Re: How do you keep your Cub starting up when its cold?
Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:18 pm
I agree with Carl on this one. A well tuned Cub with a good spark and plugs, a clean fuel circuit supplying clean fuel will start under most cold weather conditions. The exception to this would be when the temps are in the -18C and below range. Sub-zero temps, yup -18C is about -1F is where troubles will start. This is where shelter begins to play a part. If a Cub (any piece of equipment) is sheltered then the starting temp range increases greatly. I also agree with Larry on this as well - I use Sea Foam in the gas tank. I am still lucky, the gas I get has no ethanol in it which is a real boone, but Sea Foam is still a good idea.
When I was building my pole barn - New Home For My Cubs, Ellie was kinda unsheltered. No room cause of the new doors in the wood shop and well the pole barn wasn't exactly weather-tite that winter.
At that point I used a tarp and a 100watt light bulb to keep the oil pan and the battery warm. That helped a lot.
Now that the pole barn is insulated and I have all those southern exposure windows it is kinda warm in the pole barn. I think that is a real secret especially up here where the temps can be below -18C for the majority of the winter season. What I have done now is added a Schumacher Battery Maintainer to the equation. It keeps the battery topped up and Ellie starts on the first turn of the starter. Really nice.
Sometimes snow will help keep the pole barn warm too
I expect that I will have zero starting issues with Ellie especially since she is now running like a well tuned sewing machine. I had flirted with the idea of a battery blanket, but used to use them on cars back when I was younger, they never really worked all that well, the block heater worked better. I never use block heaters anymore though, very seldom does my DGC fail to start and the Honda well not sure, this will be it's 1st winter.
When I was building my pole barn - New Home For My Cubs, Ellie was kinda unsheltered. No room cause of the new doors in the wood shop and well the pole barn wasn't exactly weather-tite that winter.
At that point I used a tarp and a 100watt light bulb to keep the oil pan and the battery warm. That helped a lot.
Now that the pole barn is insulated and I have all those southern exposure windows it is kinda warm in the pole barn. I think that is a real secret especially up here where the temps can be below -18C for the majority of the winter season. What I have done now is added a Schumacher Battery Maintainer to the equation. It keeps the battery topped up and Ellie starts on the first turn of the starter. Really nice.
Sometimes snow will help keep the pole barn warm too
I expect that I will have zero starting issues with Ellie especially since she is now running like a well tuned sewing machine. I had flirted with the idea of a battery blanket, but used to use them on cars back when I was younger, they never really worked all that well, the block heater worked better. I never use block heaters anymore though, very seldom does my DGC fail to start and the Honda well not sure, this will be it's 1st winter.