2006 HPX Diesel Hard Starting in Cold

[georgja]

I've got a 2006 HPX - first winter for it here in PA as I bought it used last summer. When the air temp is down in the 20's, it's really tough to start - once started (if I get that far) she runs just fine. The instruction book talks about a "cold starting procedure" but all the dealer could offer was to heat up the glow plugs a few times and then try to start. I just put a new battery in her - again, dealer recommendation - and that doesn't seem to have made much difference. I use a fuel treatment as well. Any thoughts? Does it make sense to have an engine block heater installed? I hear that the after-market/portable engine block heaters are not as good as factory-installed.

Thanks in advance for your insight.