Date:         Thu, 16 Feb 2023 21:20:07 -0700
Reply-To:     OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Cold Weather starting
Comments: To: David Boan <dboan@OUTLOOK.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <PH7PR19MB678086D19993956ACE6330EEBAA09@PH7PR19MB6780.namprd19.prod.outlook.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

                DaveB

        For sure @ those levels of Temp’s a Block Heater or some other sort of heater to keep

Your Eng’ warm overnight or @ least give it a few hours of PreHeat before StartUp is not just

a Good Idea it is a Must if You wish to get decent amount of life out of that Eng’ & In Addition

a sufficiently strong starter is Frosting on the Cake as the Quicker You can get it running the

Lesser the friction there is between moving parts ~



> On 16 Feb , 2023, at 4:21 PM, David Boan <dboan@OUTLOOK.COM> wrote:
> 
> Hello Vanagon Types
> 
> I just returned from a short trip to our local mountains to do some snowshoeing. My van is well setup for driving in snow although not a syncro. The challenge I face is not the snow but getting the van to start in sub-zero temps. The other morning at 8 AM it was -10f, and it is not uncommon to be much colder than that. When my starter battery starts to give up I can jump it from my two 100ah house batteries, but it still cranks slowly and took me more than a half hour to get it started.
> 
> I am wondering if I would be better off with a gear reduction starter. I read that GoWesty recommends the high output gear reduction starter for operating in sub-zero temps. So, my question is, does anyone have experience with this starter? For those of you in the cold climates, does this seem like a good investment?
> 
> Dave B
> Boise
> '85 Westy