This invention relates to means for starting engines working on the slow-combustion of Diesel principle.
According to the invention, which is applicable more especially to engines of the type in which the compressed air for starting is warmed previous to its entrance into the engine cylinders wherein combustion occurs, the heating of the compressed air is effected by passing the pipe conveying the compressed air to the cylinders through a receptacle heated by the exhaust gases.
The pipe conveying the compressed air may be spirally or otherwise arranged in the above-mentioned receptacle, or it may be passed in proximity to a suitable heating device. The starting air is thus heated to a temperature of from 150 Deg C to 300 Deg C (302 Deg F to 572 deg F) and the interior of the motor after expansion of the air is still sufficiently hot to enable the ignitions to proceed in the desired regular manner.