How cold will it start

I don't like to use ether, but I have. It has its uses in an emergency situation. Don't get crazy with it and it wont hurt the engine, EGR or not. The either is long gone before that EGR valve does anything. A DPF may be a different story, I haven't had that issue yet. I had a 2012 Cummins gel up last week, but it was at our shop. We were able to pressure feed treated fuel through the compucheck fitting on the filter housing to get it in the shop and thaw out.

 

Exactly,some people don't get it that it has it's place in certain situations. We move a lot of hay in the winter & sometimes have to leave a tractor in the field overnight nowhere near a electrical hookup so the next morning even though the batteries & starter are good a little ether helps get it going a little quicker. You just need to use a little common sense when using it.

 

hes talking about running the batts down till the truck wont start or turn over, so you have to charge or jump it off. most of em do charge back up if the truck has an alternator.

 

swan , I guess these jokers use am entire can at a time, I guess. ether is a lot like a laxative, only use it when ya need to, laxatives are great for getting your system going, but you don't take the whole box or use em every day.

 

if one of em goes bad , you are toast

 

I'm sure it does. It was -28 yesterday. I'm sure yours wouldn't start. We had one truck out of 28 going that morning. 3 more only got running by noon.

 

It was almost 0 here with the windchill, My Hotstart unit went bad this week and the engine was @-19 using a temp gun. I HAD to use ether to start it, it got so cold that Ice pushed its way out of my radiator hose clamps. (i changed to straight antifreeze tonight) I spun the engine to get the oil pressure up without spray and it wouldn't even fire, i shot ether into the filter and it fired right up. engine has 340k miles C15 its not worn out at all. I have a JD350B and a JD410 backhoe both diesel, that WILL NOT start without ether, Also had a ford 7000 Diesel that would sputter without aid. I generally use a cheap starting fluid for my Diesel equipment including my trucks, Ive found that the stronger fluid may lock up the engine( too strong), the cheap auto parts ether will give it just enough kick to get it to start on its own. Make sure the starting fluid is for Diesel engines, they do make some for gasoline engines only.

 

It was almost -50 with windchill.

 

This thread brings back my trash hauling memories from PA in the 80s. We ran all early 70's Macks. Start about 4am, first guy in the yard would go down the line and start everyone's truck. Ether was a must.
That yard would be so full of smoke you couldn't see out the gate! The smell of raw fuel and ether on a brisk pre-dawn morning got in my blood. Dunkin Donuts coffee and lets truck it up!

 

First off, wind chill is for living things, it has nothing to do with a truck sitting there except Cat of course, they are exempt, sorry I could not resist, wind chill effects machinery once it is warmer than the outside air, if exposed. that is why a belly tarp is such a good thing.
I worked at a truck dealership, 1000 CCA batteries have a very high failure rate, because they are so full in the case, and when they sluff off material they have a much larger chance of shorting out the cell. After they showed me the documentation, I always recommended the 760 CCA batteries.
A brand new battery has about 15 dead cycles in it's life, if you kill a battery below 9 volts you shorten the life and effectiveness a lot. also the alternator is made to charge the batteries, after starting, it is not made to charge a dead battery set. It will do it but usually, after say 3 months, the alternator will fail. Hooking up a battery set to a large unregulated charger will also shorten the life of the alternator. Voltage above 15 volts will damage the dieods in the alternator.
I have a 2007 Duramax, with original batteries, every year, I disconnect them and independently charge them. it really does extend their life. I keep them clean, and have battery warming blankets if I need to plug them in.Batteries will last a long time if taken care of. I have seen hundreds of trucks come in with everything polished to the nines, and when you take off the battery cover, the batterys are covered in dirt, and the connections corroded. If you have a volt meter, remove the battery cover and put the negative connection on the ground post and the positive on the battery case top and read the voltage.
When I need a starting aid, I will take a rag and put on some Gas on it then put it over the intake, that works, and will not hurt the engine, I know people that use WD40.
Using the crank for 10 seconds, then wait for 1 minute and start it does work and will not hurt you batteries.
Just a thought!