You could also consider a block heater or frost plug however you would need
to power it somehow with AC power or DC through an inverter.  Not as
efficient than gear reduction - however I wonder what is better for the
engine.

Bruce

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, David Boan <dboan@outlook.com> wrote:

> Hello Vanagon Types
>
> I just returned from a short trip to our local mountains to do some
> snowshoeing. My van is well setup for driving in snow although not a
> syncro. The challenge I face is not the snow but getting the van to start
> in sub-zero temps. The other morning at 8 AM it was -10f, and it is not
> uncommon to be much colder than that. When my starter battery starts to
> give up I can jump it from my two 100ah house batteries, but it still
> cranks slowly and took me more than a half hour to get it started.
>
> I am wondering if I would be better off with a gear reduction starter. I
> read that GoWesty recommends the high output gear reduction starter for
> operating in sub-zero temps. So, my question is, does anyone have
> experience with this starter? For those of you in the cold climates, does
> this seem like a good investment?
>
> Dave B
> Boise
> '85 Westy
>