I have heard of pre heating systems that can be installed on the Yanmar 3GM series to help with cold starts, as this model does not have glow plugs. Does anyone have any knowledge, experience or recommendations in this regard? Is there a system I can install myself?
Yanmar 3GM30F pre heating system
- Thread starter skunther
- Start date
I must ask the question - where are you based, the Arctic?
Seriously, though, my 3GMF starts in coastal British Columbia right away, even at -5C (23F).
Two turns, it's running, smoothly within 5 seconds. And with straight 30w Shell.
Engine is 25 years since rebuild.
I've never understood how it does this without glow plugs, but there you go!
Seriously, though, my 3GMF starts in coastal British Columbia right away, even at -5C (23F).
Two turns, it's running, smoothly within 5 seconds. And with straight 30w Shell.
Engine is 25 years since rebuild.
I've never understood how it does this without glow plugs, but there you go!
I've seen some on other boats that between the air intake and the airfilter. It's like a little toaster that heats the air. I don't have experience with that.
On another note the yanmar likes a fast crank. Make sure your battery is charged, don't over crank because you can get raw water into the engine. Don't ask how I know. If your at dock you could try a hair dryer in the air filter.
What kind of trouble are you having with cold weather starts? I was given 2 pieces of advice about cold starting my engine, both of which I don't follow:
1. Don't read the manual.
2. Light tea candles under the oil pan.
When the weather requires it I follow the cold start procedure in the manual. It works every time on my no-glow-plug 2GM20.
A very small air leak between the tank and the inlet of the lift pump can do that.. every connection and the hose and the packing of the tank shut off valve is a suspect. The check valves in the lift pump make iit unlikely that the connections past the lift pump would be suspects but look carefully at them too.
My Perkins 4-108 initially took a bit of cranking to start. When it fired, it had white exhaust smoke until warm. My fuel tank was dirty, with a lot of algae and tar. I cleaned it out.
I had the injectors rebuilt and the smoke on startup ended. Still took some cranking to fire.
I adjusted the valve lash and the starting became instantaneous. The point is make sure your diesel is properly tuned and your fuel clean before adding gimmicks.
I had the injectors rebuilt and the smoke on startup ended. Still took some cranking to fire.
I adjusted the valve lash and the starting became instantaneous. The point is make sure your diesel is properly tuned and your fuel clean before adding gimmicks.
@Morgan donor, cleaning the tank here is an expensive proposition from what I gather. It seemed a high price to wager on a gamble. Is there an easy way to clean it myself?
I do have a vacuum gauge on the Racor, and it stays pretty consistent. I imagine if there were an air leak in the system, the gauge pressure reading would change with sitting. Ditto for any algae or tar in the fuel gumming the fuel supply line up, no?
A hair dryer worked great at the dock and I’m still looking for a heating option for while we’re at anchor. @badsanta, do you know any specifics on the pre heating systems you saw?
I do have a vacuum gauge on the Racor, and it stays pretty consistent. I imagine if there were an air leak in the system, the gauge pressure reading would change with sitting. Ditto for any algae or tar in the fuel gumming the fuel supply line up, no?
A hair dryer worked great at the dock and I’m still looking for a heating option for while we’re at anchor. @badsanta, do you know any specifics on the pre heating systems you saw?
Contaminated fuel usually presents as trouble at high engine power or in a rough seaway rather than starting trouble. My guess is Morgan Donor’s starting problems were just coincident with the bad fuel and not caused by it. If you do have contaminated fuel it is worth addressing, or you could lose power just when you want it.
Do you have and other signs of low compression, like not being able to reach full RPM’s under load, or excessive smoke at higher RPM’s? Our YM series has glow plugs but I’ve never needed to touch them for the engine to start within a few revolutions, even in temperatures not much above freezing.
We’re able to get 3300rpm under load, sometimes 3400. Not much smoke at higher rpm’s.
I have been through troubleshooting this for some time, and research combined with other feedback points to getting a pre heater.
Does anyone have direct experience with a pre heater for these engines? Any recommendations?
I have been through troubleshooting this for some time, and research combined with other feedback points to getting a pre heater.
Does anyone have direct experience with a pre heater for these engines? Any recommendations?