In article ,
Rosalie B. wrote:

"Dennis Pogson" wrote:

Ted Bell wrote:
When it's very cold I have a hard time cranking my diesel. I was
wondering if I put Tilley wicks saturated in meths around the
injectors and lit them if it would warm up the injectors enough to
vaporize the fuel better. Anybody ever try it?

I'm Ted Bell!

Perhaps a hot air gun would be safer! If you are on a mooring of course you
have fewer options,

We use block heaters for our diesel cars. I've also heard of just
using a light bulb under the hood. It depends on what "very cold"
means to you. Maybe a solar panel connected to the engine block
would do it.

The truckers do something similar with their engines - I think they
use ether or something.

Starting Fluid (Ether) can be very BAD for diesel engines. It is NOT
recommended for any diesel that has GlowPlugs, or Intake Manifold
Heaters. Diesel Engines only need two things to run. FUEL, and Hot
AIR. Hot Air is the easiest to come by. Politicos like diesels, as
they ALWAYS have a lot of Hot AIR available....... Now back to the
topic at hand. A little Propane Torch will emit plenty of HOT AIR,
into ANY diesel engines Intake Manifold, to give you an easy start,
clear down to -30F. Just remember, to remove the Air Filter, BEFORE
you light the torch, as they tend to catch fire and burn up.
Momma's Hair Dryer also works well for providing Hot AIR, to start
cold diesels. Ever wonder why most LongHaul Truckers have Propane
Torches and Hair Dryers in the Toolkits? 10,000 Truckers can't all be
wrong.


Bruce in alaska generates all my own power, via Diesel Gensets
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