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Installed an intake heater on my CT322

K

Kxnate

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
102
Location
Billings MT
So the month of February has been brutal in Montana, really cold and lots of snow. The old girl doesn't like starting in single digit temps above and below zero even while being plugged in without many glow plug cycles and lots of cranking. So, since I didn't really want to nuke my starter if I could avoid it, and I don't have the ability to park it inside, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to get it to start easier, excluding ether. Then it hit me, my Cummins pickup has an intake heater and that system seems to work great as it starts in below zero temps without even being plugged in no problem. So I thought why not put an intake heater on the skidsteer? Have used it the last 2 nights after getting home from work, and she fires right off now.
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:D
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T

thepumpguysc

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2010
Messages
7,504
Location
Sunny South Carolina
Occupation
Master Inj.Pump rebuilder
:D.. I thought I was gonna scroll down & see a "grid heater" set-up.. which woulda been WAY KOOL..
The ole' hair drier trick does work tho.. GOOD THINKIN'..
Basically, that's all a grid heater does.. just at a MUCH higher temp..
 
kshansen

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,157
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Kxnate said:
The hair dryer makes a huge difference!!
Click to expand...
If I had time to do enough searching I bet there is somewhere on the inernet thing that would explain in detail why that is so. Basically with a compression ignition engine you have to raise the temperature in the cylinder above the ignition point of the fuel. I bet there is a fine line from making lots of white smoke and getting that fuel to burn. So raising the intake air 20 degrees just puts you over that threshold.

Had an old Mack tractor that would not start after being parked over night in below freezing temps and to make it worse the batteries were not exactly fresh. As luck would have it the Mack was loaded with a blacktop spreader and those spreader operators always had one of those large weed burner propane torches to clean off the machines at the end of the day. Had operator fire up the torch and take a couple fast passes along the intake manifold and that puppy fired up like it was the middle of August!
 
K

Kxnate

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
102
Location
Billings MT
Yeah I knew sucking in that 0 degree air was just putting the fire out so to speak, and that warming up the air it was sucking would help a ton, just wasn't really sure if a hair dryer was going to be enough or not but turns out it works like a charm.
 
D

DIYDAVE

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
2,416
Location
MD
Friend of mine swears by putting an unlit propane torch, into the aur filter housing, with the valve turned on about halfway, while cranking, will start just about any small diesel. I never tried it, but can't see that it would do any harm, as ether can...;)
 
C

Camshawn

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Messages
596
Location
Langley BC
Occupation
retired
Just remember, plastics can melt and distort with too much heat..and ok to melted in no time. Ask me how I know.
Cam
 
B

Birken Vogt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
5,320
Location
Grass Valley, Ca
DIYDAVE said:
Friend of mine swears by putting an unlit propane torch, into the aur filter housing, with the valve turned on about halfway, while cranking, will start just about any small diesel. I never tried it, but can't see that it would do any harm, as ether can...;)
Click to expand...

I was out in the sticks, so far in the sticks it was like an adventure movie, with a Mitsubishi S3L2 with a bad glow plug relay or something.

I remembered all these threads so I thought I would try everything "they" always said.

Unlit propane - no go
Gasoline on rag/poured into manifold while cranking - nothing
Flammable brake cleaner sprayed into intake - nothing (this kind of brake cleaner is very similar to gasoline)
Lit propane torch directed into manifold - immediate easy start. Actually it was cold enough that I took the torch away too soon and it started to stall, add the torch back and it took right back off again
 
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