Ether Start Kits

Anyone know a good place online to buy an ether start kit? I have a perkins diesel with no glowplug and no manifold heater. How are you supposed to get them started in cold weather? I figure an ether start kit and a good battery should get the job done.

I would install a block heater to heat the engine coolant before I installed an ether start kit. Ether can stretch your head bolts and bend connecting rods and I've seen valve covers swell up with the use of ether. You don't want ether to be your only starting aide.

Just installed a heater kit. I try to use them as much as possible. This is in a skidloader so I am worried about shutting it off away from an electric source, and then not being able to get it started.

Most contractors I know bring at least one skidloader to the yard every night because they never know what might change overnight(weather) and they might have a different job to do(clean snow from their yard so they can get to jobsite?). Add block heater!!!! Armand

put a block heater on it Perkins and ether DO NOT mix well trust me seen a lot of busted rings and ring spacers from ether.

Ever see what a motor looks like when a ether start kit sticks on ? I've junked every one that was on a tractor or combine I've bought .
If you really need either hold the can , that way if it sticks open you can throw it .

Plumb in a couple snap couplers like are used on air or hydrolicks. Do the same on your pickup. Use a couple of hoses to connect the two, and let the pickup run until the block is warm and it will start like in the summer. They do this all the time in the north woods when they leave equipment overnight or over the weekend and temps drop to -30 or -40 degrees.

Mike, I have a little B250 with no block heater so I bought a heater at TSC that is magnetic and I just stick it on the oil pan and plug it in. You can attach it anywhere, on the water pump/thermostat housing/side of block /etc..about $40..and I find it works very well for my application.Ether is an absolute last resort and it can damage an engine. Keep your batteries charged up good, put a heater on it and cover with an old blanket or sleeping bag, that in itself will hold the heat in the engine and make for easy starts.

Get a inline water heater or a frost plug heater. Works much better than ether, use ether as a last resort. A sniff is all en engine should get at a time. Most people give for more that a sniff, and then wonder why they have engine problems later on. I know a few people that use more ether on one tractor in a year than others use on all their tractor in all their years, then they are always complaining about failing engine kits.

Ether is pretty safe if used correctly on a direct-injected engine like your Perkins. But, I'll assume your engine has the port in the intake manifold for the optional intake-air heater? If so, they only cost $20 new. You might want to install one.

As to adding ether injection - there's the cheap way, and the not-so-cheap way. Cheapest way is to add an injection line that runs from your dashboard to the intake manfold. At the manifold, a jet is screwed in and the line hooks up to it. This jet prevents ether overload. That's what Deere uses on their industrial equipment that often gets parked away from electricity. Basically it's just a jet that screws into the intake, a 1/8" plastic line, and a fitting that fastens near your dash that you plug the ether can into.

The more expensive method is electric injection - also used by Deere, Case, etc. It's a little gizmo that holds an ether can and automatically injects a shot of ether when the engine is cranking.

Then, if you really want to spend money - there's the diesel-fired blcck heaters. It hooks right into the tractor's fuel tank. Works great - but costs a lot. Ford offers them now in the new diesel pickup trucks.

Here's a link to a download of a PDF catalog from Zero-start for ether-start kits for Perkins and others. Zero-start sells manual and electric - just like Deere uses.



http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/UserFiles/File/08%20ZEROSTART%20GUTS%20US.pdf

I think I'd be pretty leary of using ether on a Perkins. I've seen some with bent rods. That may have been the result of an 'overdose' but the results were no less costly.
It would depend on the engine but the rods are a might bit light in some of them.
The electric injection kit would be the best choice if you have to use ether... It gives a very small metered dose that shouldn't cause harm.

I think I'd either leave the machine where I could plug the block heater in or look into installing a manifold 'thermostart' unit if the engine has a CAV fuel system. Those are quite effective down to about -20 C.
You didn't say what engine this is?

Rod

Perkins Engine Tech Support @ 1-888 PERK ENG. & make sure battery connections are super clean and tight. Good idea to take battery to heated area if possible. Keep it as warm as you can, that will give you better cranking speed. You have to get that thing cranking 200 + rpm. Use several warm up-to-snuff batteries if you can. Use Arctic diesel fuel if you can find it. Here in northeast Wis all of the Fleet Farm stations sell it at their pumps. If you can't find Arctic, make sure you use #1 as a minimum. Make sure fuel filter is fresh and clean. Good way is to change that just before it gets cold. Keep fuel tank full. If it sits in the sun put a black tarp over it. Ether is OK if not overdone but I do remember watching a guy start an IH diesel on ether and it ran fine as long as he shot ether into it. Then someone decided to check the fuel tank and, DUH, it was empty. No damage to engine. Keep us posted. I have more tricks to start diesel engines but I would hate to see anyone get hurt. Then, of course, there is the tried and true "Alaska" method. Just keep the damn thing running from Nov thru Mar. Perkins engines burn almost no fuel. That might be cheaper in the long run.

Is the number you gave me a number to order parts or what exactly is it?

Perkins 4.203.2 What is a CAV fuel system? I was thinking of trying to install a manifold heater like the old oliver diesels use just wastn sure if I could get it in the manifold anywhere. If I leave it plugged in do you think it will start even in 20 deg weather? That heater will warm the engine but it will still be sucking in cold air.

Perkins 4.203.2 What is a CAV fuel system? I was thinking of trying to install a manifold heater like the old oliver diesels use just wastn sure if I could get it in the manifold anywhere. If I leave it plugged in do you think it will start even in 20 deg weather? That heater will warm the engine but it will still be sucking in cold air.

I got the number off the Perkins web site. I didn't try it because it's Sunday evening however it is what they call their "Technical support" line. I would ask them for help in getting a diesel engine such as yours started in cold weather and I would inquire as to the availability of a cold weather starting kit be it ether or whatever. At least you'll be talking to someone from Perkins. They have a great looking website. First time for me.

pluged in it will start at -50

Zero Start Co. makes injection kits, available at any over the road truck shop.

Set a couple sheets of plywood around it and blast the knipko on it for an hour. costs about the same as having it plugged in all night and then the engine will start and the fuel will be warmed up so it won't jell and the oil will be warm so it has good lubrication right away and the tranny will shift nice and the hyd. oil will be warm so the loader will work nice and the stearing will work nice.

C.A.V. is the manufacturer of most fuel systems supplied on british built engines, Perkins included. I believe the engine you have is one of the older design brit Perkins, so it should have a CAV system. You should be able to add a thermostart unit to the manifold.
I don't know if Perkins used them but Ford did extensively. All this thing does is use a bit of fuel to build a fire in the manifold and warm the intake air. They're quite effective at starting these old engines. I've had the Fords start at around -20 celcius in a pinch when a block heater died or power was off. It should help the Perkins just as well.
If it's below -20 you probably don't want to be out on it anyway...
Block heater will help them to at least -30 C. I don't know beyond that. I've never experienced worse.

Rod

Tractor Supply has Magnetic Block heaters,,, Have been told they Work ...........

What size battery(s) and cables? What size of starter? Delco MT10? What is the air temp?
Swapping in a MT41 starter maybe possible and will increase cranking rpms.
As previously stated. A light wiff of Ether is for dire emergencies only. Engine rebuild shops around here would go broke if either was banned from the market.
Use a block heater. Less strain on the starter, battery and alternator. Less engine wear too.

Direct-injected diesel engines hold up fine when ether is used properly. The problem is - is usually is NOT used properly. We did many engine rebuilds on engines ruined by ether - usually squirted directly from the can into the air-intake. If you hear the engine knocking loudly when tryting to start - you are probably doing damgage.

The ether injection kits use a jet/orifice to prevent overloading and work fine. We installed them on all the log skidders and crawlers we sold that got parked in the woods away from electricity.

Even with the many Deere crawlers and skidders we sold - that had OEM built-in ether injection - often the owners would bypass it and spray the ether directly into the air-intake anyway. That is what does an engine it. Especially with non-turbo engines that have conventional piston rings that shatter easy.

I still don't prefer the ether starting because of the other issues in cold-weather starting (thick engine oil). I've got some diesels here that are not parked near electricity. I used a lightweight 1500 watt gasoline-generator. I just start it up near the tractor, plug in the block heater and come back an hour later to start it.
Not convenient for everyday use - but works fine for stuff that only gets used once in awhile.

I saw loggers use many types of remedies inclding -

siamese coolant-hose hookups to their pick-up trucks. Truck shares coolant with the diesel and heats it up before startring.

propane-fired block heaters (very expensive).

diesel-fired block heaters - also expensive but the prices are coming down. Ford now offers them on new pickup trucks.

portable generator to run an AC block heater
(still my preference)

http://www.phillipsandtemro.com/UserFiles/File/ZEROSTART_Catalog_WEB.pdf

Mike:
I have a MF 165 with Perkins 203 diesel. I have a factory installed MF engine block heater that goes in a frost plug on left side of engine. It works great. FYI - it is a 500 watt heater with a little electric connecting prong. You should really get one of these from MF dealer or Nolt's Equip in PA. I have seen neighbors ruin their MF diesels using ether, and also my uncles Ford 6610 too. I connect the heater for 1 to 2 hours in cold weather and she starts instantly, just like if she was fully warm in summer. It is the way to go and to do it right. Don't ruin that engine with ether.