Winter (cold Weather) Starts

Forgive my ignorance, but do truckers have the same trouble starting diesel engines in this winter's super-cold weather as we civilians do? Can you just use a lightbulb (assuming you're close to a power outlet)? Does anyone have experience with the Maxwell Engine Starting Module?

What other advice do you have for starting and keeping your diesel engines running when the temp is below zero?

Thanks in advance,

Anita.

If the temp is below zero you will be hard pressed to find a trucker turning his truck off. For most companies anyways it's policy when temps tires are that cold that idle the truck.

At Werner if the temp goes below 20 degrees we keep the truck idling. They rather have a few gallons of few burned than to have to pay to get the trucked towed somewhere to get it unfrozen.

Here is where the glade commercial comes in.... Plug it in! Plug it in!.... LOL Idle if you have to, apu is also another solution to keep the engine warm and of course the best of both worlds is to plug it in. No a light bulb will not work at all. The reason being is that when you have those kinds of temps, you normally have wind also.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I've honestly never left my truck running overnight and this is my second winter. I just make sure to gel the fuel if it gets too cold. But it always starts right up no matter how cold it is.

I have an auto start feature on mine. I set it and go to bed. When the voltage drops below so much or the coolant temp falls to a preset temp it starts the truck, then shuts off at another preset temp or voltage. The voltage part is for the EPC. First cousin to the APU system.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I've honestly never left my truck running overnight and this is my second winter. I just make sure to gel the fuel if it gets too cold. But it always starts right up no matter how cold it is.

I was in -53 degree weather for 3 days. No way to sleep in that type of weather. While the truck would keep the wind off you it would still get the same temp in as it is outside.

I have an auto start feature on mine. I set it and go to bed. When the voltage drops below so much or the coolant temp falls to a preset temp it starts the truck, then shuts off at another preset temp or voltage. The voltage part is for the EPC. First cousin to the APU system.

That sounds like a nice thing to have if your company does not allow you to idle. You would get bursts of hot or cold air, and use a fan to blow the air around the truck in between the times the engine was off.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I have an auto start feature on mine. I set it and go to bed. When the voltage drops below so much or the coolant temp falls to a preset temp it starts the truck, then shuts off at another preset temp or voltage. The voltage part is for the EPC. First cousin to the APU system.

That sounds like a nice thing to have if your company does not allow you to idle. You would get bursts of hot or cold air, and use a fan to blow the air around the truck in between the times the engine was off.

This is also known as Optimized Idle.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I just checked my fuel performance to see what this thing burns idling with this system. For the month of February it burned 3 gallons. And no I wasn't on vacation most of it. I worked 22 of 28 days and used it everyday. I didn't realize till I started poking around in the computer it kept that stat. I was hoping, since they keep every other stat known to mankind.