RWL wrote:

The discussion about the ChangFa diesel & generator project got me
interested in the project too. I live in central PA, and the power is
as likely to go down in an ice storm in winter requiring a subfreezing
start.

How hard is it to get diesels started in cold weather?
What do you do differently to get them going?
How hard are diesels to start if they sit 3 or 4 months between short
test / maintenance runs?


How often do you have to change oil in a diesel compared to a gasoline
engine? The specs on the Kohler engine on my mower say to change
every 100 hours. What's the recommended interval on the ChangFa or
other diesels?

RWL


Diesels are good about starting after sitting for long periods, far
better than a motor with a carburetor.

My little Deutz diesel starts good without help down to freezing or so,
giving it hot air from a hair dryer it'll start down to about zeroF and
if I warm the heads up it'll start below that temp. Ether, used with
some discretion, is of considerable value in getting a cold diesel
hitting on all cylinders as soon as possible. Naturally, if you're using
glow plugs you don't want the ether..

In my experience there's a lot of difference between how different
brands (and some difference between different motors in each brand)
start. With the ChangFa, I guess all you can do is see what other folks
have to say and maybe buy one and find out yourself.

Maybe consider a used engine, sometimes they can be more of a known
value. Deutz, Perkins, Cummins, Yanmar, Mercedes, Rabbit diesel, there's
a lot of good little diesels in the world..

John