Brush Hoggin' with a RED BELLY FORD .. hay seeds in radiator ... HOT! Cure??

[tmajor]

Hi y'all,
Well, last fall, I restored the NAA Jubilee.



This year, I was thinking about brush hogging the fields and knew that the hay seeds, etc. block the radiator fins, and come out the back like a sand blaster, if they get through. Plus, I put in a new radiator, which I'd guess is about half the radiator the original was.

So, I put a furnace filter over the radiator grill, before starting this years mowing. That , ... maybe worked for a while, but then the tractor started getting hot. I had shut off a couple of times and let the seeds fall off, but after quitting for the day, I pulled the filter off and it had a bunch of stuff behind it! :thumbdown:

Then, I was picturing the off road vehicles with the snorkels for carburetor air.

I started building an air scoop (not so much a "scoop") duct for the tractor, so that it's cooling air source was up out of the trash.



I fabricated 2 sides and 2 spreaders to fit against the radiator and behind the hinged grille. Then I covered the front with aluminum.



I made some J-bolts to go through the radiator holes and catch the back edge of the cowling, to hold all in place.



I mowed about an acre @90 degrees F. and the temp gauge finally made it into the red. Some of the hay/weeds were 4-6 inches higher than the duct. But, there was very little on the radiator, when I removed the duct. But, my "air window", at the top was smaller than I had planned, plus the front medallion stuck out. So, I'm going to make a couple pie shape "add-ons" to allow for a bigger air window. Below, is what was behind the duct, when I removed it. I placed a tarp on the ground, before shutting off and next to nothing dropped down. :thumbsup:




If it were painted Ford Gray, nobody would notice .... would they?

 

[ovrszd]

To be 100% effective, your air inlet needs to be at least equal in square inches as the radiator face. Anything less creates a vacuum situation and increases air speed. This creates an air starvation situation that increases operating temp.

Your shield needs to be in front of the grill and sealed against the hood. Might be more effective to also remove the grill.

 

[tmajor]

To be 100% effective, your air inlet needs to be at least equal in square inches as the radiator face. Anything less creates a vacuum situation and increases air speed. This creates an air starvation situation that increases operating temp.

Your shield needs to be in front of the grill and sealed against the hood. Might be more effective to also remove the grill.

As I said, I had planned on it being bigger. What difference would it make, if the shield was in front of the grille? The grille is "essentially removed", as it's only purpose is to hold the duct in place. ??

 

[ovrszd]

By moving in front of the grill it increases the square inches of the inlet size. That's actually the only way to increase flow.

 

[tmajor]

By moving in front of the grill it increases the square inches of the inlet size. That's actually the only way to increase flow.

Not so, but that's between "You and you're Ford"

 

[ovrszd]

What????

I've described the problem as I see it. Use it or not.

Also understand, these old tractors operate without an overflow tank and with considerable less radiator pressure. Very common for them to "puke" fluid.

 

[Handloader109]

Your radiator is what 12"x24" & your snorkel is 12x3 or 12x4? You will keep the seed out, but it is going to overheat. Just not enough airflow over the radiator.

 

[tmajor]

Yeah, that's what i said above "But, my "air window", at the top was smaller than I had planned, plus the front medallion stuck out. So, I'm going to make a couple pie shape "add-ons" to allow for a bigger air window."

 

[Turbys_1700]

I don't have any suggestions other than you may try an additive to your coolant. There are some out there that claim to lower water temperatures. In addition you can double check your radiator cap and perhaps change it out with a different psi. I don't know how well your water pump is functioning. I would think that your tractor has limited cooling capacity and when the radiator is slightly stopped up over heating occurs. One thing I do is to keep a small paint brush to clean off the radiator when it stops up. To me your idea of a pre filter makes more sense to me. I would put a foam in front of the radiator. My 1720 was engineered like that from New Holland. You may be able to put in an overflow tank. That would help. Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[Sysop]

I think I'd just make a "bumper" for the front that would push the vegetation down and away from the grille rather than letting the grille be the "leading edge" of the machine.