Ether start in the FMTV

With the colder weather many of us find out ghat their ether system is empty.
I know ether is not the best thing for the engine and I read something like one can use a propane torch to warm the intake air.
I read that one can use a engine heart system in the FMTV
Who here uses one and what are your thoughts?

Keep it simple, replace the ether bottle. Truck Pro or any big truck shop will carry the replacement bottles.

Add a block heater.

Ether used in a cold start system is perfectly safe to use.

You should seldom need ether to start your truck. I would replace the bottle, but if the weather turns extremely cold and you know you will need the truck, put a block heater on it. I have a magnetic one that I use when needed, which is seldom.

I start mine at temps as low as - 20 with thw system I go through 2 to 3 bottles a year

@snowtrac when you use your system and press the button does it make a noise? A hissing of some sort or so?
How do you know if it ejects or if the bottle is empty?

Take the line off and sniff it after activating it in cold temperature.

Or, remove the bottle and weigh it(or just shake it).

No hiss, it only lets a teeny tiny bit out.

You know it works when the truck starts instantly.

You know you are out when it does not start instantly.

Try reading this, http://quickstart-ether.com/

It fits in one of the freezeplugs, i assume? Do you leave it plugged in all the time? or plug in at a certain time before starting engine?

Easy install and I will plug it up a couple of hours before starting.

It will not fire if temperatures don't call for it.

I appreciate all the suggestions and help.
And now i also have something to ad to gelp othes maybe.

instead of trying to take off the ether bottle and weigh it or take off the fitting and sniff the air for ether. Do this:

-make sure the solenoid actually engages and is not stuck.
-remove the entire assembly and engage the solenoid with a 12v source. If you get it to engage you can try
to remove the bottle from the solenoid.
-if the bottle is emty then get a new one.

I was trying to get the bottle off the assembly. It was so tight on that the bottle started to spin with solenoid attached.
it twisted the little hose and bent and crimped it. Since its pretty tight corners i didnt see what was going on until two revolutions. I had to use some larne pliers that also messed up the bottle and it stared to smell like ether. Do the bottle was likely full but now leaking.

So in conclusion, i should have taken the entire assembly off and checked it first. In my case, i will be buying a new solenoid and a new bottle of ether and a gasket.

If you don't use it much or are in a salty environment a bit of anti seize go's a long way to make the change easy.

Yes I always do that with things i take apart.
My grandpa aleays said any bolts either get copper grease or locktite

The problem is dissimilar metal corrosion the bottles are steel and the valve is aluminum.

If you lubricate the threads, you are more likely to overtighten it.

Never seen anyone lubricate an ether bottle threaded end.

Yours was old and you could have avoided the issue had you seen what was happening.

An oil filter strap wrench would not have damaged the bottle.

Be very careful around ether. The gas is very explosive and all it takes is a spark. Also, avoid breathing any of the fumes. If the solenoid / valve body is undamaged and you only crimped the tubing, just replace the tubing. Its available at almost all auto parts stores and is easy to replace.

Coffey1 said:

It will not fire if temperatures don't call for it.

Click to expand...

That depends on the heater and what range snap switch it has specced. Some are for warmup and some are for maintenance. The gensets I maintain have a switch that keeps them cycling occasionally and the engine around 70-80 degrees.


As for use:
How long you run it depends on the temp and how big(in watts) the heater is. Personally I prefer the external tank type heaters as due to available space limitations inside an engine block you can be limited in how large an element you can get.

The tank type heaters can have larger elements(1000+ watts) which means shorter warmup times. A 15A residential circuit should support up to 1800 watts, neyond that you may need a special circuit and dedicated plugin but 2-3KW are not unheard of. I personally think they are a little easier to install. Because they thermosiphon/circulate the coolant, they deliver the heat directly to the head via a heater supply port and draw water from a block drain or waterpump return port so have a little faster warmup IMO.

Some just plugin when needed. That is what I do on my tractor, I have a 1KW tank type and I go plug it in 15-20 minutes before I try and start the tractor, nice and warm and delivers good clean startups. Some run them on timers to preheat before normal use times, like 1/2 hour befor you normally leave for work. I do this with a space heater in the winter on my gas powered truck, havnt scraped a window in years...

If you have a smaller element, you may need to leave it plugged in to try and keep it at a reasonable temp as it might take hours to take the edge off...