[RE-wrenches] Gen preheat in cold climates

[jay peltz]

Hi guys,

I don't live in super cold. 
I'm curious about the block heater part. With the good synthetic oils that are thin at really cold

Is the issue heating the block or battery or heating the intake for propane units?

Thanks
Jay
Peltz power




> On Apr 3, 2015, at 8:21 AM, James Jefferson Jarvis <jj at aprsworld.com> wrote:
> 
>> On 4/3/2015 9:32 AM, drake.chamberlin at redwoodalliance.org wrote:
>> We are dealing with a generator that absolutely won't start when cold, so
>> I was considering a block heater. Below 20 deg F it has proven worthless,
>> and we can see -20 F on occasion.
> 
> I had a generator like that. Below zero it wouldn't start. Replaced it's cranking battery with a bigger battery and it starts great. There are also super-capacitor based solutions to get better cranking. If you have a 24 volt system and your generator is near your battery bank, you may even be able to put a 24 volt starter on the generator and start from your battery bank.
> 
> 
>> My concern is using power from a low battery on a cold cloudy day to heat
>> a generator. How long does it take to make a difference? Has this method
>> proven 100% reliable?
> 
> What type and how big of engine are you talking about? How big is the block heater? My limited block heater experience with vehicles, tractors, etc is that an hour won't be enough. A couple hours is needed. With coolant heaters and fuel injected engines, an hour can actually cause problems. A pocket of coolant gets warm and tricks the engine management computer into thinking the coolant is warm. Then it tries to do a warm start and fails.
> 
> Getting a generator that starts reliably is the best solution I see for a moderate sized off grid installation. Otherwise you are putting a lot of energy into warming up an engine that might not start. And leaving you in a worse situation than you started.
> 
> -James Jefferson Jarvis
> APRS World, LLC
> +1-507-454-2727
> www.aprsworld.com
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