Whats The Difference??

Hi all. Well, this post is kind of OT, but is also kind of OT...

First, I have a Ford 4400 Backhoe, that likes just a dash of Ether/starting fluid when ever it is cold... I used up my last can today and have been looking around for more.. I think I have narrowed down the best price for a 12 pack (links) but I am a little confused on what the second link is?? It says it is "INSTANT starting fluid"??? Never heard of it??

Which one is better, and will be easier on a diesel engine??

Now on to the OT part.. I recently bought two North Idaho style home made "Spud Guns". I have been poppin them of today, and discovered that a nice mix of Ether (Gunk Thrust) and Carb Cleaner work VERY, VERY well!!! Sooo, that is kind of why I am out of starting fluid...

Need to RE-Stock!! Let me know what you think!! Bryce

<a_href><http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunk-M3815-Thrust-Starting-Fluid-11-Oz-Aerosol-12-Pack-/190820277481?hash=item2c6dc65ce9&item=190820277481&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr>Normal Starting Fluid</a>

<a_href><http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gunk-M3515-Instant-Starting-Fluid-11-Oz-Aerosol-12-Pack-/400629222992?hash=item5d475cce50&item=400629222992&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr>Instant Starting Fluid</a>

Hmmm, links didn't work?? Lets try again!!

Well, I tried a few times and can't make the trick work to post more than one link?? Here is the
Normal Starting Fluid

I can not make the links work! Jim

And here is the
Instant Starting Fluid

Instant has a higher ether content. So the other may have more lube in it.

Bryce,
Im no fan of the starter fluid,It makes the engine dependent on it after a while.I call them crack babies and soon that's the only way to start them.It stretches the ring grooves and possibly breaks the rings.
Ill bet your Ford has the thermostart system,it works well for me.
Im no expert ,just my experiences.
pete

You SURE don't want to get a case of 12- because if you use it properly, you won't get through 2 cans before the other 10 have lost their fizz. Get one can at a time, just give it a puff while you are turning the engine over, and you'll be fine. The arm waving and running in circles, decrying the evils of ether, are appropriate to folks who just spray it for 5 seconds into the intake- but if you just give it a puff while turning the engine over, you won't damage your engine, and you won't ever finish a can before it loses its propellant. Which is fine.

Right, I agree....

My family has been building engines for YEARS, and we KNOW what is good and bad. A little puff won't hurt an engine. IN FACT it says right in my Ford 4400 OPERATORS MANUAL:

IF troublesome starting occurs, use an Ether Boost Can to promote engine starting...

That is what it says... The reason I want a 12 pack is because I will use 1 or 2 for the backhoe and 10 for the Spud Gun... Bryce

Glad to see that there are others that actually spend a little time reading the manuals for their machines. Like Mike says, you can ruin an engine with ether if you "fog" it often enough. Personally I bought a welder with a newly rebuilt Waukesha diesel driving it that had been over ethered. They kept trying to start it with the injection pump out of time and it wouldn't start. The first thing I had to do was open it up and re-ring it as all but one was broken into several pieces. Believe it or not it still ran, but pushed oil out the draft tube in a constant stream. But, like most things in life, ether, in moderation, won't hurt a thing.....Most don't realize it (or won't admit it), but ultimately ether has benefits to the engine when used properly, and only when actually needed.

I think ether started getting a really bad rep when intake heaters and glow plugs came into use. I remember dad telling of a man coming into the dealership with his intake manifold in pieces because he decided he needed a shot of ether on a cold morning. Seems the explosion is supposed to happen inside the cylinder, NOT in the intake manifold where it does when ether strikes the filament of a working intake heater....

Ultimately though I know how much fun those 'tater cannons' can be. I built one years ago that could launch the 'tater' nearly 200 years, possibly further, we never got a real, true measurement. We just know we were about 100 yards from one side of the pond, and the tater went way over the BIG oak trees on the other side of our neighbors pond.

Word of caution though. DO NOT fire a golf ball at a brick wall with it.... Me and a buddy did it ONCE, years ago. It seemed like a good idea at the time......believe it or not alcohol was NOT involved. Unfortunately it didn't dawn on us until a split second after hitting the trigger that the ball was going to bounce somewhere.....and maybe come back to us..... Thankfully it didn't come straight back, or it would have taken out a couple of windows when it did. Did I also mention we were living in an apartment complex at the time so there were plenty of other easily dented, shattered, etc, etc objects in the parking lot. That's been about 20 years ago and, thankfully, we didn't hear any loud bangs if it hitting a car, or see any shattered glass at the time and, thankfully, haven't seen that ball again.....But it was a lot of fun....LOL

I'm pretty sure there is minimal difference in any of the products, just playing the attractive name game. I would go for the best price, but... Buying from Ebay, you might get stuck with some old stock that has lost it's propellant.

Your owners manual that says to use starting fluid... I used to work on an International LP fuel tractor, had a factory installed starting fluid can holder with a cable up to the dash. Instructions said to pull the cable for cold starting assist!

Nice....

A buddy of mine, 38, used to build spud guns with his buddy when he was a kid. The biggest baddest one they ever built had a 8 inch wide 3 foot long compression chamber, with a 3 inch x 6 foot barrel!

They were getting the biggest potatoes they could and shooting them down this field. He told me that they shot 6 times, and then jumped on the atv's to go see how far down the field the potatoes made it, they never found one...

When he was going home that afternoon, his dad and him went out of the drive way, and along a few dirt roads before getting on the highway, once they got to the highway, he noticed that every so often there was a big potato splat across the road....

Later that year him and his buddy GPS'ed it to see what they were looking at for distance from where the cannon was to the highway, just a little short of a mile..... Big Boom's!! I got these ones to shut the neighbors dogs up when they get into a barking frenzy at night, I tried it out last night, and it might have worked better than the 44!!

Bryce

Yep, that was a "Special Option" in my book. I'll see if I can figure out how to scan a picture of it tomorrow... It shows it being right above the brake pedals below the steering wheel on the right side...

Mine doesn't have this option, but it doesn't have glow plugs or a block heater either!! Bryce

I found that not all starting fluids are the same. JD is stronger than some aftermarket (can't recall brand) I have here. I prefer the weaker stuff. It's easier to give a whiff and hear no protestations from the engine.

Bryce, i built a couple spuds guns and i use aqua net hair spray. Works really good. Cheap too. Clean the chamber with warm soapy water when done shooting. After seeing how flammable thatvstuff is, incant imagine women spraying that on their head??

the only problem there is you have to go to a store and buy aqua net hair spray.

You might have to buy 10 other things you don't really need so you don't feel too silly.

I use WD40 when it"s cold out on my Kubota.

protestations? izata word? sounds like some kinda of urinary problem a guy gets, er somtin ya do during lent at church!!! lol

OTOH, if you're gonna continue wif the spud guns, better buy at least a case! :wink: :roll:
Jus' sayin'!

Geeeez- I don't know anything about the medical or religious applications here. Good thing there's no political connection. We'd be zapped. Must be some other word!

Most starting fluids contain NO ether at all.

Last I knew, John Deere was the only type that contained actual ether.

Our 1066 has one on the side of the engine have never had to use it as always fires on the first hit of the starter. My two Kubotas are had as H to start on a cold days..
Walt

This side of the pond we call it "Laughing gas" although I guess its no laughing matter having to repair a knackered engine caused by a lot of "Laughing gas abuse".

(quoted from post at 03:26:45 05/06/14) This side of the pond we call it "Laughing gas" although I guess its no laughing matter having to repair a knackered engine caused by a lot of "Laughing gas abuse".

Click to expand...

The ether group such as CH3-O-CH3 is polar solvent hydrocarbon fuel. Nitrous Oxide, Laughing gas is N2O an oxidizer.

Two different beasties .

I once owned a 1963 933 caterpillar track loader that had a metal tag on it saying below a certain temp. to use glow plugs and ether, never had to use both, always one or the other worked good.