Cold Waether Statring for a 2GM20F

[John J Frank]

I live up in the Great Lakes region and after trying to start my engine the other day, which took the better part of a couple of minutes because of the lower temperatures(~50 degrees), I was wondering if there is a refined protocol to start the engine without a glow plug. My typical routine is to give it some throttle and hit the starter. Any, suggestions or comments. Yes, I do know that diesels are typically harder to start in the cold, and no I don't sit on the starter for minutes on end. Thanks....

 

[Tom]

Full throttle

Set the throttle to full and hit the start, when it starts to come up back down the throttle. I have my boat in the water year round, and well below 50 degrees I have never had problems with this,Tom

 

[Frank Wang]

Heater

I use a cabin heater keep the temperature around 55 F. The engine starts fine.I cost a little money. However, higher temperature keeps the boat dry, warm, nice and make the start easier.Frank

 

[Tim McCarty]

Check the archives

There are plenty of threads (a lot of them from me) regarding the cold starting issue with Yanmar 2GM's. Now that it's colder outside, I usually pull the engine panel in the head (I have a 29.5) and run a little ceramic heater on the engine for about 20 minutes before trying to start. Works fairly well...

 

[Terry]

Our H28 had a 2GM. As Tom suggested...

I would always start it with the throttle wide open. As soon as it started to catch I would slowly back off on the throttle so as to not over rev the engine. This always worked.Terry

 

[John J Frank]

Thanks Guys!

Appreciate the suggestions.

 

[Kevin]

What brand Heater?

Frank, mind if I ask what brand heater and type heater you use? Any concerns with it malfunctioning and burning up the boat?

 

[Terry]

Hi Kevin, WM has a small space heater...

5K BTU I think (rectangular and flat, that worked pretty good on our H28. It might be too warm for Austin, TX, although it has a thermostat. I run three dehumidifiers (small electric moisture removers from WM) on our P42 during the winter.Terry