Starting a cold Yanmar 3GM30F Options

[Zonker]

I have a similar vintage 3GM30F. When it has sat for more than few days without running it's always reluctant to start in cooler weather. I open 2 of the 3 decompression levers, go back to button and start it. After 1 cylinder begins to fire, the vibrations (or maybe it's designed that way) pop the other 2 decomp. levers in and it runs on all 3 cylinders. Manually tripping the levers if it is running on 1 cylinder is not that hard either. Just don't delay in doing it.

If it has been run within a few days, it always starts right up, suggesting that the rings are not at their best and need a bit of oil/fuel to get them to seal better.

[Nomenclature]

Boat diesels have a hard life IMO. Sit, sit, sit, idle, run 10 minutes, sit, sit etc. Diesels like to be run often and hard.

This is why I believe that electric propulsion makes more sense for a sailboat auxiliary.
You do not have to warm them up, or struggle to start them. You just put it, in gear and go.
You often need to warm a diesel up for 15 minutes for 5 minutes of powering in and out of the slip.
All the above anecdotes, and my own recalcitrant diesel, are making me that much more intent
on going electric.
I realize that just like the Electric Car, it is not for everyone. Especially since more and more
people use their boats like motor boats with auxiliary sails. But I am happy to sail everywhere.

[dyeakle]

I can't say about the cold but I have had a few issues with mostly dead batteries.About 4 seconds of WD40 in the intake really helps get the compression up.I have also wormed the intake manifold with a propane torch.Both ideas can get you in allot of trouble if you take them to far.they can help with a bleed down that is not going well.It is also a good time to see if any of you battery connections are getting warm.

[mrgnstrn]

Boat diesels have a hard life IMO. Sit, sit, sit, idle, run 10 minutes, sit, sit etc. Diesels like to be run often and hard.

This is why I believe that electric propulsion makes more sense for a sailboat auxiliary.
You do not have to warm them up, or struggle to start them. You just put it, in gear and go.
You often need to warm a diesel up for 15 minutes for 5 minutes of powering in and out of the slip.
All the above anecdotes, and my own recalcitrant diesel, are making me that much more intent
on going electric.
I realize that just like the Electric Car, it is not for everyone. Especially since more and more
people use their boats like motor boats with auxiliary sails. But I am happy to sail everywhere.

This whole line of reasoning is pretty short-sighted.
Where does the electricity come from? Magic? Shore power?
Fine if you are only doing races within 1 miles of your dock.
Useless for everyone else.

Eventually, you will need to re-charge something (batteries, fuel cell, etc) and behind that electrical generator is a prime mover, burning dino-juice.

-m

[Ishmael]

Boat diesels have a hard life IMO. Sit, sit, sit, idle, run 10 minutes, sit, sit etc. Diesels like to be run often and hard.

This is why I believe that electric propulsion makes more sense for a sailboat auxiliary.
You do not have to warm them up, or struggle to start them. You just put it, in gear and go.
You often need to warm a diesel up for 15 minutes for 5 minutes of powering in and out of the slip.
All the above anecdotes, and my own recalcitrant diesel, are making me that much more intent
on going electric.
I realize that just like the Electric Car, it is not for everyone. Especially since more and more
people use their boats like motor boats with auxiliary sails. But I am happy to sail everywhere.

This whole line of reasoning is pretty short-sighted.
Where does the electricity come from? Magic? Shore power?
Fine if you are only doing races within 1 miles of your dock.
Useless for everyone else.

Eventually, you will need to re-charge something (batteries, fuel cell, etc) and behind that electrical generator is a prime mover, burning dino-juice.

-m

Solar panels can provide quite a bit of battery power, and if you are happy to sail everywhere you could probably keep it in your power budget...providing you had all LED lighting, no refrigeration, etc.
There is no way in hell I could use an electric motor with my power budget. The genset would be running 3 hours a day keeping the 800 Ah of batteries going.

[Nomenclature]

This whole line of reasoning is pretty short-sighted.
Where does the electricity come from? Magic? Shore power?
Fine if you are only doing races within 1 miles of your dock.
Useless for everyone else.

It is true that an electric only system will not work well for
you if you are frequently doing 30 mile powered deliveries.
And that shorepower will be part of the recharging operation.
But my reality is that I can go an entire month without using my engine at all.
At least 80% of the time I am able to sail out of, and back into the slip.
Most of my races start 3 miles from my slip, which would easily be in the
range of a simple electric system.

[floating dutchma...]

This whole line of reasoning is pretty short-sighted.
Where does the electricity come from? Magic? Shore power?
Fine if you are only doing races within 1 miles of your dock.
Useless for everyone else.

It is true that an electric only system will not work well for
you if you are frequently doing 30 mile powered deliveries.
And that shorepower will be part of the recharging operation.
But my reality is that I can go an entire month without using my engine at all.
At least 80% of the time I am able to sail out of, and back into the slip.
Most of my races start 3 miles from my slip, which would easily be in the
range of a simple electric system.

I'm sure It has a place for some users but like cars the range is the issue, People seem to need a 500K range when the longest trip they do is about 50K

Same problem with boats, Technology and attitudes will change with time and It's something we will see more of.

[Ishmael]

This whole line of reasoning is pretty short-sighted.
Where does the electricity come from? Magic? Shore power?
Fine if you are only doing races within 1 miles of your dock.
Useless for everyone else.

It is true that an electric only system will not work well for
you if you are frequently doing 30 mile powered deliveries.
And that shorepower will be part of the recharging operation.
But my reality is that I can go an entire month without using my engine at all.
At least 80% of the time I am able to sail out of, and back into the slip.
Most of my races start 3 miles from my slip, which would easily be in the
range of a simple electric system.

I'm sure It has a place for some users but like cars the range is the issue, People seem to need a 500K range when the longest trip they do is about 50K

Same problem with boats, Technology and attitudes will change with time and It's something we will see more of.

I read that as HTFU and row, you lazy bastard.

[Nomenclature]

I read that as HTFU and row, you lazy bastard.

I like to row, but it is not all that feasible on a 10,000lb boat.
With a belt drive electric, it just may be possible to uncouple
the motor and use a bicycle drive. I could probably get 500 RPM to the prop.