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Cold Start

Moot

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
If you are running a newer Cummins, Caterpillar, Mercedes or Detroit Diesel engine; would your truck start in -25 degrees or colder (I'm talking actual temps, not windchill) after sitting for 24 hours without starting aids or a block heater?

If you have some type of self contained starting aid, what is it and how well does it work?
 
moose

moose

Veteran Expediter
I have always spec' my trucks with an APU that integrated with the truck coolant .
that way the APU keep the antifreeze hot , as well as provide electricity for the block heater .
the circulating fuel , will help protecting from gelling ,
and the battery's will not go dead (i don't know why ).

nevertheless ,if it's goes below -20 , the truck will idle for the weekend .
 
Slo-Ride

Slo-Ride

Veteran Expediter
moose said:
nevertheless ,if it's goes below -20 , the truck will idle for the weekend .
Click to expand...

Im with moose,,that cold and I gotta idle..Any colder and I aint going outside anyways...I dont have way to keep truck warm without idling..
 
ebsprintin

ebsprintin

Veteran Expediter
I always liked the addition of a oil pan heater though on a heavy truck I don't have personal experience. Sitting a long time and even with a block heater the oil is hanging below everything getting cold. It sounds nice to hear an engine starting with warm oil.

eb
 
piper1

piper1

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
You had good training OVM;). One thing that is forgotten a lot is you can crank an engine for 30 full seconds before having to let the starter cool (for 3 minutes). Look at a clock and count off 30 seconds...bet you never thought you would ever hold the key in start that long did you?

I went out on a lot of service calls that after we got the booster hooked up you'd tell the driver to crank it and he would only crank for 5 seconds at a time and then give up after a few tries. The long crank time builds up heat (which makes it start). If you crank it for 5 seconds and then wait, all that heat just gets sucked into the cold engine coolant and you waste the battery power.

My old 6.5 GM would start in -40 no problem. It sounded awful for a minute but it started and did not quit.
 
F

FIS53

Veteran Expediter
Like Piper I had a gm 6.5 which regularly sat over the weekends up here and it always started. Let it warmup for 10 thendrive slow until it got up to temp. The newer benz unit has sat less often but again has started without help. My straight unit went last winter with only being used 2 or 3 days a week so sat lots. The extension cord from the office was broken by the snowplow operator after the first month of plugging in. Not a problem starting all winter.
Rob
 
OntarioVanMan

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
I don't know if it helped or not...but I did turn the glow plugs on 2-3 times before ignition...
Now I have a block heater installed.
 
greg334

greg334

Veteran Expediter
The espar is certainly a block heater, it heats the engine up though the coolant or is it just another amazing black boxes from Mercedes that doesn't do a thing? :confused:
 
piper1

piper1

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
I think its fair to say most people use the term Block Heater to refer to an electrical immersion Heater mounted directly inside the Block, and Espar type coolant heaters as engine pre-heaters or hot boxes.

Sprinters do not come with an electrical plug in heater (or Minnesota hood ornament as they can get called) but a lot do come with an ESPAR coolant heater that depending on the vehicle optios ordered is used as a heater booster (runs only when the engine runs and is cold) or as a full fleged timer controlled engine pre-heater.
 
greg334

greg334

Veteran Expediter
I thought most of you sprinter guys ordered the espar heater package with your super duper super sized van.

Wow piper, you beat me to it...... must be that panera bread stuff.
 
piper1

piper1

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Due to the long lead times for orders, many buy off the lot and get it as close as they can to what they want.

By the way you need to put the umlat dots over top of the letter "U" in super and duper.
 
Dakota

Dakota

Veteran Expediter
piper1 said:
My old 6.5 GM would start in -40 no problem. It sounded awful for a minute but it started and did not quit.
Click to expand...
My 6.5 sounded like a marble in a metal can. Very loud till it warmed up, and quite a bit of white smoke too
Actually it smoked when accelerating too nice dark black smoke LOL:rolleyes:
Most Diesels now don't smoke unless they have a ton of miles or are in need of filter changes
 
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