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samsturdy said..


Why does Aerostart adversely affect diesel engines so much.????

Don't know why, just know it does.

WD 40 can also be used and is not as harsh don't use glow plugs when using any of these products

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cisco said..

samsturdy said..


Why does Aerostart adversely affect diesel engines so much.????

Don't know why, just know it does.

................i don't know either but here's what i read on a landrover forum :) ........ my son has just bought at auction an ex army landrover!

"the problem is that the ether in them (which is why it works on sheep) lights up too easily. Usually in a diesel the fuel doesnt turn up in the compressing air till its ready to be ignited so but the areostart will be there from the get go so once the areo start lights off which is usually well and truely before the nominal injection timing it start trying to push the engine back the wrong way.

while ether isnt known for its huge energy content when lit off if the ether is the only thing burning the inertia of the crank and everything else will keep everything turning over the right way and the next pot in line will be moving a lot faster from whats left of the areostarts combustion kicking the first pot down. Once the areostart starts the fire usually the diesel being injected also comes into play and away the engine goes.

The problems come when theres leftover liquid diesel hanging around after the exhaust stroke (say from dribbly injectors) and the areostart lights that off while the piston is still on the way up. Think of it as pinging in a petrol engine but worse."

I have a single pot Bukh, it has no glow plug so the Aerostart presumably ignites by compression just like diesel oil does.
If this is so where does the Aerostart cause a problem ?. I'm interested because the Bukh handbook states that a
'starting aid' can be used, it should be sprayed for 2 or 3 seconds and stopped as soon as the engine fires.
This is in the section that deals with manual starting. I often use it but a spray of 1 second is sufficient. So, what
do I do.????

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samsturdy said..


I have a single pot Bukh, it has no glow plug so the Aerostart presumably ignites by compression just like diesel oil does.
If this is so where does the Aerostart cause a problem ?. I'm interested because the Bukh handbook states that a
'starting aid' can be used, it should be sprayed for 2 or 3 seconds and stopped as soon as the engine fires.
This is in the section that deals with manual starting. I often use it but a spray of 1 second is sufficient. So, what
do I do.????

The ether is more volatile than diesel fuel and will ignite before piston has reached it's optimal compression point. Ether does not have a high energy content, but the detonation caused by it can be enough to damage things like pistons and rings.
It could well be Sam that your engine has allowances built in to enable you to use the product safely eg. you may have a slightly lower compression ratio.

In the hand book does it state what the "starting aid" actually is, it could be something other than an ether based product. Though what I don't know what it could be.

No LC it does not state a product as such, merely that a starting aid can be sprayed into the air intake. Having read the item again, it's advising to do it in cold weather. I don't know if Australian weather is cold enough to warrant it, although right now it seems cold to me. I just wanted to make starting easier on the engine but if it's detrimental I'll cease using it (aerostart that is).

In that case they possibly do mean Aerostart, as for Australia being cold, I don't think we qualify. While we may not be as comfortable as we would maybe like to be it's hardly Arctic, cold to me is Denmark, Sweden and all those other countries up there that I left behind all those years ago ....that was cold.

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samsturdy said..


No LC it does not state a product as such, merely that a starting aid can be sprayed into the air intake. Having read the item again, it's advising to do it in cold weather. I don't know if Australian weather is cold enough to warrant it, although right now it seems cold to me. I just wanted to make starting easier on the engine but if it's detrimental I'll cease using it (aerostart that is).

Dont use it unless the motor wont start it will destroy your motor slowly

Still working on the engine.
No definitive answer yet but will let you know.
Thanks to all who contributed.

This sort of damage be caused by Aerostart

Just saw this pic HG. Looks terrible. I suppose the effect of this is clouds of blue smoke, would that be right??.

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samsturdy said...


Just saw this pic HG. Looks terrible. I suppose the effect of this is clouds of blue smoke, would that be right??.

Correct sam go straight to the pub and have a beer

Along with a bit more engine noise
Its ok as long as you dont apply to much
If you realy have to use it
As ive said i think in this thread ive see. A clylinder head pop when some one didnt get it right in starting a large gen set motor

No I don't have to use it HG. I think I was suffering from what someone termed "Aerostart addiction" so I've stopped it.
Although to be fair, the engine needed attention because it was hard to start ( had to turn it
over far too long before it fired) but it's all OK now.