Caterpillar (www.caterpillar.com) publishes Cold Weather Recommendations for All Caterpillar Machines, (Excerpted from Operation & Maintenance Manual, SEBU5898-11-01). Further, Caterpillar organizes the document about construction machinery and heavy equipment in cold weather and low temperatures in the following five topical sections of information, operation, maintenance, reference information, and index.
In the second of the five topical sections in Cold Weather Recommendations for All Caterpillar Machines, Operation Section, Starting Recommendations, Engine Starting Information, Caterpillar divides cold weather into the following four categories based on temperature ranges. Accordingly, review daily reports, outlook reports, and real-time reports to make better-informed decisions about the probability and intensity of low temperature events.
Categories of Cold Weather
- Category 1
- 48 to 15 °F
- 9 to −9.5 °C
- Category 2
- 15 to 0 °F
- −9.5 to −18 °C
- Category 3
- 0 to −22 °F
- −18 to −30 °C
- Category 4
- −22 to −40 °F
- −30 to −40 °C
Category 4 Starting Aids
- Altitudes: All Altitudes
- Engine Model: All Models
- Recommended: Continuous Flow Ether, Coolant Heater, and/or Heavy Duty Battery and Starter
- Optional: Oil Heater, Fuel Heater, and/or Battery Warmer
In Engine Starting Information, Category 4, from -22 to -40 °F or from -30 to −40 °C, Caterpillar recommends to “Use only SAE 0W-40 or a lower viscosity multi-grade oil. Do not use any SAE 15W, SAE 10W or 5W multi-grade oils in category 3 temperatures. Refer to the machine Operation and Maintenance Manual and Special Publication, SEBU6251 for more information.” Contact your Caterpillar dealer for availability for your machine model.
(Source: Caterpillar, Cold Weather Recommendations for All Caterpillar Machines, Excerpted from Operation & Maintenance Manual, SEBU5898-11-01)
More in the next blog about Engine Starting with Starting Aid (SMCS Code: 1000; 1090; 1456; 7000), Diesel Engines That Are Equipped With Gasoline Starting Engines…