D7-17a Direct Start

I think I,d look into a regular block heater that heats the coolant and would work the best I,d think.

did you convert per caterpillar? 12 or 24 volt, what do you have for batteries?
i have been told that these old gals start much better with direct electric
than pony engines. i do not think you will have problems. you can always give
it a snort of ether if need be.

i do not think a block heater cobbed in the system would hurt your block.
cast iron melts around 2000 degrees, your rubber hoses will be on fire before
your block melts. the only other way to hurt cast iron is to hit it real hard
with a hammer!

Is the Herman Nelson heater one of those direct fired units?? seems to be a little overkill unless you have no other source of power for a block heater. Can't be any colder than where King of Obsolete lives and he gets by on ether assist for his DE starters.

Its a 24volt Delco 80MT starter (IT WEIGHS A TON!!!!) yes if King of Obsolete can start with ether i guess I"ll be "OK", I'm not quite as far north as him. I used #2 welding cable and kept the batteries within a foot or so of the starter so I didnt have too much amperage drop. I bought 10W30 oil that CAT recommends but i worried that those cold starts would be hard on the old girl.

Yes, sorry, Herman Nelson heaters are a diesel fired portable heater, produces about 1,000,000 btu's

a million BTU's, good god! that would melt cast iron! it sounds like you did
a quality conversion. i believe you will be happy with it this winter.

a million BTU's, good god! that would melt cast iron! it sounds like you did
a quality conversion. i believe you will be happy with it this winter.

If you have power you can put a heat lamp on the block just keep it back a few inches and away from combustables throw a tarp over the hood and let it hang down over the radiator and behind firewall. this needs to be done several hours before starting, preferably the night before.
keeping it covered does a lot to hold warmth
total cost pbly less than $50
Butch

I haven't ever had to deal with tempertures below zero F. But if it was a usual winter time thing for me, I believe I'd seek some information on thinning the oil in the clutch and transmission also. They will both add drag on the starter when cranking.

Be sure transmission is in "neutral" when starting when it's cold. I've seen "oil Clutch" machines "take off" even with the clutch disengaged.