Bongo Fury

Hi
Mike:...
The only thing that would work without modifying or adding to the fuel would be to use an electric tank heater, plus a method of heating the fuel lines and filter!....and I have a worried feeling about that ...even though diesel fuel is not very flammable.
I have seen details on a Canadian website , of diesel use at minus 40 C. , but, somehow, I am dubious. I think the only way forward is testing additives, and maybe a sample analysis of normal pump diesel, to see precisely WHAT it contains.....It can contain bio-fuel, paraffin wax, and water , and kerosene, so there may be the problem...i.e. variable components.
Cheers
Helen

Hi,
I have seen ( in the past )a few installations where Tracer Wires were used on the fuel lines and filters,these were thermostatically controlled.

Cheers..

teenmal wrote:Hi,
I have seen ( in the past )a few installations where Tracer Wires were used on the fuel lines and filters,these were thermostatically controlled.

Cheers..

Sounds good to me, and it would be a fun project. My main concern about additives would be knowing which could be used without risking accelerated deterioration of fuel pump seals etc. Otherwise I'd just tip some petrol in the mix and see how it did.

Helen - stop being conventional, it doesn't suit you at all

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

Hi Helen, I think the trickle charge thing works fine (that is what I resorted to when we were at -15), however as many Japanese people live in flats, and parking is not necessarily close by, a trickle charge with the battery in-situ is not very likely, hence I suspect, the reason for the 2nd battery for more 'oomph'.

Hi munroman
Ah...yes, of course...but I imagined that underground garages with hookups might be available in colder climate areas...
Anyway, I'm going to get one of those CTEK jobbies at some time, as I'm convinced some of the journeys I do are too short to charge the battery.
Cheers
Helen