Well, the mecury dipped to -35C (-31F) last night, and it peaked at a balmy -22 today, and that was enough to lull my baby into a frozen coma. Not cool. My roomate (former now) chose to unplug my block heater and forgot to plug it back in. I drained the battery in the 3 attempts to start her after that. I've since gone through the process of leaving her plugged in for about 2 days and trying to get a boost from various vehicles. Despite the boost, she won't even turn over now.

Could the oil in the case be so thick that it's just imposible to crank over? If so, why hasn't my block heater improved this condition. Or is -35 just to much for these machines to bear. I've got regular 5 - 30 in the case right now. And yes, of course, I now understand the importance of synthetic.

Do these block heaters heat the oil or the coolant?

A good friend and ancient MB mechanic / master greyhound mechanic claims that you just have to store diesel MB's in a heated garage here in Edmonton. I'd hate to think that's the reality. Any suggestions on doing it otherwise?

Thanks from the FROZEN north,

Joey Hundert
BioBenz
1984 300D on BioD

PS - the biodiesel is quite popsicle like at this temp. I'm not even considering running it.

You need to completely charge the battery, just a boost won't do it. That starter is going to draw upwards of 1000 A, no way you're gonna get that through a set of jumper cables!

Run the block heater overnight, and if you have a drop light, put that under the oil pan.

Check to make sure the fuel hasn't gelled, too...

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

What is a drop light? And where should I check for gelled fuel? Tank or injectors?

-Joey

Welcome to the balmy Canadian winter,
Your block heater heats the engine coolant, not the engine oil. Your 5W30 engine oil is still liquid (not solid) at -35C.
Get your battery re-charged to full power. A little battery charger from Canadian Tire is only about $30.00 and could be handy.

What are the specs of your Bio-diesel (pour point, cloud point, flash point???).

Forget the drop light at -35C. it won't help you.

my meth/esters were clear down to about -10. Clouding and gelling started at about -15. They've been solid since -18.

I've successfully ignited the fuel in a multi-fuel camping stove. So, it probably has a flashpoint near to that of kerosene.

-joey

The block heater, if it's working correctly will typically warm the the engine by something like 15C above ambient temperatures. So if its, -35C outside, and with the block heater plugged-in for at least 4Hrs, your engine will be at -20C. (ie: 35C - 15C)

The question is, does your car start at -20C without a block heater? probably not. So charge your battery, and try to start it when the ambient temperature warms-up a bit.


Phil

__________________
'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

BioDiesel:
Don't look any further. At -35C, your fuel looks like a pop-cycle and it won't flow though an 1/8in pipe.
No amount of battery charging/boosting will help.

If you have biodiesel in the tank instead of winterized diesel, the only way you are going to get it to start is to get it up to temps above the pour point of the fuel.

A drop light is a metal reflector lamp on the end of a cord, and it WILL help, even at 35 below, if you can contain the heat (fiberglass insulation will help).

An alternative is to build a charcoal briquet (not wood!) fire on a piece of sheet metal and slide it under the oil pan. With a little luck (an no breeze) this will get the engine warm enough to fire. Leave the hood open, and have a fire extinguisher handy....

A torpedo heater aimed at the radiator works well too. a o tl I've had to start reluctant diesels in cold weather?

To prevent this problem in the future, keep the car plugged in (check, don't depent on others for this!) and make SURE you have the proper oil (synthetic) and fuel (winterized diesel) in the car.

You may not get it going until it warms up. Maybe in March....

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

No amount of drop light, charcoal BBQ or heater will get this car started....not before the fuel can flow through the fuel filter and fuel line.

Many years ago in the far north (Thule, Greenland) if one of our jeeps got
cold soaked we were told to take it inside before even trying to start
is as the oil would be too cold to pump around. Turned a 5 gallon bucket
of oil on its side with the top off and the oil just sagged a bit. Jerry

We just used the block heater on our E300D and had no starting problems at all, even at -40C. It is VERY important that you keep that block heater plugged in, as you have found out.

Got a roadside service? Try getting it towed to a heated garage, thaw it out, get it running, and then keep a bat handy to beat your rommie in the head if that block heater cord is touched again.

You'd better get it sorted out this week. The weather is supposed to break a bit on Wednesday, but by Saturday the REAL cold weather is supposed to be blowing in. "Highs" in the -30's.

When I lived in the NWT, we could see -55 to -60C. Block heaters were mandatory for everything (lots of diesels spent the winter running), but just the beginning. Most of us also used a coolant circulating heater, battery blanket and even an oil pan element. My Civic would fire at -60C, run decently on it's square tires (not kidding) but made little heat in the cabin.

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

There's no BioDiesel in the car right now, thankfully. It's all winterized diesel.

Think I'm going to invest in an adhesive crankcase heater too.

-Joey

If you have a properly functioning block heater, that has been plugged in for at least 4-6 Hrs, you will NOT need a crankcase heater.

The block heater heats the coolant, which in-turn heats the block. The heated block than heats the oil, and the rest of the internal engine components.

Its much more important to use the right winter oil than a cranckase heater. I use Mobil 1 SuperSyn 0W40. This specific oil, and grade, is recommended and approved by Mercedes for our Diesel cars.

See: http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html

Phil

__________________
'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

Ok, let's talk about the battery. At sub-zero temps, the battery will not put out full power, you know that. What most people don't realize is that a battery will not charge very well at low temps either. Bring the battery inside and warm it to room temp. Then charge it fully. A plug in battery blanket is a great idea in really cold areas. I like the idea of pan, block and battery heaters.