L3901: problem with cold start

[SidecarFlip]

Re: Update: 3901: problem with cold start

Hi Everyone and thanks the responses.

So, here's what I've found:-
The diesel that is in the tank is from last summer. There's about a fifth or less of a tank left.
The fuel filter is gelled. I used a saucepan of hot water, immersed the filter and that de-gelled the filter.
I cycled the ignition key twice.. 2nd time the engine fired and died. Tried several times again - the engine would not fire.
The battery is flat now.

In summer time I added 'ocean spray' diesel supplement to 15 gallons of diesel fuel in canisters. I tried to pour these into the tank and it was flowing very slowly. So, I added some PS 911 to the canisters and will leave that inside the warm house for a bit.
A guy is coming around with a plow, once the access to the barn is cleared, I'll immerse the fuel filter in hot water for a min or 2, I'll jump start the engine and hopefully it will run on low revs. Then, I'll add the treated diesel to the tank.

Can't tell you how pissed I am with myself in not seeing the cold weather as an issue with diesels. I had an air-cooled JD gas mower with a front mounted snow blower - sure I treated the gasoline; now with a 26k Bota, you'd think I would know better! Talk about live and learn.

Whatever you do, don't allow the battery to set discharged in ambient (below freezing temps) because a discharged battery will turn into a frozen block and that renders a flooded cell battery basically junk. Not always but usually.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Keep in mind that just adding PS or PS911 to the tank won't do much unless it's mixed into the standing fuel and Kubby's don't return much fuel from the pump to the fuel tank so the standing fuel needs to be 'agitated' by driving the unit over some rough ground to mix it in) or being patient for it to assimilate into the fuel.

Always better to add the PS and then fuel rather than the other way around.

Just adding it and expecting immediate results will disapoint you. Don't work that way.

 

[jyoutz]

Just FYI...anti-gel additives are supposed to be added when the fuel temp is above freezing. Many people dump a lot of additive into a fuel tank that has a temp of zero degrees and wonder why "it's not working."

I do not use a battery tender. It was -10F here this morning. I don't see the use for them. If your battery is healthy, it will start. If it's not, a tender just disguises that fact and eventually you get in a jam.

Someone commented that "these 550CCA batteries suck." They really do not. An L3301 / 3901 tractor has a 3-cylinder engine with less than 2 liters of displacement. How big does the battery need to be? And running the glow plugs multiple cycles may make it easier for fuel to combust, but the glow plugs are by far the largest draw on the battery. The more you cycle them, the less amps you have to crank the engine over. The Tier IV tractors have automatic glow plug timers. You really shouldn't need to cycle them. If your tractor cranks over very slowly in cold weather, I would only run the glow cycle once unless it won't start the tractor. Otherwise, I'd check your oil viscosity. Many Kubota dealers seem to push very hard for 15w40 weight oil year round. Mine did. But Kubota recommends 10w30 or 15w40 oil. 15w40 only offers starting wear protection down to about 20F. When it's zero out or colder, you are greatly increasing wear at each startup until the engine warms some. But the real point is that the very thick 15w40 oil is hard for the engine to crank over in. This slows down your cranking and might make you think the battery is weak.

A block heater is nice, but not necessary.

I run 5W-40 Rotella synthetic in my Dodge truck with 5.9L Cummins motor, and it always starts/runs better in cold weather than the standard 15W-40. Has anyone ever run this in their Kubotas?