Rinning a DD two stroke in the winter?

[Oonrahnjay]

    The advice that you've been given sounds right to me.  And I'm thinking that you're pretty careful about water "anywhere it shouldn't be" anyway.  If your plumbing pipes are insulated or inside the warm area, you don't have water in fuel, and there's no water in your brake system, that will eliminate many possible problems.
    And I agree with Brian D -- run it for 10 hours and let it sit for 8 (even if cold temps) and the engine temp will be very different than if it sat outside for 4 days.  That engine temp will make a difference in diesel ignition and also oil thickness, of course.   Battery condition is critical, too and it helps a lot if they're in a place that can be kept warm.
    As good as you are about your regular maintenance, and your technical understanding of what happens in the cold, I'm sure you'll be fine.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Nobody has said anything about the snow itself.  In the Seattle area i have seen, (very rarely) snow that was "dry", that crunched when you walked or drove on it. Traction and stopping was no problem, it was almost like driving on bare pavement. You had a hard time making a snow ball as it would not pack together. Usually however, the snow there is a wet snow, so traction and stopping is a whole "nother"  ball game.....sometimes you will slide a little, sometimes you will slide a lot. You go to make a snowball and it packs quickly and a little water comes out of it. Sometimes the water will just pour out of it as you pack it.  One time on flat ground i made it a block in a vw bug before i turned around and went home....had no traction, and those things are usually good in the snow.

[eagle19952]

Ran Bridgestone 227's on the drivers and the bogie, Anchorage to Arizona.....no chains needed....but i did run the engine for 2-3 days and the gen too...in October-November.

I have seen been part of keeping Detroit's of every size and flavor burning diesel ALL winter October to April, in the oil patches/pipelines of Alaska, believe me they can take it.

[Nineforever]

They can take it all right ... as long as there running at 180 degrees and the oil pressure is up  many  winters back we had a small service contract to open a winter road across the lakes into a mine site purchased a new rebuilt 6v92t for our 650 champion grader  installed also a V plow and a escape hatch cut into the roof all done at a reputable dealer in Hay river . The boys brought it back in the middle of the night told them to idle it up to at least 1400 RPM and tarp it in  Long story short they didn't idle it up   the engine slobber it self to death by 10 am the next morning the engine was junk . My 8V92T will run for ever at -50 below at 1400 RPM but will it ever burn a hole in your pocket .

[eagle19952]

the oil patch....the oil companies pick up the tab...no one has a fatter wallet...
but i have never seen a dd die a slobbered death quite so quickly....

[Nineforever]

I was pretty shocked my self , it was bitter cold -45 or so plus windchill good thing it was under warranty i guess it was just to much for it to handle during break in 

[luvrbus]

Well I just wish Brian would straightened out the header,lol your parts will be picked up later today Brian watch them they are from the AZ heat and may not like the cold

[bevans6]

Hoo Rah!  They will like the cold just fine I think.  Leaving tomorrow for a short trip to Gaspe Quebec where my forefather landed from England in the 1770's, a long time ago.  What shipper did you use?

Brian

[luvrbus]

FEDX ground

[TomC]

I was in Wisconsin over night where it got down to -20F without wind. In the morning, it was a real chore getting the 8V-92TA to light up. I tilted the cab (days of cabovers) and squirted ether directly into the blower through a screw plug. After a couple of tries, it continued to run. My only savings was I had put Diesel Fuel treatment in so the fuel did not gel. That was the last time I ever was in cold weather and not leaving my engine run on fast idle all night. Good Luck, TomC

[eagle19952]

#1 does not gel...

[bobofthenorth]

We've left home lots of times at -30 or worse and returned to the same $#!%.  I find that battery heaters are equally important as block heaters, in fact maybe more so within reason.  Batteries lose a huge percentage of their CCA at lower temperatures - I think over half at -30 if memory serves.  Rule 1 for winter starting is "always park it with the noisy end closest to the door".  That way you can bring the big guns to bear if you need to.  I never bothered with light weight oil - I just accepted that it was going to take extra heat to get things loosened up for the first start.  If you're running late and leaving early there will still be a lot of heat left in the block when you fire up in the morning unless you are parking at -40 with a howling wind blowing.  I don't use ether - mag heaters, block heaters, battery blankets and in extreme situations a tiger torch stuck in a pipe with a 45 elbow on the end under the oil pan will always get them going. Keep the batteries on charge right up to departure time too - that helps keep them warm.

If its super cold and windy where you park you can always get up at 0-dark-30 before the block loses all its heat and fire it up for a half hour. But on that coast you don't really know from cold - you'll be fine.

[Charles in SC]

I do not want to shoot down your bus trip but if you are apprehensive about making the trip you might want to consider going on the airline and renting a car and staying in a nice motel. You can generally go to Orlando pretty cheaply and cars are easy to get there. However you go, bus or not you will probably have to stay 30 miles outside of Daytona. Florida is a zoo that time of year what with the football game in Jacksonville and bike week and speed week all about the same time. You might come out cheaper and more relaxed this way and your wife will probably like it too. Just an thought.

[billy6941]

My company uses lots of 60 series detroits and C-13 cats, in the winter and when there is no place to plug them in, they run all night, sometimes at 50 below. We no longer use 2 strokes for any coaches. All the new Prevost coaches come with Volvo engines. Don't know how they handle the cold......Bill

[eagle19952]

+1 on Bob's tiger torch/ weed burner we call them and some stove pipe and a 90 works everytime.