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troublelight heat for easier starting


DMKNLD

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I'm getting last minute prep done for the 'snowmageddon 2015' coming to Maine, and wanted to know if a 100 watt bulb in my metal trouble light gets too hot to put under the tractor to keep it warmer in my unheated garage, to make it easier to start ?

I've got a stiff synthetic carpet I plan to put over the hood, then an insulated blanket on top of that to keep from getting too close to the bulb.

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Some do that and cover the hood with a blanket to keep the heat under the hood.

100w is a little excessive. You could prolly get away with as little as 40w.

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I remember in the 1940's my father used to put a trouble light under the hood of our 1937 LaSalle when the temperature got low. I don't know what wattage he used, but it worked with an old blanket over the top.

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Years ago I would put a sixty watt light under the hood of my car in the winter cheaper than a block heater and did a better job. The car always started in the winter never needed the choke.

Rick.......

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I have a 150w heat pad stuck to the trans of my car and it's a tremendous improvement(would have done engine but the oil pan wasn't shaped right and the trans was the problem child anyhow.)

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I use a 100 watt bulb on my 7119 placed next to the front of the crankcase. A blanket over the engine and you can't get your fingers off the ignition key fast enough it starts so well.

Ken

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Thanks, Ken. I gather putting it on the starter side of the engine, far enough away from the volt regulator wiring ?

I have a stiff synthetic carpet I can lay over the hood, then an old ratty comforter over the carpet, to keep any fabric from getting too close to the bulb.

I've also got an old electric heating blanket I may lay over the carpet, then put the comforter over that to keep the heat in.

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I use a short length of heating cable (the kind you can run along gutters to prevent freezing) wrapped around the carb and the inlet, exit, and air cleaner on my single cylinder Briggs. I turn it on about an hour before I want to start up.

It's not super cold here in PA, so I'm not concerned with thick oil or lack of cranking, but lack of gas vaporization and the up flow to get the engine to initially fire. Works great for me.

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