Starting fluid: how bad is it really?

[Saskredneck]

My 86 2wd doesn't have working glow plugs, between other expenses and being overloaded with work I haven't gotten around to fixing it. Disconnected the glow plug power signal wire from solenoid and a small 1/2 second shot gets the old girl to fire up even when the temps are down -30 to -50 like most of our winter. A small shot wont hurt anything if your glow plugs are disconnected.

 

[jaluhn83]

The reason glow plugs & ether is bad is that the glow plugs can ignite the ether too early in the compression stroke causing a shock wave to hit the piston while it's still going up on the compression stroke (which can even make the engine turn backwards and run the wrong way) and/or causing a flame front to travel out the still open intake valve and back out the intake into your face/body. Too much can also cause hydrolocking - a surprisingly small amount of fluid can cause this. (as in less than a 1/4 teaspoon)

With the glow plugs disabled, a small amount of starting fluid should cause minimal damage. I would only use it when it was absolutely required, but when you need it use it.

 

[that stinky ford]

What is Y'alls opinion on using WD-40? Anyone tried it?

 

[The Warden]

What is Y'alls opinion on using WD-40? Anyone tried it?

WD-40 was reformulated fairly recently and isn't as flammable as it used to be...I haven't tried using it to start an engine since the reformulation, but others have said that it won't work anymore.

I'll say this, though...maybe 16 or 17 years ago (before WD-40 was reformulated), I saw a guy use a can of WD-40 and a Bic lighter to make a makeshift flame thrower to kill a black widow. Maybe 10 years later, after the reformulation, I was in a Darwin Award candidate mood and decided to give it a try...it didn't work with WD-40, but I got that spider after grabbing a can of ether (and, yet, by some miracle I'm still alive )

 

[1466IH]

i have also used the cheap aqua net hair spray the cheaper the better i guess the more expensive sprays are less flammable (i cant understand why lol) but i do know that it is very flammable. i have found this out on more than one occasion because it works great in my potato gun

 

[CBRF3]

I have used a small handheld propane torch many times light it up set near inlet of intake and crank and off she goes and if is really stubborn just use propane and no flame let it run for about 15-30 seconds into the intake then crank and usually off it goes the additional heat helps start the ignition of the diesel on those really cold days I have a truck fully glow plug deleted for over 300k miles propane injection onboard with a momentary switch to feed raw propane into the intake it starts on pretty cold days with no glow plugs or block heater but if is a super cold day and cant fire it up a rag with a little bit of gasoline on it held in front of the intake a bump of the starter via under hood manual bump start button I installed years ago and off she goes.

 

[hacked89]

With gp controller - not good. Without gp controller - fine.

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[franklin2]

7 year old thread

 

[Oledirtypearl86]

super cold day

Whats a super cold day in Florida

 

[TNBrett]

Whats a super cold day in Florida

Maybe it’s just in the higher elevations.


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[Farmer Rock]

Whats a super cold day in Florida

60 degrees,lol




Rock

 

[Fredrickson]

Back in my misguided youth, a 4 foot length of 2" pvc, a big ol' wye pipe, and a piezo bbq lighter, made a hell of a potato cannon. We used AquaNet since it was all sorts of flammable.. Isobutane, propane and who knows what else..

I recently looked at the label on my starting fluid.
It looks like heptane is the key component now. Although Prestone Premium Starting Fluid still has ether..

 

[Big Bart]

We were probably 8 years old at the time when we made tennis ball cannons. 5 empty cans of fruit, some electrical tape, a grinder, a drill, and some lighter fluid got our tennis balls about 100-150 feet straight up in the air. To young to think about wearing at least safety glasses and leather gloves just in case.

My uncle made a killer potato gun a few years back for his kids. I think it was 3 inch PVC on the top and I want to say 4" on the bottom. Smaller ball valve in between. 100psi of air in the bottom with valve closed, smash a potato in the top with a mallet, and crank open the valve. 200-300 feet, half the time you could not even follow it with your eyes till it got about 100 feet out.