Hello all-
Thought I would take a minute and chime in with some advice for anyone who has a hard time getting their diesel aux to start in cold weather.
I have a Yanmar 3GM30 with around 3100hrs on the clock, and during the season, she starts right up and runs like a champ. However, when the temperature drops (as it is prone to do here in the Pacific NW), she tends to get a little stubborn when we want to go somewhere. If the outside temp is below 50-55 degrees, it can take 4 or 5 attempts - cranking 5-8 seconds each - to get the darn thing to start. Usually this is accompanied by a wonderful cloud of diesel exhaust that the Admiral just loves.
I think I found a solution.
After doing some research, I ordered an oil pan heater from Amazon (Kat's 50 watt - link below). This little gem is only 2" x 5" and fits perfectly on the side of the oil pan. The entire project took a few hours, only because I installed a 110v outlet in the "engine room" so I had a place to plug it in without messing about with an extension chord. The actual pad installation took all of 15 minutes. Prior to installing the heating pad, I warmed the engine up a bit, per directions, because the self-stick pad will adhere to a warm surface better.
Here are my (non-scientific) findings. When starting the engine without the pad, the outside temp was in the upper 40's and the cabin was around 60 degrees. It took the expected 4-5 tries to get the engine to start - with the nice smelling cloud to boot. The day after installing the heater, I stopped by the boat to make sure nothing was amiss. All was good (though I did find that I had left a hatch open from the previous day), and the little heating pad was warm to the touch - but not so much that you couldn't leave your hand on it. With the outside temp at 38 and the cabin at 50, it took less than 4 seconds for the engine to start at an idle. And even better - NO SMOKE! :dance:
I realize this is represents just one start since the installation of the pan heater, but if my initial results are any indication of future performance I'll be thrilled.
The whole mess cost me about $50 (including 25' of 14/3 A/C wire), and a few hours of messing about. And a couple of beers. They make several sizes of heating pad - I bought the smallest one available. Size yours accordingly. If your diesel doesn't like cold weather, this might be the solution for you. Here's the link to the model I installed:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I8YPQ4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If the link doesn't work, just search Kat's oil pan heater, and I'm sure you'll find them.
Cheers!