First winter with my td, suggestions

[Cheesetoast]

I use a bit of amsoil cetane booster on every fill, not sure if it has anti-gelling stuff in it.  When will i need anti-gel addative?  What cold start temps should i start to use the block heater overnight?  Anything i should do?

[Rat407]

Not much to do other than run a quality oil. Synthetic works great if you live in the colder climates. Makes for easier starting and some say you don't even need the block heater if you run synthetic.  As for the block heater I wouldn't use it until you notice a difference in how the engine starts, this can vary from engine to engine.
The AMSOIL Cetane boost will help with low temp starting, AMSOIL's diesel fuel additive is more structured for lower temp starts, it can lower the fuel gel point 20 to 30 degrees.  I run both in mine just to keep things clean. One bottle last a long time. You can read more on it http://www.amsoil.com/products/adm.html
The other things to look at are makeing sure you have a good strong battery, clean and tight electrical connections on your battery and good ground. If it has been a long time a fresh new fuel filter wouldn't hurt.
Hope this helps.

[farkman]

Make sure your glow plugs work well. Plugging in the block heater would be real good idea if the temps get below freezing, for about an hour. As Rat407 said synthetic oil would also help, especially for those times you can't plug the block heater in. Any diesel rated 0W-40 or 5W-40 would be fine to use. I have also seen some Kleen-Flo low sulpher diesel fuel anti-gel, available at Acklands Grainger, which says it prevents gelling down to -45C. You will never have any gelling issues if you use this stuff. It's about $13 for one liter, which would probably be enough for at least one winter.      

Take care

Peter

[Dr. Diesel]

Quick starts aren't the only reason to use a block heater. Engine wear is significantly reduced.....

yeah, what he said.

The key to good diesel cold starts (ignoring obvious tuning and compression factors) is to have it crank over as fast as possible. A strong battery with good connections, good starter motor and like they said, good oil, all promote this. I suffered terribly with my first diesel years ago, all because the starter was getting tired, and couldn't crank the engine fast enough. A rebuilt starter had that engine spinning over at what seemed like twice the speed and starting wasn't a problem after that.

[Cheesetoast]

i'm using motul 5-40 synthetic, so oil shouldn't be a problem, hell the car barely burnt off any in 8000km.  I have a year old optima red top, so that's fine.  How does the block heater work? does it turn off at a certain temp? is it safe? i'm affraid of going outside to see my car on fire, took me a long time to find this car.

Quick starts aren't the only reason to use a block heater. Engine wear is significantly reduced.....

yeah, what he said.

The key to good diesel cold starts (ignoring obvious tuning and compression factors) is to have it crank over as fast as possible. A strong battery with good connections, good starter motor and like they said, good oil, all promote this. I suffered terribly with my first diesel years ago, all because the starter was getting tired, and couldn't crank the engine fast enough. A rebuilt starter had that engine spinning over at what seemed like twice the speed and starting wasn't a problem after that.

[farkman]

Cheesetoast

I don't believe the block heater turns off at a certain temperature, however you don't need to worry about your car burning down. I use a timer that you can set to turn on and off at any time you want. I let the heater turn on for about 1-1.5 hours before I leave and in that time the entire engine is warm to the touch, about 30-40C. You could leave the heater plugged in overnight but then it is just a waste of electricity and money. Just get a timer for $10-15 and your set.

Peter