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plugging in the diesel

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Rich Iowa

10-05-2005 19:45:27

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They"re predicting lows the next couple nights around 32 degrees. Since my Dakota is out of commision, I"m going to be driving my F250 w/ the Powerstroke to work for a while. I was wondering how cold it get before you all plugged your trucks in. It only takes me about 10-15 min. to get to work, hate to let it warm up for 15 min. to drive that short of a distance. I was thinking of plugging it in over night and letting it warm up another 5-6 min. before taking off. Is 32 degrees to warm to plug in? The truck has the block plug-in, The glow plugs work good and I will be adding fuel additives with the next fill up. First diesel pickup for me, help me out guys/gals. Rich

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Rich Iowa

10-06-2005 17:40:48

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

Thanks for all the advice, I knew I could count on ya"ll. For those who said get a Cummins, that"s what I wanted, but I don"t care for the tranny problems Dodge has had. This truck was available, ran good, rebuilt trans., and I didn"t hear much bad things about the 7.3L Powerstroke.

I can and do park the truck with front out of the wind when ever possible, and I will be adding one of those fancy cardboard covers over the grill when it gets real cold. I also plan on changing the fuel filter/water seperator soon. This way I know when it was changed and how to change it if it does end up freezing up on me.

Again thanks for the help. I decided I would plug it in when it gets close to freezing, just to be safe. Hopefully I can get my gasser fixed soon and I won"t have to worry as much

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Redmud

10-06-2005 07:15:04

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

I reckon I do it different from most, but I plug mine in if the temp is gonna get near the freezing mark. It makes em start like it's the middle of july, and sure saves the starter. and if you have a weak battery, it will show up when you need the truck the most.

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bj/8n/mt

10-06-2005 06:23:05

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

Here's another two cents worth. If you plug it in and it starts you will never know if you needed the help. If you don't plug it in and it doesn't start not only are you late to work but you will have to spend time thawing things out.

Here in the Montana banana belt I use a ten degree forecast as a line where I plug in the pickup and give the horses more than hay.

Your mileage may vary

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Tim...Ok

10-06-2005 04:39:54

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

Rich,
My last 3 trucks have been diesels,one thing I"ve figured out is no 2 trucks are the same..My first was a Ford with the PS,it needed plugged in below 30 or so,even with new glow plugs..Next 2 were Cummins dodges,1st one didn"t really care,it would start at zero without being plugged..the one I have now is a cummins also,but it doesn"t want to start below 30 without plugging it in.. no glow plugs on the cummins,so who knows,it runs great though.. I know up north they get a better blend of winter fuel than we do,but my first Cummins froze up one morning when it was about -2..took me 2 days to get that darned thing thawed out..so when it starts getting below 20 regularly,in goes the fuel additive..

Tim

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Allan in NE

10-06-2005 05:10:18

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Tim...Ok, 10-06-2005 04:39:54

Hi Ya Tim,

Yep, you speaketh the straight skinny.

Twice in my life I've almost frozen to death; first time when getting caught in a blizzard while out on a saddle horse.

Second was in a damned diesel pickup with #2 fuel at about this time of year; again caught in a blizzard up in the of northern part of Wyoming.

Pretty sure this is where my brain damage originated too. :>)

Allan

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Tim...Ok

10-06-2005 06:25:18

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Allan in NE, 10-06-2005 05:10:18

Howdy Allan,ya nailed that one for sure..that was the only truck I had at the time,so had no way to haul it home..other than callin a tow truck..over an hour in zero weather waitin on a ride will sure enough chill ya to the bone..

Tim

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thejdman01

10-06-2005 04:25:23

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

one thing people forgot to mentioned if you dont have some sort of way to get the front end out of the wind it is pointless to plug it in. diesels warm fron the inside out but if theres a wind or cold air constantly blowing past the block it is going to take all the heat with it. if theres a good 20-30 mph wind blowing on your motor your block heater dont stand a chance. i know that doesnt answer your ? but you said you were new to diesels and thought i would add .16 cents worth of information

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JDknut

10-06-2005 04:23:24

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

My condolences for having to drive the powerjoke (:-))(can't you tell I'm a Cummins dude). At 32 degrees F, the built in glow plugs or intake heater (Cummins) will heat the engine enough to start it without plugging it in. My 12 valve Cummins starts reliably without plugging in to at least 10 below zero F, but I plug it in when it is colder than plus 10 or so as it is easier on the starter, and it is better for the engine as it builds up lube oil pressure faster. A 2-hr plug-in is enough unless it gets to minus 30 or so, then I would plug it in for at least 4-6 hrs or overnite. I also use synthetic Rotella T, this has less friction so the starter will spin it faster when cold. You might want to consider that, too if you have a lot of cold weather operations planned.

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kraigWY

10-05-2005 21:53:45

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

It gets pretty cold in Wyoming every now and then, I keep good glow plugs in my 99 PSD and never plug it in. However you truck heater has a thermostat and kicks off and on depending on the temp so it wont ever hurt to plug it in.

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Leland

10-05-2005 21:10:55

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

They claim it won't hurt to plug them in even at 70* bacause the engine will perform better get better milage and have less wear upon start up . I would not be ashamed to plug it in it's nice to have heat right off the bat ,and at near or above 3.00 for fuel it's cheaper to plug it in than let it idle to burn frost off .

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mr. know it all

10-05-2005 20:57:02

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

all im gonna say is " if you had a DODGE with a cummins turbo diesel you wouldnt have to worry about this type of little problems "!!!!! !

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10-05-2005 20:47:52

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

Hey Rich,
I don't consider myself an expert... but I've been driving my diesel truck for around 6 years or so, and have yet to encounter any problems. I don't worry about fuel additives unless it's going to be well below zero for an extended period. Having said that, I didn't use any fuel additives the last two winters but, I buy my fuel from the local truck stop... they monitor their blends pretty carefully. As far as the block heater, I've only used mine a few times since I've had the truck. Last winter we were around minus 35 or so for a couple nights... used it then & did notice a difference in the time to reach operating temperature. One of the posts mentioned that with the price of fuel, it might be better to use the block heater & idle less to warm up... he may have a good point there! Bottom line is, don't worry too much about driving your diesel in the cold... I drive mine year around (and we can get plenty cold here) and I've had ZERO problems. HTH
Regards, DL

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MN Scott

10-05-2005 20:29:14

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

I've never plugged my 03 Chevy Duramax in. I run 5W40 synthetic oil in it and no additives just blended fuel. Coldest I've started it was -18 so far. I just start it up and if its below 30 I let it idle 2 or 3 minutes then take off. Letting a modern diesel idle cold is very hard on it, low oil flow to the top part of the motor. These newer truck engines are alot differant than the older tractor diesel's, the oiling system is much improved and they have heated fuel filters and the glow plugs cycle automatically until the engine warms up. I guess I would recommend getting your dakota fixxed as sone as possible as a 10 minute drive twice a day in cold weather is much harder an a diesel than a gas.

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John S-B

10-05-2005 20:03:16

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

I start plugging mine in when it gets below 50 or so. I'm on a volunteer fire dept. where I live so sometimes I gotta go, can't take time to warm it up. The block heater is not going to keep it at operating temp, but it will sure cut down on warm up time and with fuel prices every bit you save will be worth it. I think it only costs pennies to plug it in and saves on fuel and engine wear.

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paul

10-05-2005 20:12:56

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to John S-B, 10-05-2005 20:03:16

Been running diesel tractors for a few decades now, never plugged one in before about 25, couple don't get plugged in until 10 degrees F.

What's the deal with a diesel pickup that you have to plug it in or run it a while when it is 50 outside?

Just curious.

--->Paul

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John S-B

10-06-2005 13:01:07

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to paul, 10-05-2005 20:12:56

Like I said I'm on the local Volunteer Fire Dept., so when we get a call I gotta go..NOW! That's pretty hard on the engine to go from cold to 60+ in 20 seconds so I need the engine kept as warm as possible once it gets cooler outside. It's 2 miles to the staion so it never gets to operating temp on the way there, even it summer.

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caseyc

10-05-2005 19:50:42

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Re: plugging in the diesel in reply to Rich Iowa, 10-05-2005 19:45:27

just start it up, give it a few minutes and go. don't worry bout pluggin in and warming for 10-15 minutes until your talkin 20 degrees and below. just my experiance and 2 cents.

casey in SD

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