Hi
Mike:
'Tis true...I know what you mean about conventional....I'm as nutty as a fruit cake, as you say "Up Norf ".....
Well...I tried starting the Bongo...It was minus 13 last night, 100% humidity, and effective feel of minus 17...A friend and ourselves took a taxi to the local town, got some groceries, and popped into the chemist for some antibiotics ( you can just buy them over the counter
...whacky place here!), and by the time we got home, the sun in the barnyard had the temperature to minus 5, and the block read minus 9....waited an hour, minus 8, and started the Bongo ....WHOOPEE
...Now...the bongo drove, but wouldn't run more than 1100 revs....the diesel hadn't fully dissolved the wax, as the temperature was not at minus 8 or above for long enough, so residual large particles were clogging the works. Got the engine to around 70 C, and drove round the village until the fuel thawed in the filter, and the fuel tank shook about a bit, probably mixing the cold waxy fuel on the bottom of the tank??? . Now, a thing occurs to me here... As the undertray scoops air , through the front, directing it over the top of a warm engine, and then air exits the rear of the undertray in a warm flow, It must pass the fuel tank and warm the diesel therein!....NEAT
...so that's how the Japanese manage in the cold part of Japan...however, I fail to see the need for a second battery...all you need is to keep a good trickle going when not in use!....and when you go to start in frigid weather, warm the electrolyte in the starter battery by leaving the headlights on for a few minutes before starting...that and keep a good fuel additive handy.
As far as I see it with fuel additives, they reduce particle size in winter diesel, without changing the cloud point, and add cetane to the mix, so I can't see any real harm....BUT....I expect it's a good idea in the spring to run some high-grade fuel through , and after a while use an injector cleaner like Redex, as when I wrote to their Technical department a few years ago, they said that their product contained no abrasives. It isn't a good plan to use an abrasive cleaner often, as it alters the spray pattern of the injectors, thus reducing efficiency....
Tra la Tra la...enough rambling for now
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
