question for the h.e. techs!

[trukfan]

I can't verify the story, but a mechanic friend was telling a buddy and I a story about a dozer he was called out to work on. It was on a jobsite, and they said no matter what they did, it just wouldn't start. Well, appatently on his way over there, someone had the bright idea to spray 5-6 cans of ether into the engine.:jawdrop When our mechanic got there, he found a dozer with a good chunk of the hood blown off, and various piston, connecting rod, and bearing parts littering the ground, along with most of the oil pan. After the guy fessed up to his boss what he did, he was fired. As for our using it on the farm, we do, but not much. 2 of our diesels have the mount for ether on the tractor, and the one that doesn't has a manifold heater built in. Turn the key to right between the start and the accessory position, hold for 30-60 sec., and she'll fire right up in temps down to -20F.

 

[counter]

ether start

thanks for the replys guysssssssss, it still comes down to the situation, guess you would it different in arizona , then in canada!!!!!!

 

[dozerdave]

Hi guys,

My experience with ether dates back many years. We had an RD7 with dozer, HD11 with dozer, HD5, RD4, 2 DW1O's, a P&H dragline, a tow behind Cat blade, a Ford chain drive dump truck, a lowbed and rubber tired equipment for the hay crops. The stock troughs had to have kerosene heaters to keep them from freezing solid. Anyhow very cold. The 2 AC cats came from the dealer with an injector system that held a plastic capsul about the size of a quail egg. Put the capsul in and hit a sharpened plunger and start cranking the engine over. They always fired right up. The 3 pieces of Cat equipment required ether, sometimes we had liquid in a can and sometimes in a spray can. Dad purchased it by the case, maybe 12 cans. The liguid was poured on a rag and held under the air cleaner on the Cat equipment so it took 2 people to start them. Dad was always the guy to apply the ether. We never lost an engine but of course ether is not foolproof. I always used tarps on the equipment that I ran to try to keep warm.

 

[bilshatri]

Either or No Either

I had a personal experience with a Cat D8, on a farm I worked. There was no either to start the engine in -27deg F. The farmer said watch this, he had a tire pry bar in his hand. Then pulled a old shirt from his bag, dipped the shirt in the diesel fuel and lit it. He placed the lit rag, into the intake. I pressed the starter and woe and behold the engine made about five turns and fired up. There I would not be stuck in Alaska, in the middle of a frozen lake.

 

[Speedpup]

Real men use this starting aid

many years ago near 40 I saw a guy try to start a two cylinder mortar mixer with a crank. Result was he did something wrong and the crank near took his nose off his face, it was just hanging

 

[RobVG]

Our 2007 Kenworths had a problem losing prime. Until it was fixed, the only way to get them running after a service was with a little "snort".

I keep a can in the service truck and it came in handy when one of our drivers ran out of fuel 50 feet from the pumps. He was blocking traffic and when it wouldn't fire after filling the filters- I went to the can...

 

[stock]

I came on a d8 with a leg out of bed due to the candy, what my old fella always said was to spray it in to the cleaner and then sit in and crank it, they always started with out any heavy knocks just the usual plume of white smoke.Have seen some David Brown and deere john tractors addicted to it though,even in summer they won't start first thing with out it, but that serves them right for owning the green eyed monsters.

 

[OneWelder]

Follow manufactures recommendations - some engines do not like it at all ( it may break em ) - some won"t run without it.

 

[IH 3500A]

The trick is to use just a puff. You want the engine to go chug not knock. If there is a intercooler in the system it will take more cranking to get the starting fluid to the engine. Puff, crank untill the motor does something. If it does not chug long enough, give it a slightly larger puff and crank again. Don't spray until the motor does something, that is when things go boom.

 

[SterlingR]

I like many do not like either. I have found if you pull the air filter out of most machines light a small torch and stick the flame in the intake it will run like a top. I know it is a little more work, but it is much easier on the engine in the long run. I am talking diesel engines and you have to use some common sense as well. You don't want to melt the rubber intake hose.

 

[OFF]

Ether saves on starters.
Up here in Canada where we see average winter temperatures anywhere from zero to -40F, we couldn't get by without a can of ether on the booster truck.
Used properly, there's nothing wrong with it. Most common ether induced ailment is a blown head gasket (Deutz).......I've never seen an over-speed situation because of it. Less is better.

A little common sense goes a long way. Make sure the cold engine is getting fuel and is free enough to crank over. If it's not cranking over and giving you some kind of smoke, loading it up with ether is just going to make things worse.
In a perfect world, we'd never have to use it. But breakers trip, block heater cords become unplugged, propane block heaters run out of fuel, and if you need it running, it's either a little shot of ether or a new starter motor & drag it inside. I've tried using the starter motor to warm the engine block many times, but it's not working for me :beatsme

I've never met a starter I couldn't smoke.

 

[davidd]

I use starting fluid for everything from lawnmowers to backhoe.
It saves pull ropes to starters.

However do you guys find differences in different brands of ether?

 

[watglen]

light a small torch and stick the flame in the intake it will run like a top

Now thats a great idea!