If you put a push button on your glow plugs like you were talking about, you can help out the sputtering/gray smoke after a cold start. Just push the button to turn on the glow plugs for a second or two then release the button. Do this a few times to mimic the way the factory set up worked. I'll do this two or three times at about 20*. Around 5*, I may do this a dozen times. It does help.
The factory system still does that anyway. It's entirely possible it has a couple weak glow plugs.
After having the block heater plugged in for a couple hours, it started perfectly. It was as if it was at full operating temperature, even after that hard freeze of Saturday night through this mornong. So it's safe to say it's working.
Even out in the middle of nowhere off grid, as long as the 4000w generator has gas, I can run the block heater to give the engine some help on freezing mornings.
But typically sitting overnight down to say 30 degrees isn't too bad to start the next morning on just glow plugs. The really rough start day was after 3 nights of sitting and this slowfall, so the engine was ice cold, even though the snow was about all melted by the time I started it.
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