----- Original Message ----- From: "Norm of Bandersnatch" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 9:55 AM Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] tires
> Arild, > > Thanks for the great description. What did they use for the propane > source, an unlit propane torch? REPLY Yes. Usually there is enough gap alongside the bead to squirt in in there. CAUTION! this is not for the faint of heart. <VBG> Its a bit like the old tankermen from WW2 showing civilians how you can extinguish a lit match in a FULL jerry can of gasoline. ( show offs! ) norm asks > What do you know about using the technique of starting a Diesel engine by > squirting propane into the intake? > Norm REPLY Well its better than using ether. But needed care to prevent damage. When I worked for a power utility, all of our trucks were diesel and our mechanic removed all the cold start propane bottles + valves from the trucks. I scrounged one for my own use. <VBG> Trick is to start cranking first, then only inject propane or butane into flowing air stream. Do Not inject propane first and then crank. You get a slug of gas, instead of a fine mix. Air/fuel mix is not optimum. Its another one of those things that requires judgement as to how much is too much. The occasional light use is okay, but if you hear strong knocking sounds it's a sign you used a bit too much. DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!! :-(( The mechanic was afraid some of the guys would be over enthusiastic in its use, and blow the engine. If I have acces to 120V power, I prefer to use a hot air gun and blow directly into the air intake. I used that technique when starting in -20F below weather, if I forget to plug in the block heater. One of my clients has found an old, old chinese diesel one lunger (circa 1937). It is hand cranked and (you ain't gonna believe this) has a pot for a burning newspaper fuse for cold starting. You twist up a piece of newspaper and jam it into the hole like a slow match or fuse on an old muzzle loading cannon. Then hand crank the engine to start. Oh yeah. It also has a decompression lever. But its totally non electric. If it's that stubborn I prefer to use a blow torch to really heat up the cast iron intake manifold. Of course it's all academic for boats which hardly ever see below freezing temps. When I lived aboard during winter in Toronto, Ontario Great Lakes; we never tried to start the engines when the water was solid. No place to go. <VBG> Arild _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
