warming up a diesel

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

coldtaco

coldtaco

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Threads
383
Messages
6,607
Location
Anchorage, AK
So, what is the fastes way, or desired way, to warm up a diesel in these wonder full temps we got here? Today about -30C/-15F? Do you drive at a higher rpm for a speed or go with a lower(lugging?) rpm for the same speed? This is when coming out of a heated garage or having it plugged in before driving. Thanks.
 
I believe there was a thread about this a little while back. From what I have heard, it is better to just drive your diesel as normal. Just give a sec for oil pressure to build up and drive off. Diesels do not generate much heat when not under load, that is why it's not good to just leave them idling to expect a "warm up" time.
 
.. its a good idea to keep your rpm's on the low side for the first few km's/miles of driving rather than run em' up as soon as it will take it.
 
drive it with low pressure on the skinny pedal, and keep the rpms low. Reving it is defiantely the worst thing.

OK here's why; when your engine(diesel only) is cold the head is not up to a warm temp and does not detonate well when the compressed. It detonates later than when warm. This can cause extra pressure and strain IMOP on the engine. Harder on the head, and bottom end.

Now I don't wait till the heat is showing before letting rip, but I do drive it easy for first few minutes.

I don't idle for 5-10 minutes after start up. But in -30 I would give it a few minutes of idling before I backed out.

I can hear when my engine is starting to detonate properly. Its not soo rough.

Now if you drives are short and it can't get up to operating temp on the water temp gauge, then I would let it idle more. It needs to fully heat up between cycles. -30 and short drives will be very hard on the engine. Too much condensation.

Some fully let the engine warm up before driving. That is the original idea with diesels. I don't like that much idling.

There was thread just recently about this. If you look for it you will find it.
 
and if you have to idle. make it a high idle only. Low idle is bad pollution generating and could cause fuel to wash the cyclinder walls causing premature wear in the engine.

Ah I can't spell today...
 
My 13BT has a lower rad hose heater and battery blanket heaters w/ synthetic lubricants in engine and gearboxes.
For every 5°C below zero these 120v heaters are energized for one hour before start-up. e.g. 6 hrs @-30°C
On start up the idle is set to 1000 RPM for about a minute while snow and frost is cleared.
Once rolling, the first ~1km is 2nd or 3rd gear w/ RPM below ~1500, so the turbo green light does not come on. From then it's highway speed at ~2200 RPM. The temp needle starts off Cold at ~5km, and up to temp by 8km.
 
Cummins recomends adding a coolant heater and an oil heater if temp is in the neighborhood of 10 degrees Farhenheit. Heaters jsut make good sense and I have added them to all our trucks and tractors- gas and diesel both.
 
When the temps hit below -30 C, we use to put a garbage can lid full of hot embers (no electricity) under the 6 cylinder diesels which powered the ski hill lifts. After 20-30 minutes of heat to the oil pan, we would start them up and put them into gear right away. Within a few minutes we had them running a load at about 2600 rpm (depending on the lift and the gearing). They ran like that for 7-8 hours strait. They all ran like that for the 5 years I was working there with no major work done on them. I think the most important thing is to make sure your engine has had a chance to run at operating temps under load for a while before shutting it down.
 
M John Galt said:
My 13BT has a lower rad hose heater and battery blanket heaters w/ synthetic lubricants in engine and gearboxes.
For every 5°C below zero these 120v heaters are energized for one hour before start-up. e.g. 6 hrs @-30°C
On start up the idle is set to 1000 RPM for about a minute while snow and frost is cleared.
Once rolling, the first ~1km is 2nd or 3rd gear w/ RPM below ~1500, so the turbo green light does not come on. From then it's highway speed at ~2200 RPM. The temp needle starts off Cold at ~5km, and up to temp by 8km.
Click to expand...

That sounds right on to me.

I Like the incremental warmers for temperature decreases.

I use my block heater when its below zero for about an hour or two prior to going. Or more. Also I have an interior warmer, they are the nicest feature in the winter. Save the idling and use an interior warmer.

I look at neighbours scraping frost, as I walk out pull the plug and hop in. Minute later back out with no fuss :)

I'm not one for scraping. I also like using the interior warmer as it keeps it dry inside. Less foggy window and moisture.
 
nice world .. when you have problems heating up your engines we have problems cooling down here in Panamá .. :D
 
brownbear said:
That sounds right on to me.

I Like the incremental warmers for temperature decreases.

I use my block heater when its below zero for about an hour or two prior to going. Or more. Also I have an interior warmer, they are the nicest feature in the winter. Save the idling and use an interior warmer.

I look at neighbours scraping frost, as I walk out pull the plug and hop in. Minute later back out with no fuss :)

I'm not one for scraping. I also like using the interior warmer as it keeps it dry inside. Less foggy window and moisture.
Click to expand...

How does this interior heater work? Does it run the engine or is it just an electric heater?
 
Cold Starts

Well at the moment I am working in Antarctica.
The NZ Antarctic program uses 78 series Troop Carriers with 4.2l Diesel engines.
The vehicles are modified as follows:
1. Battery heater blanket style (Batteries are Optima Yellow Tops in most cases)
2. Fleetguard block heater. Not sure of the brand will do some research.
3. Starter interlock (to stop people driving away while still plugged in)
4. In cab fan heater (helps to make it nicer to get into and ensures that the inertia real seat belts function correctly)

All of the oil type fluids are replaced with Mobil synthetics.
These vehicles are parked outside in all temperatures. Starting at -40 is as normal but you must have your foot on the clutch of the cold transmission oil will transmit enough drive to scare the bejesus out of you as the vehicle lurches forwards.
We allow 10 minutes at fast idle before driving off slowly. At -40 even with synthetic clutch fluid the clutch pedal takes several seconds to return to the normal position. This means that gear changes can be a bit interesting as there is no drive while the pedal is returning.

But its summer now so all is good here

Cheers
 
where is the block heater installed?

got any pics? we love pics...
 
What about using a winter front? I'm sure you all use them? It doesn't get all that cold here in Colorado except maybe in January for a week or so when it's about -10 to -15F. I don't have a Toyota diesel...Yet.....but drive a truck with a CAT engine. I find that when I am coming down six to eight percent grades is when the winter front is a must have. Even with it the temp. still drops to 140F to 170F braking down a hill, depending on the load I suppose.

My work also requires you set your idle to 950 rpm's when not driving....I try to follow the rules :flipoff2: d=) I have found that 700 to 800 on her is a little better...seems to shake other wise till you have reached 1200 rpm's and above...that can't be good on it.
 
Well, thanks for all the replies. Basically, I am familiar with winter operations, I am just a litte perplexed at why it takes about 4mi of driving after coming out of the garage for the temp to start moving. The temp in the garage is set at 55F. This is when temperatures are below 0F. When at work, the rig is plugged in all the time and the temp moves almost right away. The rest of the drive train is another matter. It usually takes about 2mi of slow driving to get everything freed up enough to get on the highway. I've got a block heater, lower rad heater, oil pan heater, and interior heater. At -30F the interior heater will not melt the snow on the windshield;p Anyway, was just wondering if there was a better way to warm up after being parked in the garage all night. I now plug the rig in on a timer and have it set to turn on about 1 to 1.5hrs before departure. This helps a little, but not much.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
How does this interior heater work? Does it run the engine or is it just an electric heater?
Click to expand...

Just a 120volt electric car interior warmer.

I like them a lot. I also use a block heater. When I get in the vehicle in the morning I start it up and wait 30 second-minute.. and drive off.

Where as when I went out in the morning and the windshield was frozen and the seat cold I would fire it up go back inside and wait 5 plus minutes. Sometimes lose track of time and it would run for 20 minutes on high idle...

Nah I prefer interior warmers. Saves the fuel... and smoke if I using with the block heater too.
 
coldtaco said:
Well, thanks for all the replies. Basically, I am familiar with winter operations, I am just a litte perplexed at why it takes about 4mi of driving after coming out of the garage for the temp to start moving. The temp in the garage is set at 55F. This is when temperatures are below 0F. When at work, the rig is plugged in all the time and the temp moves almost right away. The rest of the drive train is another matter. It usually takes about 2mi of slow driving to get everything freed up enough to get on the highway. I've got a block heater, lower rad heater, oil pan heater, and interior heater. At -30F the interior heater will not melt the snow on the windshield;p Anyway, was just wondering if there was a better way to warm up after being parked in the garage all night. I now plug the rig in on a timer and have it set to turn on about 1 to 1.5hrs before departure. This helps a little, but not much.
Click to expand...

even if the temp in the garage is 55C the engine is not up to operating temp. the exterior of the block might be warm to the touch but the internals are still cold...
 
HZJ60 Guy said:
Install one of these and forget about it!

http://www.padheaters.com/
Click to expand...

This one only heats the oil in the pan. If you truely want to forget about it then you need an electric inline oil/coolanant combo heater which have a pump to pump the fluids through the engine. There are also diesel fired combo heaters. They are not cheep but are the ones run buy guys who drive to a work sites or other locations which have no 110.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom