starting in cold weather...

[etalian]

is there anything i need to know about starting up a diesel in cold weather...other than letting the glow plug fully heat up thanks

[LPstroker]

If you have a block heater plug it in. it will help 100%

[99Smokin73Stroker]

Other than waiting for the wait to start light to go out as you normally would you'll be fine. Plugging it in does help tremendously though. It'll turn over a lot easier and warm up a lot quicker. The electricity might cost 10-15 cents or so overnight.

[720Deere]

Originally Posted by 99Smokin73Stroker

Other than waiting for the wait to start light to go out as you normally would you'll be fine. Plugging it in does help tremendously though. It'll turn over a lot easier and warm up a lot quicker. The electricity might cost 10-15 cents or so overnight.

I agree with using the block heater, but it may cost more than 10 to 15 cents per night. I may be wrong but I think those heaters are 1000 or more watts. That is 1kw per hour or $0.15 or more per hour. Granted after an hour or two it will reach full temp and the heater will cycle on and off, but in extreme cold it could cost as much as $1 or more per night.

I would suggest a timer on the power cord set to turn the block heater on 2 hours before you intend to start the engine. This way you get the convenience of a warm engine without the sacrifice of either leaving it plugged in all night or getting up early to plug it in.

[Big Tone]

Originally Posted by 720Deere

I agree with using the block heater, but it may cost more than 10 to 15 cents per night. I may be wrong but I think those heaters are 1000 or more watts. That is 1kw per hour or $0.15 or more per hour. Granted after an hour or two it will reach full temp and the heater will cycle on and off, but in extreme cold it could cost as much as $1 or more per night.

I would suggest a timer on the power cord set to turn the block heater on 2 hours before you intend to start the engine. This way you get the convenience of a warm engine without the sacrifice of either leaving it plugged in all night or getting up early to plug it in.

I plug my truck up right below the meter on my shop, the dial is usually stationary when I plug the heater in, it takes off like a bat outta H . Next time I plug it in I'm gonna write down beginning and ending readings and see how many kw the thing uses............meant to do it last year

[etalian]

well i live in houston, texas so i will never start any colder than 30 degrees. and it rarely ever gets that low... so if i just wait for the pig's tail to go out i should be fine right? thanks

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by etalian

well i live in houston, texas so i will never start any colder than 30 degrees. and it rarely ever gets that low... so if i just wait for the pig's tail to go out i should be fine right? thanks

Yeah, if it never gets colder than 30 then a block heater isn't needed really.
I have started mine without the luxury of a plug in (a motel in Iowa) and it was -4 temps with a 30 mph wind and i cycled the glow pluds twice for 45 seconds each cycle and it fired right up. The heater didn't get warm for awhile but i had no problem starting it.
When that light goes out on the dash though, the glowplugs are STILL heating so you can wait longer than the light if it's pretty cold and that will help.

[etalian]

Originally Posted by CHenry

Yeah, if it never gets colder than 30 then a block heater isn't needed really.
I have started mine without the luxury of a plug in (a motel in Iowa) and it was -4 temps with a 30 mph wind and i cycled the glow pluds twice for 45 seconds each cycle and it fired right up. The heater didn't get warm for awhile but i had no problem starting it.
When that light goes out on the dash though, the glowplugs are STILL heating so you can wait longer than the light if it's pretty cold and that will help.

ok. thats what i was wondering but didnt know if you needed to do anything different...thanks

[06F250PSD]

Currently it has risen to about 3 degrees here in Northern IL. It got down to -2 last night. I couldn't get my block heater to work last night since the gfi on the garage outlet kept tripping. (I park my truck outside next to the garage) Anyways I figured out their must have been a little moisture in the cord end because after having my extension cord sit inside overnight it worked fine on the block heater this morning. I didn't have another cord to try last night.

I've been reading on here and everyone mentions the 3 hours for the block heater duty cycle. Where does that number come from? Just curious since the manual doesn't mention that. This is my first winter with a diesel truck and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it. It started this morning but boy did it make some noise! Did not sound happy but let it run for 10 or 15 minutes and just took it easy when I started driving. Seemed to warm up in a decent amount of time considering how cold it was.

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by 06F250PSD

Currently it has risen to about 3 degrees here in Northern IL. It got down to -2 last night. I couldn't get my block heater to work last night since the gfi on the garage outlet kept tripping. (I park my truck outside next to the garage) Anyways I figured out their must have been a little moisture in the cord end because after having my extension cord sit inside overnight it worked fine on the block heater this morning. I didn't have another cord to try last night.

I've been reading on here and everyone mentions the 3 hours for the block heater duty cycle. Where does that number come from? Just curious since the manual doesn't mention that. This is my first winter with a diesel truck and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it. It started this morning but boy did it make some noise! Did not sound happy but let it run for 10 or 15 minutes and just took it easy when I started driving. Seemed to warm up in a decent amount of time considering how cold it was.

Theres no magic number to using the block heater but its been my experience that it needs at least 3 hours operation (in my climate) to be of substantial help to warming the block. If i was in Iowa, i would plug it in at night and leave it all night but if you wanted to use a timmer to turn it on before you leave for work, 4-5 hours would likely be better than 3 hours as cold as you guys get up there.
My 3 hours is based on the truck being parked inside the shop which is always above 30 degrees inside. When i start it, my heater already feels a little warm.