25 degrees this afternoon, coldest day of the winter so far. Employee parking is across the street from the building, so no block heater. Intake heater grids are toast. 1st gens have a single battery. Truck's been sitting for 10 hours. Hit the key, the Cummins fires up immediately, no cranking. A little lumpy at first, but by the time I have oil pressure, it's runnin' smooth on all 6. No white smoke except during the rough idle. After witnessing that performance, I don't think I'll be fixing the heater grids any time soon. I'm sold on the Stanadyne.

P.S. Canadians, Minnesotans, etc., I know dang well that 25 degrees isn't that cold - I was raised in Chicago. Here in the Southeast corner of PA it doesn't get colder than 10 degrees, thank you very much.

 

Just wondering....how do you know it wouldn't have started without it? I had an L10 Cummins that would start easily at 0F without ether or being plugged in.

 

Same here wannadiesel......I use the same PF every fill...and mine will start and run like a champ on the coldest prairie days....ya...it gets cold up here.

 

I'm pretty sure it would have started, but I think it would have been pretty smoky on straight #2. One of the trucks at work is a medium duty Ford with a Cummins 5.9, no intake heaters, and if you don't plug it in it doesn't want to stay running and smokes like a mosquito fogger below 30 degrees. Figured my truck would behave the same with the intake heater on the fritz.

 

I use pf and belive in it. I think the 5.9 with the ve pump should start ok to about 0*F without the grid heaters. I know in many Ag and industrial apps they do not have grid heaters. I konw you could get an ether kit for them if needed. About the biggest reason the Dodge pickup got the heaters is so people would not use too much ether and hurt the engine.

 

My 92 started at -29*F after sitting for a couple of days in the bush . I also use stanadyne.

 

Where is the best place to get Stanadyne?

 

This is where I get it: http://www.dieselpage.com/add1.htm

 

No. The grids were added in the Dodge application to meet EPA emissions regs. Warm engines don't smoke as bad. Friend told me some towns in Alaska have free plug-ins that look much like parking meters. The idea is to keep pollution down, not give the citizens an easier start.

 

Not hardly ..... grid heaters were on B series engines long before they ever went into Dodge trucks .... I been working on and around these engines for over 20 years .... grid heaters do not warm the engine at all ... they provide "warmed", if you will, air for cold starts only ... if you want to warm the engine .... plug in the block heater ....

 

Beg to differ. I've worked on the B on Case tractors at least 30 years ago that had the option of either, grid heater or no starting aid. They were required for on road trucks with the B to meet Tier III emissions regs starting in '95. Bs without starting aid in off road applications were still available a couple years ago, not sure now.
The white smoke you get on start up without the grids is still smog.

 

If you go to the Stanadyne web page, you can locate dealers in your area. As a suggestion. If you decide to commit to using this stuff, I would suggest purchasing a 5 gallon can of it. The can cost me $116.00 saving nearly $70.00 over the same amount in One Shot bottles. I purchased 2 One Shots and re-fill them as I use em up. The bottle fits perfectly in the door pocket of my 02.

 

Yeah you should see these BIG MONSTEROUS things we park infront of. You plug into them and your rig will heat up 500* in just 3 sec's!!! ... I mean these things put out the serious power!!!!!!

Sorry, just had to laugh. There is no place to plug you rig in like a parking meter. Just plug it into your own home with a cord like everyone else.

But we do live in IGLOO'S and have pet POLAR BEARS


I get a kick outta all the things people "hear" or "say" from the lower 48. We are normal people for the most part and live quit civil and well.

 

During a family reunion in Fairbanks a few years back I recall seeing plugs for each parking place in some lots. I don't recall seeing them in Anchorage during some other visits, but I also wasn't looking for any.

 

Fairbanks is a possiblity, my hat's off to those folk's. Die of a heat stroke in the summer and freeze to death in the winter in that place.