[AT] Technology Creep/ now cold starting

[Ralph Goff]

On 1/18/2011 5:22 PM, mpnc282 at juno.com wrote:
> Ralph, your Massey starts a little easier than mine. A few weeks ago I asked the question, how long should I plug my MF 255 in before trying to start it. I finally was able to try out the advice I received. First, I plugged in the block heater for about an hour and a half, and when I turned the key it just rolled over slowly and didn't even try to start. Then I hooked up my 55 amp charger to it, so it would spin a little faster, still nothing. Finally, I took my kerosene torpedo heater and had the hot air blow underneath the engine, and went in for lunch. Thirty minutes later I tried it again, and this time it fired right up. It filled the whole shop with diesel smoke, probably still smells in there. Mike
Mike, with no exaggeration this Massey starts quicker in the winter than 
it does in summer...........as long as the block heater is plugged in. A 
couple of hours will have the heat gauge moving and the engine warm to 
the touch. Its 1500 watts. A smaller heater will take a lot longer to 
warm up the engine.
Surprising really as it only has about half the cranking power it was 
designed for. A single 12 volt battery instead of the two sixes it was 
designed to have.
Injection pump timing and the condition of the injectors can have a big 
effect on starting too. Some diesels put out huge volumes of blueish 
white smoke on a cold start. This one does not so I'm assuming all is 
well with the fuel injection system.

Ralph in Sask