Synthetic diesel lube oil

[wsmurdoch]

What hole in your 3HM35F? Which part? https://www.lsm-diesel.dk/2012/yanma..._3hm35-f-c.pdf I don't think the engine has a heater. At least mine does not.

Bill

[joeniver]

The plug is in the front of the oil pan, near the left side.
See photo. I would like to get a 110 heater for this hole.

[a64pilot]

You don’t want a stick heater, the reason is it’s too small a surface area and the probe gets too hot. They are very many available that go into the dip stick hole for example.
The best there is is a recirculating heater that goes in your water heater line, it will over time heat the whole engine, but it takes time and quite a bit of power to heat a whole engine.

Best for heating oil is a pad heater that adheres to the oil pan, it will heat the oil without having a small hot spot that can actually overheat the oil and make it coke.
Then there is the old tried and true method of putting a drop light under the motor, it works astonishingly well if you can do it overnight.
Remember your little sister used to bake cakes with her easy bake oven with a 60W light bulb.


Not that I’m ever in actual cold, but if I’m plugged into shore power, I make sure my water heater is hot, the engine water that flows though the heater to heat water also works in reverse, it can heat the engine too.
Which come to think about it, if you have shore power all you need is a circulating pump to heat the whole engine.

[joeniver]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You don’t want a stick heater, the reason is it’s too small a surface area and the probe gets too hot. They are very many available that go into the dip stick hole for example.
The best there is is a recirculating heater that goes in your water heater line, it will over time heat the whole engine, but it takes time and quite a bit of power to heat a whole engine.

Best for heating oil is a pad heater that adheres to the oil pan, it will heat the oil without having a small hot spot that can actually overheat the oil and make it coke.
Then there is the old tried and true method of putting a drop light under the motor, it works astonishingly well if you can do it overnight.
Remember you little sister used to bake cakes with her easy bake oven with a 60W light bulb.


Not that I’m ever in actual cold, but if I’m plugged into shore power, I make sure my water heater is hot, the engine water that flows though the heater to heat water also works in reverse, it can heat the engine too.
Which come to think about it, if you have shore power all you need is a circulating pump to heat the whole engine.

I like the idea of the heating pad under the oil pan. Its not steel so I have to have a sling for it. Until it comes in the mail, I will try the drop light solution. Heat Rises!

Good point about ruining the oil with the stick heater.

[a64pilot]

There are all kinds of stick on heater pads just for this, they stick to the pan with glue.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=oil+pan+h...b_sb_ss_i_7_14
There are also block heaters that work very well, they simply replace a freeze plug and if left on all night will heat the whole engine.

[a64pilot]

If I had 110 VAC available I think I’d go this way, a Honda 2000 would work and 1500W is a lot of power and it’s easily installed and removable if you wanted to
https://www.amazon.com/Kats-13150-Al...5849097&sr=8-4

[CaptainJohn49]

I live in Montana and have a Flicka 20 that is kept on a trailer in the winter.

There are three problems that need to be addressed with the engine in really cold weather.

First your question about Synthetic oil. I was at the boat show">Annapolis boat show this year and wanted to know if using synthetic oil in my Yanmar was a good idea. I went to the Yanmar booth and posed this question to two of the Yanmar engineers. When I said I wanted to use a good synthetic oil they both started noding their heads in unison. The take away was they can't officially recommend anything except dinosaur oil. Go figure!
That said I think you should consider Liqui Moly. It's made in Germany and used in many of the small diesels such as the VW TDI and the Mercedes Sprinter. It's an after-market oil used by ambulance services and parcel delivery companies to prolong the life of the engines. It's available in a 5l jug from Amazon for about $37. I think 0W-30 or 5W-40 would be great. Small diesels turn at a higher RPM's. Liqui Moly is made for these higher revving small engines. The price is reasonable too.

Second problem in Cold environments is freezing of the water muffler. My mechanic used to work for a marina in Long Island. What he did was open the raw water filter and dump RV anti-freeze into the filter while the engine was running. We did this out of the water but it could be done while in the water also. Stop when the exhaust turns pink. Don't try to start with a frozen water muffler, I know, I've tried.

Third problem - Engine heaters. Look for Wolverine heaters. They are made in the USA and you can talk with a real American engineer about your situation. They are available from Amazon and many auto parts suppliers. Generally people try to use a heater that's too large. A small 125w 110v heater should be plenty. You may want to wait on this because the synthetic oil will make the engine turn over much faster in any weather. Synthetic oil also leaves a thin barrier of oil that prevents metal to metal contact (for the most part) when starting. This is a short period before the oil pressure builds when most of the engine wear occurs.

A general note about synthetic oil. Synthetic oil will not "coke". In the past trucks with turbo chargers would have to idle for 5 minutes after stopping in order for the engine oil in the turbo charger to circulate and cool the turbo. If you shut down the engine right away the heat from the turbo (up to 1,500F and above) would burn the dinosaur oil (turn it to coke) and ruin the bearings of the turbo. Expensive repair! Modern trucks run synthetic oil and this is no longer a problem. Still not a bad idea to idle for a minute before shutting down but not necessary.
CaptainJohn49

[joeniver]

Thanks. Could you ask your LO mechanic at what water temperature and at what air temperature would he recommend the pink stuff.

I have already done that to know how to do it. Now I just need to know the ball park temperature numbers to be on the safe side. I motor and sail all winter on nice days.

-joe

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by joeniver

The plug is in the front of the oil pan, near the left side. See photo. I would like to get a 110 heater for this hole.

The shop manual cross section shows that plug going into the intake line to the lubricating oil pump. It does not go into the oil pan below the oil level.

Bill

[CaptainJohn49]

Originally Posted by joeniver

Thanks. Could you ask your LO mechanic at what water temperature and at what air temperature would he recommend the pink stuff.

I have already done that to know how to do it. Now I just need to know the ball park temperature numbers to be on the safe side. I motor and sail all winter on nice days.

-joe

Joe, I also live full time in my RV in Montana, To keep the water from freezing at temperatures as low as 10F I use 1 gal. of RV antifreeze to 3 gallons of water. I use bottled water to drink but to pink stuff to bath and for the head. I guess to be on the safe side I'd go 1 to 1. Should be good for any temperature. I remember him saying they just used straight RV antifreeze. Of course the client was paying so they went to the max. Seems like he said they charged $100 just for the antifreeze plus labor. Most of the clients lived in NY or CT. They made more in a week than we do in a year.


If you are using the boat in the wintertime you will need a semi-auto way to add the pink stuff to the cooling system as you slut down. Perhaps a y valve that you turn on one minute before shut down with a reservoir of RV antifreeze. Interesting problem.


When you dock or anchor you also need a deicing bubbler to keep the water from freezing. Ask Ernest Shackleton. Could be the biggest problem unless you remove the boat from the water after each adventure or have power at the dock.


Really cool idea.


CaptainJohn49

[Compass790]

Joe maybe you should get a workshop manual for yr engine as they have lots of useful info for you if you want to keep your engine in good shape.
I think some sort of engine heater is very good for engine longevity in those temps.
Decades ago my old man had sump heaters installed in all of the fire engines under his control here in the North part of NZ as he was concerned that the fire engines have to operate at full throttle from a cold start. It proved to be such a success that the Fire service used them throughout the rest of NZ later tho "budget" cuts have probably canned them by now

[Nineteen]

+1 on this.

I run it in my 3JH, the Kanzaki transmission and my Whisperpower Piccolo 5 generator (7yrs now in the first 2 applications). I get oil pressure as soon as the engine cranks with 2400hrs so far. It also keeps eveything common and clean as a bonus. No issues with the transmission cone clutches either.

The gen is oil cooled btw and I am confident that the oil exceeds the specs in this application as well.

Good luck with your decision.

Cheers
Tom

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Mobil One Turbo Diesel 5W40 far exceeds anything on the list posted by wsmurdoch. It's a great all around synthetic diesel oil, turbo or not. I've run 5W40 Diesel in many a motor without any issues.

A 10W oil would certainly flow better at 10*F than any 15W.

[a64pilot]

If your at a dock and can do the lightbulb trick and if the muffler is in the engine compt everything will be kept well above freezing.
A block heater whether circulating or a freeze plug replacement will keep the engine room warm too, cause of course the engine will radiate heat into the compt.

Now coming from aircraft that preheat, the strong belief there is to pre-heat several hours before flying but don’t leave the heat on all the time because if you do you get moisture in the engine.

[Ballsnall]

"So unless these oils are backwards compatible"
Other than some specialty oils, all new API oils are backwards compatible and exceed the previous standard. So If your engine requires API SJ then using the latest SN spec will be just fine.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Ballsnall

"So unless these oils are backwards compatible"
Other than some specialty oils, all new API oils are backwards compatible and exceed the previous standard. So If your engine requires API SJ then using the latest SN spec will be just fine.

The OP will be looking for C specification rather than a S specification.