Help a Diesel Newbie

Bought a Ford 3600 Diesel w/ FEL this spring. Been fueling it with heating oil and I really like this tractor for what we need to use it for. My question is how cold blooded is this thing going to be? I came real close to running it out of fuel a few days ago, but it was still running when I got it parked and shut it down. Came back yesterday and fueled her up and could not get it to start. Thinking I might have air in the fuel system, I bled the fuel filter and pump and saw no indication of air so I went to start it up and she was running on about the third spin. Now I am thinking that we had frost warnings the last few nights here in South Central Pennsylvania and maybe it was just too cold to get the diesel running without some assistance. On a related note, gas is reformulated depending on what the season is. Do they do the same thing with diesel? If so, should I be going to the diesel pump to get fuel to take advantage of this.

Yet another question, When I bought this I "KNOW" it had a plug for a heater of some sort installed. I even commented to the guy I bought it from that I was kind of staying away from the diesel just because of winter starting concerns. Now I can"t find this plug to save my life (or any indication that it ever existed.) Could I have pulled the plug out mowing/loading/etc.?

Anyway, thanks for the help.

Kirk

Rod

Thanks. And pardon my ignorance, but is No. 1 diesel the same as kerosene?

Kirk

Back to the tractor.... The thermostart unit is located in the front of the intake manifold. If you swing the battery tray out, look down at the manifold on the inside, and you should see a fuel line and a wire going to the unit. It's simply screwed into the manifold. It should be standard equipment on your 3600. It is activated by turning the key past the "run" position, and holding the key there for 30 seconds to a minute. Just watch the instrument cluster lights when the key is in the "run" or "on" position. As you turn the key past to activate the thermostart, the lights will go off. The thermostart is now on. After you've waited for the minute, turn the key to crank the engine. The thermostart will remain active while the engine is cranking. This is a long winded way of explaining it.....

The cord for the block heater is readily available from a NH dealer, and not all that expensive. The 3 prong plug is not something easily... fabricated.... and not worth risking electrocution. HTH.

Rod