Its that time of year. Lets discuss ether.

[92U 3406]

I have used ether exactly once in the 9 years I've been doing this and only because the guy ran a machine out of fuel in the middle of a street at -32C. Bled injectors out and the battery was shot. Couple snorts of ether once it was making smoke and away we went. I try to avoid using ether as much as possible.

 

[RZucker]

I have used ether exactly once in the 9 years I've been doing this and only because the guy ran a machine out of fuel in the middle of a street at -32C. Bled injectors out and the battery was shot. Couple snorts of ether once it was making smoke and away we went. I try to avoid using ether as much as possible.

You must be lucky and not have to deal with any old low compression Cummins or Turbo Detroits. If those aren't plugged in... Get out the nose candy and be smart with it.

 

[RZucker]

Here's my shake your head story last winter hd41 sitting for years 20 degrees out 10,000 cranking amps at 24v plus and welder hooked to batteries and six cans of either. One can wide open of good either per air cleaner and it did not rattle . It's was going to bone yard so wasn't to worried. when it finally lit throttle was wide open and only thing I could compare it to was a run away freight train. The cloud of smoke could of filled and high school foot ball stadium.

My funny ether story regards an ALCO locomotive with 6000 cubic inches. I was operating this engine for a shortline railroad in 1999-2000. Anyways, were cleaning the cab one day and what did we find in the toolbox? a 10 ounce spray can of ether. I doubt that would have done much good to start that beast in the cold.
It did have a diesel fired engine preheater that used quite a bit of the battery power to run the burner and circulating pumps, so we would just connect a welder to the batteries and let it run. It took 3 hrs in zero temps the heat her up to start temp.

 

[Birken Vogt]

My funny ether story regards an ALCO locomotive with 6000 cubic inches. I was operating this engine for a shortline railroad in 1999-2000. Anyways, were cleaning the cab one day and what did we find in the toolbox? a 10 ounce spray can of ether. I doubt that would have done much good to start that beast in the cold.

I wonder if anybody ever tried it. If it only takes an ounce or less to start a big Cummins or Detroit then you would think that the 10 ounce can might do the trick if it was used entirely. That or find a spot to spray it where it gets in real strong to just a few cylinders, sometimes the extra speed of a portion of cylinders firing will help bring the rest of them to the ignition point.

 

[John C.]

Years ago I worked at a place that had three old Ford dump trucks with Cat 1160 motors. Even in warm weather they would smoke but get the temp down to thirty degrees and the nose candy was a necessity. Some drivers are smart and you never worried about them. Others were dumber than rocks. All the air compressors pulled fresh air off the engine intakes and one of our brain surgeons put so much ether in before turning the engine over that the air compressor popped and blew out the reed valves when he started turning the engine.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I know I've told this story before..
A place I used to work for back in the early 80's REBUILT locomotive engines.. we had our own tracks & a DYNO.!!!! VERY KOOL place to work..
The OWNER bought a EMD loco engine at an auction for a few g's & figured if we could put it on the dyno & get it spinnin' we could get it to fire off..?? & make a bundle.. lol
A CASE of ether later.. it fired off.. oh boy did it fire off!!!
It blew EVERY widow out of the building.. & BENT the tracks on the BIG roll-up door that was open about 3ft. The EXPLOSION TRIED to take the 60ft WIDE roll-up door off the tracks.!!!!

 

[RZucker]

I wonder if anybody ever tried it. If it only takes an ounce or less to start a big Cummins or Detroit then you would think that the 10 ounce can might do the trick if it was used entirely. That or find a spot to spray it where it gets in real strong to just a few cylinders, sometimes the extra speed of a portion of cylinders firing will help bring the rest of them to the ignition point.

I doubt it would have done much good. The air intakes were huge, then it would have to go through a turbo impeller and housing 3 feet in diameter to get to the cylinders. The heater worked good.

 

[Tradesman]

I had a friend tell me he saw some guys loading a Diesel man lift last week in -25 weather and they were running it on ether to load it on the trailer.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I doubt it would have done much good. The air intakes were huge, then it would have to go through a turbo impeller and housing 3 feet in diameter to get to the cylinders. The heater worked good.

If I ever ether something with large air intakes, I always try to find a plug or something where I can get it as close to the cylinder as possible. Loading up an intake tract with ether gives me the willies because you never know what might happen.

 

[Knepptune]

Used in good sense ether is just another tool. If something is spinning over and smoking a little I'm giving it a snort of ether before I drain the battery or smoke a starter. Im pretty sure a sniff of ether does far less damage then draining the batteries and taking life off the starter.

I've ran stuff on pure ether to get it out of the middle off an intersection before. Or on a trailer. If you feather the trigger on the ether the engine sounds just like its running on fuel. Dont get the engine knocking and running away and you're not gonna do any damage.


I'll take all the name calling you guys want to do on my ether usage but I haven't seen any bad side effects of ether usage. However I've changed out my share of starters and batteries that could have been avoided with a snort of ether.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I don't agree that feathering ether to get a unit out of an intersection or on a trailer can be considered safe. The ether is detonating at some point on the upstroke, probably quite early, compared to how the diesel would be igniting with controlled timing.

But every engine is different and I'm sure it can be done with no damage on some engines, I just don't know which ones they are, and don't want a customer to come back to me over something like that.

But I do agree if it is injecting fuel and just not firing because it is too cold, just enough ether to get it to start igniting the fuel is what I aim for.

 

[td25c]

Used in good sense ether is just another tool. If something is spinning over and smoking a little I'm giving it a snort of ether before I drain the battery or smoke a starter. Im pretty sure a sniff of ether does far less damage then draining the batteries and taking life off the starter.

I've ran stuff on pure ether to get it out of the middle off an intersection before. Or on a trailer. If you feather the trigger on the ether the engine sounds just like its running on fuel. Dont get the engine knocking and running away and you're not gonna do any damage.


I'll take all the name calling you guys want to do on my ether usage but I haven't seen any bad side effects of ether usage. However I've changed out my share of starters and batteries that could have been avoided with a snort of ether.

Good points Knepp !
2018 and people still aint sure when to use starting fluid / ether .....

Good Lord help them .

 

[rmllarue91]

Years ago I worked at a place that had three old Ford dump trucks with Cat 1160 motors. Even in warm weather they would smoke but get the temp down to thirty degrees and the nose candy was a necessity. Some drivers are smart and you never worried about them. Others were dumber than rocks. All the air compressors pulled fresh air off the engine intakes and one of our brain surgeons put so much ether in before turning the engine over that the air compressor popped and blew out the reed valves when he started turning the engine.

When I was still in school had to start ir ecm 660 after school to let it warm up for lowboy never worked on one before dad told me give small sniff she would pop right off if cranked alot batteries would go dead. After third cranking cycle. Realized I was spraying compressor filter housing started nice once it was going in engine lol

 

[thepumpguysc]

I'm gonna hijack this for a minute>>
On another site, there was a fella who, at one time awhile back, filled his diesel w/ gasoline.. & he now has a problem starting his engine[cold weather] & was suspicious of the fuel he just put in...
I posted that service stations make mistakes all the time.. & he could pull his filter, pour some out & hit it w/ a lighter..
IF it was gas, it would flame-up quick.. IF it was diesel, it wouldn't..
THEN I got hit w/ a dozen comment like> "you don't know sh*t" "diesel fuel WILL flame-up" & "we use diesel fuel to start brush fires" THEN there was 1 guy who dared me to put diesel fuel on a paper towel & lite it, just to PROVE it will flame up..& the comments went on & on...
OFCOURSE the paper towel is gonna burn, you idiot.!!! [I didn't write or post that last comment]
I've put a lighter to 1000's of "fuel puddles" to SEE what the fuel was... I have NEVER in my entire life had diesel fuel "flame up"..
WHO"S the idiot here??

 

[repowerguy]

I’ve visited some of the other sites and am amazed at the bad and wrong information spewed forth and the others are non the wiser.
They get weeded out quick here though pumpguy.

 

[check]

The glow plug relay on my old E70B excavator doesn't work. I have no idea where the dadgum thing is. All fuses good. When I have to start it in very cold weather, I just run jumper cables from the 24 VDC battery bank to the common glow plug busbar and by the time I climb down and make it in the cab (15 seconds or so) it fires right up like it's August. Never had to use ether.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I KNOW.. its sickening..
I don't bother to go back & answer these type of people.. What are they called? Keyboard Commandos??
ALWAYS disagreeing w/ the answer or whatever you have to say.. basically, picking fights.

 

[Welder Dave]

I'm gonna hijack this for a minute>>
On another site, there was a fella who, at one time awhile back, filled his diesel w/ gasoline.. & he now has a problem starting his engine[cold weather] & was suspicious of the fuel he just put in...
I posted that service stations make mistakes all the time.. & he could pull his filter, pour some out & hit it w/ a lighter..
IF it was gas, it would flame-up quick.. IF it was diesel, it wouldn't..
THEN I got hit w/ a dozen comment like> "you don't know sh*t" "diesel fuel WILL flame-up" & "we use diesel fuel to start brush fires" THEN there was 1 guy who dared me to put diesel fuel on a paper towel & lite it, just to PROVE it will flame up..& the comments went on & on...
OFCOURSE the paper towel is gonna burn, you idiot.!!! [I didn't write or post that last comment]
I've put a lighter to 1000's of "fuel puddles" to SEE what the fuel was... I have NEVER in my entire life had diesel fuel "flame up"..
WHO"S the idiot here??

Ask these same idiots why diesel fuel can be carried in a slip tank and not gasoline. The DOT or whoever doesn't consider diesel a flammable liquid. I think they should come up with a better term because diesel will burn but isn't as easily ignited as gasoline. A spark or a match won't light diesel fuel. Die Hard 2 comes to mind when apparently the leaking jet fuel is lit with a lighter and travels along the spill all the way to blow up the plane.

 

[Jim D]

Knepp said: "Used in good sense ether is just another tool. If something is spinning over and smoking a little I'm giving it a snort of ether before I drain the battery or smoke a starter. Im pretty sure a sniff of ether does far less damage then draining the batteries and taking life off the starter."

Exactly correct, I think.

Spinning the starter, in the cold, while the engine pops and stutters, for 30-seconds-at-a-time, is a *lot* worse than a shot of a 'starting aid'...

 

[Birken Vogt]

I disagree a little bit with that posting, also.

Spinning the starter doesn't damage anything but the starter. If the engine pops and stutters it is helping the starter along at that point and starter time limits can be disregarded (within reason anyway, you have to be getting somewhere, no sense cranking forever if it's only hitting on 1 cylinder and no more). Because the engine is helping the starter along and starter current goes way down at that point. I actually read it in an OE manual somewhere and it makes sense.

A whiff of ether in this situation is probably no problem, but it has the POTENTIAL to be a big problem so that's why I like to avoid it.

Also, a starter at 0 degrees takes a lot longer to warm up to a damaging temperature than one at a "reasonable" temperature.

I have probably thought about this way too much.