Almost every car owner with a diesel engine knows that starting a diesel engine in the winter is very difficult. This article describes the main causes of poor engine starting and ways to get rid of this problem: by installing a diesel fuel filter with heating on the engine or using alternative methods of heating.
Reasons for a difficult start
The main problem is the change in the structure of diesel fuel. When lowering the temperature of the outside air during the seasons of cold weather in the oil, the process of crystallization of paraffin occurs, which contributes to the thickening of the fuel.
As a result of these physicochemical processes, the fluidity of solariums decreases, and paraffin particles clog the fuel filter. Its throughput is significantly reduced. As a result, the engine starts poorly or does not start at all.
You can reduce the thickening factor of the fuel by the alternative method, adding a little kerosene or gasoline to it, as well as by using various additives to facilitate starting. But this method can not always help and has a number of significant contraindications and limitations. The use of inexpensive and low-quality additives can cause damage to the fuel equipment, filter and engine failure. Owners of diesel units are well aware that repairing the fuel system can cost a tidy sum. And it doesn’t matter if it is a domestic car or a foreign car.
An effective way to make starting easier
The most effective way to facilitate the start of the engine is to heat the fuel filter, in the case of which the accumulation of paraffin deposits occurs. Crystallized paraffin clogs the microscopic holes of the filter element, which prevents the normal flow of fuel through it. The supply of solar oil partially or completely stops, which leads to various problems. Moreover, as already mentioned, the engine starts poorly, there is a significant decrease in power, interruptions in the normal operating mode.
DIY fuel filter heater
Earlier, our compatriots struggled with the problem of fuel freezing in a rather primitive form. The heating of the fuel system and its elements was carried out using a blowtorch or a makeshift torch, hot water and domestic electric heaters. These events were carried out with a high risk of engine ignition and the occurrence of many other negative consequences.
At present, artisanal heating methods have faded into the background, as it has become possible to install special automobile electric heaters that heat the fuel filter and diesel fuel without any consequences.
Preheater
They are a very effective method of eliminating the moment of crystallization in almost any severe weather conditions. Typically, these devices are installed on the nodes of the fuel system, which are more prone to "freezing".
These include filtering elements of coarse and fine cleaning. The heater, which is located on
the coarse filter, is responsible for heating the fuel, which is necessary to start the diesel unit. At the time of use of the car, the mechanism is heated with the help of the return current of the coolant.
The electric heater is turned on by the driver from the passenger compartment, and is powered by a rechargeable battery. The heater power depends on the amount of diesel fuel consumed, and can be 15-150 W, with an on-board car network of 12 V, and 25-250 W with a network of 24 V. This type of heating helps to heat the filter to the required operating temperature, resulting in crystals of paraffin compounds are melted in a very short period of time, up to about five minutes. When using a combined heater, the heating process continues until the engine coolant reaches a temperature of forty degrees, after which the electric heater is turned off.
Benefits of using the device
Using a heated filter on a car can significantly increase the engine's operating life.
Also, there is no need to purchase various starting additives, the battery saves its life. Starting the engine in the cold period contributes to excessive wear of its parts, and in the case of easy starting and quick warm-up, the wear factor is significantly reduced. Also, frequent repairs of the fuel system and its connecting elements are excluded.
Types of Heaters
They differ in form, method of manufacture and installation, as well as in production indicators.
Given the functional features of the heaters, they are divided into several types, which in different ways carry out the heating of the diesel fuel filter:
- Rod heaters.
- Tape.
- Bandage type.
- Flow type.
- Heater nozzles.
- Fuel intake.
Purpose of the bandage heater
The most vulnerable part of the fuel system can be called a filter for fine cleaning. To warm up diesel fuel in such a mechanism, a bandage heater is made in the form of a holder. The heater is placed on the outer surface of the element. The fuel filter is heated due to the heater’s consumption of electricity from the battery. As a rule, it turns on five minutes before a possible engine start.
Tape
They are used mainly for heating the fuel lines both before starting the engine and during its operation.
They can also be used to warm up filters and system mechanisms. Due to the special design (made in the form of a ribbon wire), they can wrap any parts. Heating the diesel fuel filter with such a device ensures the normal and reliable operation of the filter element with high throughput.
Nozzles
Heater nozzles are installed on standard fuel intake sections and help to ensure the supply of solar oil from the fuel tank at very low temperature values. The heated fuel in the tank has a more liquid structure, there are no paraffin crystals in it, so it is easier to pick up the intake. This heater is powered directly from the vehicle electrical system.
Flow type
It can act as additional equipment for the motor power system.
As a rule, such heaters are installed immediately before fine fuel filtration. For this, a cut is made in the fuel line and a device is mounted in it. At the same time, the fuel filter is heated by the receipt of already warmed diesel fuel. In this way, heating can be ensured throughout the entire period of use of the vehicle.
How the heating of the fuel filter works is indicated in detail in the instructions for the use of a heating device.
To ensure normal operation and diesel start in winter, it is important to determine how the heating process will be done. To carry out the heating of the fuel filter with your own hands or with the help of special equipment is a purely personal matter of each owner of the vehicle.
But it is important to take into account the danger of manual warming up, as well as the inability to perform this operation outside the home. It will be much cheaper to purchase a heating device, which will later save time on warm-ups and relieve various difficulties during engine start-up.