Non-ether cold weather starting solutions for the 8.3?

[Mos68x]

What do you guys use to start your trucks in the cold? I don’t want to be dependent on finding ether for the winter where ever I happen to be on the globe. I really wish we had glow plugs on these motors, but retrofitting them in I suspect would be prohibitively expensive. Even the heater grid that I heard the 5.9 has would be nice, but that spot on the intake is used to hold the radiator in place. I’m used to having my truck start as soon as I start cranking it so this sitting on the starter when it’s only 50F is rather disconcerting. I will have a small (6500W) generator on the truck when I do finally start over landing with it so I will have access to some limited power if necessary. Block heater had crossed my mind, but I’m not sure if the work well for motors this big.

any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[doghead]

Ether for cold starting is available all around the globe as it is a standard item at truck-stops.

Any highway route, should be easy to find it.

 

[Captaincarrier]

Silicone spray is what I used on my work trucks.

 

[Jericho]

block heaters WORK ! I should think your 6500 watt generator should handle a simple block heater, they usually run in the 1800 to 3500 watt range and seldom excede 30 amps regardless of size . I like tank heaters but block heaters of the screw in type are good as well, don't need to run them 24 / 7 a couple of hours before start is plenty , feel the block , you will know. that and 2, 1000 or better CCA batteries will do it down to -35 below zero.

 

[porkysplace]

With Kats ether start system you suppose to get approximately 175 starts to a 18 oz. tank , how many times do you think you will need it a year .

 

[Mos68x]

Thanks for all the quick replies guys! I know that I will be in the most remote areas of South America so relying on truck stops just isn’t an option. There is a “no man’s land” between Chile and Argentina that I know I’ll be going through where both border stations say that you’ll be on your own if you get stuck or need medical attention. Having a truck not start there would be very bad so I’m trying to prepare for the worst. If I used a block or tank heater, I would probably have them on any time the truck is off, the gen is on, and temps are below a set point. I would love to get a new ether can for my truck (since it never came with one) but I’m not sure how I would get refills for it if I decide to stay with that. As for the starts per year, I’m not sure, it’s more like how times I’d start it for the rest of its life as I have no plans to return to the US.

 

[porkysplace]

Odds are they won't be any harder to find than parts for a surplus U.S. military truck.

 

[doghead]

Buy 6 cans and have enough for 10 years or more.

Or, If it's cold there, you can be sure hand held cans of ether will be common too.

 

[dmetalmiki]

Silicone spray is what I used on my work trucks.

Yesm as Recommended above.. We use 'silicone' spray WITH PFT additive. All our old trucks (and cars) Start without the knocking and banging you get with using ether. (As hand held cans DO NOT meter the needed (only!) correct amount.)
So, for all "gentle" and instant starting. Silicone with Teflon spray.

 

[lindsey97]

Coolant heaters work excellent. Get one that is application specific, not a generic one that goes in the radiator hose. I believe my NHC-250 uses 1500-1750 watts. I find that 2 hours will start a truck, but 4 hours and you are golden. They start effortlessly, and very quick.

I can get you the ether assist bottle part # if you wish. A bottle will last you a very long time.

 

[porkysplace]

You could always use the arctic method , tarp it in and build a fire under it.

 

[Mos68x]

Odds are they won't be any harder to find than parts for a surplus U.S. military truck.

Lol yeah, I can only hope that I’ll have friends to help out with that (along with DHL) if something goes really bad and I need more spare parts than I’ll already be taking with me.

Buy 6 cans and have enough for 10 years or more.

Or, If it's cold there, you can be sure hand held cans of ether will be common too.

I reckon I could do that if they’re not to expensive, just not how how each country would be on customs inspections regarding that kind of stuff, that’s another reason I’d prefer something that is hard mounted and can’t be claimed is dangerous and not allowed for whatever stupid reason. We all know how stupid **** has gotten here in the US, so I’ll just assume that other countries are just as bad or worse, hopefully I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Yesm as Recommended above.. We use 'silicone' spray WITH PFT additive. All our old trucks (and cars) Start without the knocking and banging you get with using ether. (As hand held cans DO NOT meter the needed (only!) correct amount.)
So, for all "gentle" and instant starting. Silicone with Teflon spray.

Are you talking about the dry spray lube stuff?? I have a can of that stuff that I hardly ever use so I could try that. Certainly would be nice not having to hear it knock while trying to start.

Coolant heaters work excellent. Get one that is application specific, not a generic one that goes in the radiator hose. I believe my NHC-250 uses 1500-1750 watts. I find that 2 hours will start a truck, but 4 hours and you are golden. They start effortlessly, and very quick.

I can get you the ether assist bottle part # if you wish. A bottle will last you a very long time.

I might do that if they aren’t too expensive, I guess that would be something to call Cummins about tomorrow. That PN would be great, I haven’t trolled my TMs yet since I’ve been just trying to fix the truck lately.

You could always use the arctic method , tarp it in and build a fire under it.

Lol no thanks, think I’d rather keep the truck intact lol

 

[Guyfang]

If you are not alone, pull the air filter and hold a butane torch in front of the air intake. I promise you, the engine will start when you turn it over. I used this method in -25 and -30 weather on our missle site, for years. Or simply a rag dipped in diesel and lit on fire. Starts first time, every time. No ill affect on the engine.

 

[wheelspinner]

If you have an 8.3 struggling at 50* there are bigger problems. Like fuel bleeding back. At that temp mine doesn't even need a full revolution to start.

 

[162tcat]

If you have an 8.3 struggling at 50* there are bigger problems. Like fuel bleeding back. At that temp mine doesn't even need a full revolution to start.

What he said. Mine will start without issue down to around 20 degrees. At around 15 it will start but cranks a while so good batteries are needed. Not sure below that, never tried. What's your idle set it? Any smoke after warmed up? I think ether start is the least of your worries if your headed to bfe with a questionable engine.


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[CMPPhil]

Hi All

Has anybody come across the practice of parking trucks so that jumper cable or slave cables can reach from one vehicle to the next. Then when it is really cold before even trying to start connect up to the next truck, so you are using both batteries (sets)?

This was suggested to me by Motor Pool Master Sargent, my first real experience with New Hampshire sub zero spell back the 1970s. I was telling him I'd had to remove the battery from the truck take it house put in the tub with couple inches of warm water and once warm charge it. Following is advice for the rest of the winter we parked the cars and trucks nose to nose. Whenever temp dropped to near zero would hook up the jumper cables first then just start them one at a time.

Cheers Phil

 

[Guyfang]

Hi All

Has anybody come across the practice of parking trucks so that jumper cable or slave cables can reach from one vehicle to the next. Then when it is really cold before even trying to start connect up to the next truck, so you are using both batteries (sets)?

This was suggested to me by Motor Pool Master Sargent, my first real experience with New Hampshire sub zero spell back the 1970s. I was telling him I'd had to remove the battery from the truck take it house put in the tub with couple inches of warm water and once warm charge it. Following is advice for the rest of the winter we parked the cars and trucks nose to nose. Whenever temp dropped to near zero would hook up the jumper cables first then just start them one at a time.

Cheers Phil

Had we NOT parked our trucks this way, we would still be stuck on top of that hill, 25 years ago. This is standard practice in the army. We ran the cable from the slave outlet, through the cab, and then to the next truck, as the snow was too deep to go under the truck. The Betty and practicality of the slave system in the military vehicles was a life saver.

 

[Mos68x]

If you are not alone, pull the air filter and hold a butane torch in front of the air intake. I promise you, the engine will start when you turn it over. I used this method in -25 and -30 weather on our missle site, for years. Or simply a rag dipped in diesel and lit on fire. Starts first time, every time. No ill affect on the engine.

Sounds exactly like what the arctic kits do for the older engines, sounds like something to try when all else fails since the air filter cover is such a PITA to get on and off the truck.

If you have an 8.3 struggling at 50* there are bigger problems. Like fuel bleeding back. At that temp mine doesn't even need a full revolution to start.

What he said. Mine will start without issue down to around 20 degrees. At around 15 it will start but cranks a while so good batteries are needed. Not sure below that, never tried. What's your idle set it? Any smoke after warmed up? I think ether start is the least of your worries if your headed to bfe with a questionable engine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ive just replaced my injectors and still dealing with an intermittent miss that I’m hoping is just air still trapped in the fuel system somewhere. I’m sure a little drive will fix most of that once I repair the broken welds on the coolant pipe for the radiator.

Hi All

Has anybody come across the practice of parking trucks so that jumper cable or slave cables can reach from one vehicle to the next. Then when it is really cold before even trying to start connect up to the next truck, so you are using both batteries (sets)?

This was suggested to me by Motor Pool Master Sargent, my first real experience with New Hampshire sub zero spell back the 1970s. I was telling him I'd had to remove the battery from the truck take it house put in the tub with couple inches of warm water and once warm charge it. Following is advice for the rest of the winter we parked the cars and trucks nose to nose. Whenever temp dropped to near zero would hook up the jumper cables first then just start them one at a time.

Cheers Phil

Had we NOT parked our trucks this way, we would still be stuck on top of that hill, 25 years ago. This is standard practice in the army. We ran the cable from the slave outlet, through the cab, and then to the next truck, as the snow was too deep to go under the truck. The Betty and practicality of the slave system in the military vehicles was a life saver.

I was posted at Ft Campbell so it never got that cold. The LMTVs we had never had issues starting, it was always the humvees we had problems starting.

 

[lindsey97]

Hi All

Has anybody come across the practice of parking trucks so that jumper cable or slave cables can reach from one vehicle to the next. Then when it is really cold before even trying to start connect up to the next truck, so you are using both batteries (sets)?

This was suggested to me by Motor Pool Master Sargent, my first real experience with New Hampshire sub zero spell back the 1970s. I was telling him I'd had to remove the battery from the truck take it house put in the tub with couple inches of warm water and once warm charge it. Following is advice for the rest of the winter we parked the cars and trucks nose to nose. Whenever temp dropped to near zero would hook up the jumper cables first then just start them one at a time.

Cheers Phil

Yes. We park our dump trucks battery box to battery box, so that we can jump one to another in a very short distance. There has been many an occasion that we had no power on a remote job site, and if it were not for the equipment being parked in certain order, nothing would have started. If you have a known problem child in the bunch, it pays to park it where you can get to the batteries.

I have a Case W20C wheel loader that is 24 volt, and I plan on adding a slave port to it soon. I also used my MEP-802A this weekend to power a coolant heater on one of my M923, because it was parked too far from the barn to plug in.

 

[lindsey97]

Also, a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator does wonders for heat once started. Cardboard is cheap, infinitely adjustable, and if discarded, doesn't matter.