Kenlowe Hot-Start

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Tue 6 Feb 2001 21:14
Kenlowe Hot-Start - Roger Blowers
I have a year-old Focus tdi, which I hope to keep for a long time!
I bought Hot-Start, on the basis of its manufacturer's claims that, by heating the coolant to 80C, it eliminates most cold-start wear & high fuel consumption. It has a built-in 3Kw heater & a pump, which is plumbed into the heater circuit. Fitting is claimed to be 'an easy DIY job'.
Comments? Well, in the Focus' crowded engine bay, it is most certainly not DIY - took a qualified motor engineer nearly 2 hours. Next, it takes the Focus much longer than the claimed 20 mins to reach max temp (about 50-60 mins for the tdi). Also, make sure you use metal junctions on the heater pipes, unless you like replacing the coolant frequently!
Does it do any good? Dunno, really - mpg appears about the same, but it IS nice to get into a warm car on a cold morning. Wear has yet to be assessed.

Anyone else got one - what do you think?
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Wed 7 Feb 2001 19:56
RE: Kenlowe Hot-Start - simon saxton


I used one, most successfully, on a Mercedes 190E 2.6 but was unable to transfer it onto a C class 2.5TD-no room in the bay.
They are excellent pieces of kit,especially if short journeys are a predominant feature of the cars usage(When engine wear is particularly high).
Initially,I too, suspected it took abnormal time to fully warm up but after
checking water temperature,I realised it was taking circa 20-30 minutes on really cold days.There is a reference in the Kenlowe instructions regarding using the car gauge as an indicator.
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Wed 7 Feb 2001 19:58
RE: Kenlowe Hot-Start - simon saxton


I used one, most successfully, on a Mercedes 190E 2.6 but was unable to transfer it onto a C class 2.5TD-no room in the bay.
They are excellent pieces of kit,especially if short journeys are a predominant feature of the cars usage(When engine wear is particularly high).
Initially,I too, suspected it took abnormal time to fully warm up but after
checking water temperature,I realised it was taking circa 20-30 minutes on really cold days.There is a reference in the Kenlowe instructions regarding using the car gauge as an indicator.
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Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.

Real MPG