GC2410 Coldest Weather Starting problem

[Jaylegger]

KC,

Thanks for the info on the block heater, I've been contemplating getting one and your synopsis is very helpful. Glad to see the blower is working well, regarding rpm's I believe the blower is designed to operate efficiently at a pto speed of 2000 rpm which is achieved at 2500 engine rpms. With really wet stuff I pretty much had my 2600 at it's upper RPM limits most of the time at about 3250 rpm to prevent chute clogging and to achieve a decent throw. I must say what a treat it is to get out in a heated cabbed machine to do all this incredibly difficult and exhausting work.

 

[MF RED in MT]

Hey irvingj, thanks for the info, that makes sense when taking it out of PTO at high RPMs would be smooth. And thanks for all the info and pics you added to this thread. It really helped me and in return, I hope some info I added can help others.

Hey Jaylegger, thanks for the info about the RPM for the snowblower, BTW your utube video looks good, yes it really is too much fun blowing snow from a heated cab. KC

 

[WilliamBos]

Those magnetic heaters are not worth a crap in the cold. Tell him to order the proper block heater, or he needs to hand his dealership to someone who knows what they are doing.

Hey everyone, I hope some of you can help me. I have a GC2410 with 14 hours on it and have had starting problems when the temperature dips below zero.
I use #1 diesel with PS white bottle (2.25oz. to 2.5 gallons).
Tractor is parked in detached, non-insulated garage.
Tractor has magentic oil pan type heater turned on for 3 hours before starting.
I use the owners manual Coldest Weather Starting procedure, ON position for 2 seconds, GLOW position for 15 seconds, then start position.
I crank the engine for 10 seconds, then stop for 10 seconds, then crank the engine for another 10 seconds.
It usually takes about 4 cycle of this cranking and stopping to start the engine.
Outside temperature is -6 degrees F. (at 10:00am yesterday morning)
Garage temperature is +8 degrees F.

Maybe I need to follow the 2 seconds, 15 seconds procedure for each try at starting the engine?
Maybe I need to crank for more than 10 seconds?
Maybe I need to increase the oil pan heater time more than 3 hours?
Maybe I need to get a different type of heater?

F.Y.I. , I ordered this tractor with a freeze type block heater and the MF dealer installed this magnetic type oil pan heater. I questioned him about why I didn't receive the type of heater that I ordered and he told me that "the freeze plug type heater would not fit".
This statement is different then whats on the MF owners manual, page 35:
"Installation of accessory engine block heater is recommended in cold weather conditions. Contact your dealer."
Maybe someone can tell me if a block type heater is available and fits this tractor?
Thanks, KC

 

[MF RED in MT]

Hey Will, When I discovered that my new MF GC2410 had this magnetic oil pan heater (200W) installed by the dealer instead of the block heater type that I had ordered, I was pretty upset that this was done without informing me of it. I emailed the dealer to explain to me why this was done and this is what he emailed back to me:
"The freeze plug type block heater is not available for that model of tractor. I brought in several types of block heaters, and the magnetic one was the only one that would fit. (I brought in a silicone pad type, freeze plug type, lower radiator hose type, and none of them would fit due to clearance issues). I have found that the magnetic heaters actually work better than the freeze plug ones, because they heat the oil rather than the antifreeze, and in really cold weather its the restriction of the really thick oil that causes the engine to spin over slowly."
Thanks to irvingj's information in this thread, I was pretty sure that my tractor would accept the MF block heater without any clearance issues. I then ordered this block heater from a different MF dealer and had it installed on my tractor at my house.
I do not know for sure if I was completely misled from the original MF dealer, but it sure sounds like it.
B.T.W. the magnetic oil pan block heater now is used for a "priceless $44.28 paper weight" that will have this story attached to it always. KC

 

[irvingj]

quote from dealer: "I brought in several types of block heaters...."

MF Red-- It may well be that, due to the pricey nature of the MF block/freeze plug heater, your dealer was using generic/aftermarket heaters and perhaps was trying to save you quite a few bucks..? (Guess I always look for the good in people....)

I was also somewhat disappointed in the price of the MF heater --I paid about $140, I think (!)-- but it would seem that the price was worth it, considering how well it fits.

In any case, glad you're all fixed up. Mine works well, about an hour or so prior to starting, if it's really cold maybe a bit more, and it starts quite readily.

WBB in NH

 

[massey driver]

On the upside instead of thinking about it as wasted $$ you can think about it as being a back up plan.The rest of us if our block heater fails will be scrambling and trying to figure out some way to heat ours in order to start it but you'll already have the backup in place and just need to plug it in.Sorry about the problem's you've had with the Dealer,I too hate when things like that happen.Larry

 

[ray66v]

On the upside instead of thinking about it as wasted $$ you can think about it as being a back up plan.The rest of us if our block heater fails will be scrambling and trying to figure out some way to heat ours in order to start it but you'll already have the backup in place and just need to plug it in.Sorry about the problem's you've had with the Dealer,I too hate when things like that happen.Larry

Not a good back up plan. If it is indeed cold enough to actually need it, a magnetic heater would need over night to have any real effect on the temperature.

Throw a trap over the tractor, and put an electric heater inside. It's fast, and very effective. Members have thawed frozen fuel lines, even when the tractor is outdoors, this way.

 

[WilliamBos]

Hey Will, When I discovered that my new MF GC2410 had this magnetic oil pan heater (200W) installed by the dealer instead of the block heater type that I had ordered, I was pretty upset that this was done without informing me of it. I emailed the dealer to explain to me why this was done and this is what he emailed back to me:
"The freeze plug type block heater is not available for that model of tractor. I brought in several types of block heaters, and the magnetic one was the only one that would fit. (I brought in a silicone pad type, freeze plug type, lower radiator hose type, and none of them would fit due to clearance issues). I have found that the magnetic heaters actually work better than the freeze plug ones, because they heat the oil rather than the antifreeze, and in really cold weather its the restriction of the really thick oil that causes the engine to spin over slowly."
Thanks to irvingj's information in this thread, I was pretty sure that my tractor would accept the MF block heater without any clearance issues. I then ordered this block heater from a different MF dealer and had it installed on my tractor at my house.
I do not know for sure if I was completely misled from the original MF dealer, but it sure sounds like it.
B.T.W. the magnetic oil pan block heater now is used for a "priceless $44.28 paper weight" that will have this story attached to it always. KC

Oh he is so full of BS, it is not funny!! Heating the glycol is the only way. Cast iron oil pans take alot more to heat them, the mag heater does not cut it.

Do you want an email address of the PR rep for MF, I would complain, or ask the dealer who installed your heater to call the Area rep, and complain to him.

 

[massey driver]

Not a good back up plan. If it is indeed cold enough to actually need it, a magnetic heater would need over night to have any real effect on the temperature.

Throw a trap over the tractor, and put an electric heater inside. It's fast, and very effective. Members have thawed frozen fuel lines, even when the tractor is outdoors, this way.

hey ray i was just trying to make light of the injustice that was made to MF Red by his dealer. We all know the magnetic pan heaters aren't very good.
As for having a backup plan most of us would surely figure out some way to get things going in a pinch.One of my backup plans would be to walk over to the gas tractor and turn the key,and hopefully be in buisness.Larry.

 

[lambs]

You guys have pretty well covered this topic, but I will offer a cheap solution that works for me. I rigged a heat lamp bulb from Ace Hardware into an old gable vent fan housing (minus the fan and motor of course) and just slide it under my 1010 for an hour or two to heat up the engine. Makes a big difference, but then again it's not all that cold in NC.

The other thing you might want to do sometime is pull one of your glow plugs, ground it (I laid mine on a trailer tongue), attach a battery charger to it (grounded to the trailer) and plug it in. I found out my glows were doing nothing for the first 10 seconds, after than they turned bright orange pretty quickly. So if I hit the glows for 15 seconds, I'm actually getting 5 seconds of heat. That knowledge can be pretty helpful on a cold day.