[AT] Glow plugs

Steve W. swilliams268 at frontier.com
Sun Dec 20 09:14:02 PST 2015


charlie hill wrote:
> Getting a little further off topic than road tractors but well on the point
> of cold weather and diesels.  I know a guy who used to work for
> an air cargo company that serviced the oil fields up in northern Alaska.
> This was in the early 80's I think.  He said all of their company vehicles
> were diesel Chevy Suburbans.  6.2 liter I think.  He said they NEVER
> turned them off.  They sat running all day while at work and all night
> in the parking lot of the motel where the crews lived.  Once a month
> they would drive them into a heated shop and shut them down and do
> a complete service job.  When they left the shop they ran until they
> came back in the next month.  I can remember a few times when we
> left some of our road tractors running over night as well.
> 
> My point is that diesels and cold weather don't get along very well
> regardless of the size or brand.
> 
> Charlie

The Mercedes L series I drove for a local company had an ether injection 
system as factory equipment. Took a canister that looked just like a 
cheap propane bottle. You turned the key on, hit the starter button and 
the ether button. It had a timer so it just gave a single small shot of 
ether and IF it wasn't real cold and if you had plugged it in it would 
fire right up. When it went in for service and I had them replace the 
can the first time it was rusted all over but was still about half full! 
I thought about that for a while, Unlike the common cans this thing held 
a LOT of ether, under the hood right next to the air intake!

Did not inspire a lot of confidence in the engineer who came up with the 
idea!

-- 
Steve W.



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