[Mgs] Ether - when required?

[The Roxter]

On 12/8/2010 11:10 PM, Councill, David wrote:
> Ether can be helpful to start a car in extremely cold weather as it
> evaporates quicker. But since it works best sprayed into the intake
> while the engine is being turned over, making it not the best solution
> without two people. When I lived in Wyoming (northern USA), out in the
> country, no garage, I relied on coolant heaters (freeze plug heaters,
> lower radiator hose heaters) to keep the cars (71 BGT, 74 Land Cruiser)
> warm enough to start in the mornings and thus only resorted to ether a
> couple of times. And by cold weather, I mean minus ten to minus 25 F.
>
> However, the "Worst MGB ever" was located in northern California and I
> think "cold night" was more in a range near freezing, maybe 25-35 F?
> That would make me suspect the choke cable was either broken or the
> choke was out of adjustment so the ether was just compensating. In my
> experience, a B should start reliably (when maintained and in tune) at
> temperatures down to about five below. Lower than that, things become
> more iffy
At the ice races, in the 60's, we kept a hot plate under the oil pan of the Mini, with an extension running into the window of the hotel room. Once the engine was started, we kept it running all day. That was usually around 35 below for a high of the day. If it was much warmer than that, the ice wouldn't pass muster.

-Rocky Frisco
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