[Vwdiesel] block heater in freeze plug

[Lee Hillsgrove]

>Off topic here: any one here have a recommendation for a plug in heater
>for my old 2 cylinder John Deere?  I'm thinking of picking up a dipstick
>heater to warm it up for starting in Winter unless someone can recommend
>a better system - John Deere 70 diesel with pony start if anyone's
>interested... pmail so as not to disturb other listers here...




 I'll reply to the list as the answer has merit here....

 I would not go with a dipstick heater in any type of engine. They have way
too much watt density, IMHO. The oil tends to burn to the heater, which not
only does bad things for the oil but reduces the efficiency of the heater.
Maybe with synthetic oil it would not be so bad, but I doubt you're using
that in an old pony-start rig. I'd look at a coolant heater or a magnetic
oil pan heater instead. The magnetic one would be ideal for a tractor, I
should think.
 I have a freeze plug heater in my '78 Ford 550 backhoe, which seems to work
pretty well as long as you're not in a hurry. If it's cold enough that you
have to use it, the hydraulics are going to complain mightily, anyway!  :-))
 Hey, with a pony motor you can just keep on cranking and build up some heat
eventually, right?  :-))  You could always fabricate some kind of a muff to
go around the pony motor's exhaust to warm the diesel's intake air. That
should work OK. I've been known to steal the wife's hairdryer to aid
starting on a cold morning. Don't tell her, OK?

  Lee
  Oo-v-oO
  PP-ASEL
  KB1GNI