the head gasket was getting swapped so I just deleted it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Even in a gas engine, a block heater will help cold startups in lower temps. No engine likes running metal on metal until the oil becomes fluid.

OTOH engines are generally the last thing to go up here, lasting long after the frame has rotted away to nothing.

 

[Smokeydog]

1996 dodge Cummins mechanical FI. Few times starting cold without preheat engine immediately starts. Just a little more white smoke. Think in the manual it mentions preheating for less smoke not as starting aid.

 

[RickB]

1996 dodge Cummins mechanical FI. Few times starting cold without preheat engine immediately starts. Just a little more white smoke. Think in the manual it mentions preheating for less smoke not as starting aid.

Who would accept that any preheating would not be a starting aid simply because of an error of omission or outright stupidity on the part of the editor of the manual?

 

[Boss 302]

Plug it in and it helps to shorten the time it takes to make heat for the cab.

 

[90cummins]

In the 80’s & 90’s I worked in engineering on the development of the hydro mechanical transmission in the Bradley fighting vehicle. We had 4 test cells with 600hp Cummins vt903 diesels as the power source for the transmission’s. The test schedule was 6 hours long and was repeated for 440 hours.
One test point required us to run at rated speed & hp for 10 minutes 2600 rpm/1212 torque. We found that doing a hot shut down from 50% to 100% of full load would cause piston scoring and ultimately failure sometime in a dramatic way with pistons, rod & block material scattered about the room. The cure was a five minute cool down prior to shut down. If the engine was stalled unexpectedly during a full power run the engine had to be immediately restarted or left to cool for 30 minutes to avoid piston scoring. We never had a turbo failure in spite of running them at red heat for hours.
A proper shut down is essential to long life.

Gas engines run hotter than diesels turbo or non turbo.
I went cross country with a Volvo XC60 2.0 liter turbo/supercharged engine rated 300hp & 300 lb/ft torque towing an enclosed trailer with my BMW in it.
I ran 70/80 mph across & back with no issues but I also didn’t shut it down hot.

90cummins

 

[Smokeydog]

Who would accept that any preheating would not be a starting aid simply because of an error of omission or outright stupidity on the part of the editor of the manual?

The grid heater is for emissions control as much as a starting aid. Same engine used in many other applications without a grid heater that have to operate in cold weather.

Grid heater begins operating below 60*F. Some speculate cold starting aid doesn’t become beneficial till below 0*F. Rarely see those temps. I have to be careful if I use the truck for short trips on the farm not allowing enough time charge the batteries back.
Always been a quick starter and reliable engine in 25 years of ownership. Only real problem being a weak fuel shutoff solenoid used in the Dodge application. Easily upgraded.