What does this do?

Hi
What does this little pot do on the top of the engine?
gets the dribble from the injectors on this perkins engined 2A.
there is a brass thing on top and a pipe to the tank and one to the inlet manifold-thanks in anticipation of shared wisdom.

Looks like a swirl pot, or pressure regulator. Or could be a spill return from the IP.

Is there a return to the tank?

Hot start, basically you hold the key against spring pressure, this activates a coil that gets red hot then some diesel is allowed to run across the coil, this catches fire and voila early glow plugs!
But I notice you have no wire on the glow unit itself.

Video,

Wildefalcon said:

Looks like a swirl pot, or pressure regulator. Or could be a spill return from the IP.

Is there a return to the tank?

Click to expand...

yes- there is a return

lynall said:

Hot start, basically you hold the key against spring pressure, this activates a coil that gets red hot then some diesel is allowed to run across the coil, this catches fire and voila early glow plugs!
But I notice you have no wire on the glow unit itself.

Click to expand...

Gosh- i will have a look for some cables... the wiring was such a mess- 90% has been stripped out and there may be something like that.

Very similar system to early Transits.
On really cold days when Diesel would 'jellyfi' the fitter would soak a rag in diesel and use a welding rod to stuff it down the intake whilst we turned it over. And I should mention he set light to it ! Not just a wet rag
Happy Days

Bit like an old Marshal tractor then

J

ciderman said:

Hi
What does this little pot do on the top of the engine?
gets the dribble from the injectors on this perkins engined 2A.
there is a brass thing on top and a pipe to the tank and one to the inlet manifold-thanks in anticipation of shared wisdom.

View attachment 310557

Click to expand...

Feeds the cold start aid screwed into the inlet tract. Get it going, I have had several, on Perkins engined tractors and Land Rovers.
Better than glow plugs, and don't put so much load on the battery in cold weather.

Used a lot on early Perkins diesels, the indirect injection ones need all the help they can get to start on a cold morning!

marjon said:

Bit like an old Marshal tractor then

J

Click to expand...

Powered by a Perkins L4

freelance said:

Powered by a Perkins L4

Click to expand...

No a blank and a smouldering piece of paper

J

One of these

Was it Clarkson on Top Gear ay back when he demonstrated starting a Tractor with the Shotgun cartridge ?
Clever idea.

Called a "Coffman starter", was common on large aero engines and even early Jet engines. As with these Hawker Seahawk carrier jets.

Shedload said:

Was it Clarkson on Top Gear ay back when he demonstrated starting a Tractor with the Shotgun cartridge ?
Clever idea.

Click to expand...

Good party trick, but they hand start OK as well. Or you can spin them over using a drive belt driven by another tractor, many from that era had drums to drive a belt.