Start engine or not?

davef said:
I started a diesel engine today - not the campervan, we use that every other week to get the shopping. This engine was originally in a 1960's Commer tipper truck, then spent some years driving a timber winch, before being fitted into a cradle to drive my large rack timber saw bench fitted with a 5 ft yankee circular saw blade many years back. I hadn't used it for about 14 months, its a 6 cylinder Perkins - great engines. It was a little reluctant to start, taking maybe 30 seconds of almost running before coming out of hibernation and spewing its usual cloud of smoke on start-up, running a bit erratic for another minute before settling down to its sweet purring. No glow plugs or inlet pre-heat or easy-start. Amazing for an engine thats had a hard working life of about 55 years! The saw bench itself is probably over 150 years old, though I did modify it maybe 30 years ago to take a bigger blade than it was originally designed for and widened it to take much larger logs. It can cut planks up to 22 inch depth.
Early basic non-electronics diesels are amazingly reliable and economical.
I remember many years ago having a Fordson Super-Dexta tractor, which at the time had no battery. Living at the top of a hill it was easy enough to bump start it ( though embarrassing if you stalled it on the flat). I came to start it one morning, but the wheels just locked. The small drain hole in the exhaust manifold had blocked and rain had come down the silencer and filled 2 of the 3 cylinders causing a hydraulic lock. Took out the injectors, down the hill some more to blow out the water, injectors back in, and it immediately started and ran perfectly.
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Perkins 6354, i worked in AS Bairds commer/roots group back in early seventies,commer walk through van used the 6254 engine though some had the small 4108.
 
we had a perkins 6345 in an old combine harvester, did 3 days work every harvest then drain water, take battery out and put it back in one of the tractors and sit combine back in the shed till next year.

how many miles to charge a battery? weve got a peugeot diesel in the family in normal times does about 3 miles a day, with a 20 mile round trip to supermarket on the weekend, battery seems to cope.
 
Well I used my hours cycling exercise to go and check on Shirley she has been dormant for a couple of months last trip early Feb, the site has a road system around it a bit small but a road:). All batteries checked out and started ok and I ran around the private site until she was up to temp, unfortunately not enough road to stretch the auto box, maybe not the best thing to do looking at some of this posts advice, but it certainly helped me focus.

I then sat in her practicing my mindfulness techniques and had to pinch myself as how lucky I was, and was thinking about a "glass half full" and not "half empty". Keep smiling and have a positive mindset.🌈 🚐
 
N9 need to keep starting even if engine batt goes flat .
Just jump it when this lay up is over .
Many vans sit for months on end , on dealers forcourts.
 
mjvw said:
Think i got it wrong last year i caught them in a humane trap and let them go a few miles down the road, should gone for the spade and curry sauce.
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Hopefully we have got a few months before vermin are again a problem, wasps at the moment.
 
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