glow plugs in the pre-combustion caps?

[reo12]

Hi,
I bought a used engine from a dexta to replace mine last year. One oddity is the pre-combustion caps. In addition to the normal mounting holes - the pre-combustion chamber caps were drilled and tapped in the center and are fitted with short bolts with a copper sealing washer. I forget now for certain but I think the thread size is 8mm.
I did find somewhere a diagram that showed these plugs. Is there a glow plug that fits in place of the plugs? This certainly would provide instant starts in freezing weather.
Thanks,
Ron

[Jerry Coles]

I've got the same combustion caps, the bolt is 1/2" A/F UNF.
I suppose you could fit glow plugs in them but it would be expensive and if you have trouble starting your Dexta then you have a problem engine that the plugs may not solve.
Jerry
Bath
UK

[reo12]

Hi Jerry,
Here in Michigan it is not uncommon to have temperatures of negative 15 degreesF/negative 25 degreesC in the winter. We had a few times where it was 10 degrees colder than that this past winter. I use the tractor to run a snowblower. It doesn't matter how good the engine is at those temperatures. They don't want to start with just the intake heater. Glow plugs would be cheap compared to damage from using ether which is how an employee damaged my original engine.
I've not ben able to find a gasket seated glow plug of short enough length to work in the chambers. The tractor is not stored where there is power to run a block heater.
Thanks,
Ron

[Jerry Coles]

Ron
Search the BB using "novel solution" (including the quotes), in the Dexta section and you'll find two possible solutions (you could combine them?
Regards
Jerry Coles
Bath
UK

[reo12]

Hi,
I pulled one of my chamber plug bolts. It's a 3/8" fine thread and 1/2" long.
I've pulled the intake heater and used a propane torch myself. Still a lot of mussing around.
I certainly can rework the chamber caps to accept glow plugs. I own a commercial machine shop. I can't see the full photo in the post. I can only see the very edge of the modification. I was hoping that there was a glowplug known to fit the stock caps that are made to accept some sort of device.
Thanks,
Ron

[YorkshireDextaMan]

Ron, (and others) I never quite understand why it is folks think Easy Start ruins an engine, IMO if an engine is in a state where nothing but Easy Start will get it going, then it's On it's way out anyway, Now i take your point on the freezing weather you have and the difficulty in getting started in the normal way, but that should be when Easy Start could be used. Now if you were to sit ther cranking and squirting neet fluid down the air cleaner (at that temp it would stay liquid and do no good at all) Better to put the can in a bucket of very hot water and heat the stuff so as to get a vapor spray, That should cause no harm at all, and if theres enough compresion should start the engine.
"Dextas are mostly old girls now and like lots of old girls , like a shot of the hard stuff now and again"

[Tubal Cain]

Details of glowplug heaters are available on this site.

http://www.thetoolboxshop.com/glow-plug ... -267-c.asp

Gerald

[YorkshireDextaMan]

So how does one go about finding space to fit glow plugs in the Pre-combustion chamber on a standard Dexta enging. On my tractor they are behind the exhaust manifold. at least two of them are.

[dexta roadless]

If you look at an old post here I welded on a piece round metal on the caps in an angle of around 40 degrees. I then drilled trough and made threads for modern glowplugs. Then I managed to avoid the exhaust manifoil. I am also dependent to start my dexta in -18 to 25 degrees. and with these glowplugs there is no problem. I must mention that I also use semisyntetic oil at the engine.
http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/phpbb ... p?f=3&t=38

[Emil Nyman]

Hi Jerry,
Here in Michigan it is not uncommon to have temperatures of negative 15 degreesF/negative 25 degreesC in the winter. We had a few times where it was 10 degrees colder than that this past winter. I use the tractor to run a snowblower. It doesn't matter how good the engine is at those temperatures. They don't want to start with just the intake heater. Glow plugs would be cheap compared to damage from using ether which is how an employee damaged my original engine.
I've not ben able to find a gasket seated glow plug of short enough length to work in the chambers. The tractor is not stored where there is power to run a block heater.
Thanks,
Ron

In places with no electrisity you can use a gasolheater combined with this watervarmer.